What does 2012 hold for mobile advertising?
Lots of people have been asking us what we predict from 2012. The past year was so exciting with so many developments that no doubt the next year is going to be a great year for mobile advertising. Here is our look into the crystal ball…
We already discussed with you last year the demand for all things tablet. In the coming months we are going to continue to see the rise of the tablet and iPad. By 2016, they expect to sell 87.8 million tablets. We are seeing that advertisers and developers who create ad units built specifically for tablets are experiencing phenomenal user engagement. Developers have really started acknowledging and taking into account the fact that tablet users have a radically different user experience and consume content and media in a very different way compared to other mobile devices such as smartphones.
What’s the lesson for 2012? In the coming months it will be important that advertisers and developers recognize the different strategies and products required for tablets as opposed to other mobile devices, and develop strategies and ads with tablets specifically in mind.
WPP’s Kantar Buys China Social-Media Intelligence Expert CIC
WPP Group’s Kantar Media is stepping up its digital game in China, acquiring a pioneering local agency that helps marketers leverage the power of social media.
CIC is a leader in providing analysis and insights based on information gleaned from China’s vibrant social-media outlets. Its ability to collect and analyze chatter about a certain product or brand in real time has made it highly valuable to marketers seeking ways to better engage with Chinese consumers online.
Some of CIC’s longterm clients include PepsiCo, Nike, L’Oreal and Dell. The company was founded in 2004 and has more than 60 social-media consultants. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
China has 513 million internet users, up 12% from a year earlier, according to the latest government figures. More than 70% of them are on social media, said Sam Flemming, founder and chairman of CIC.
Online Ad Predictions for 2012: Thoughts on ROI, Privacy, and Yes, More Acquisitions
It’s hard to believe another year has gone by already. This past year, we’ve seen the online advertising landscape continue to evolve at a rapid pace, fueled no doubt by increasing accountability for online media, key acquisitions, and online marketers demanding more from their campaigns—and the technologies that power them. What’s on the docket for next year?
Here are my thoughts:
A NEW WAY OF LOOKING AT ROI
Finally—The Death of the Click
As the Drago of online advertising, the Click has been beat on from all corners, but has refused to fall. Next year will be the final round in the fight – and Drago is going down. I foresee the majority of savvy, online marketers finally abandoning the click as a success metric in display advertising. It’s been a long time coming, and marketers everywhere, particularly those targeting business professionals, have finally realized that high CTRs do not generally correlate to the most qualified leads. Among other things, I bet we’ll see an increasing focus on the value of branding and post-impression attribution.
First- and Third-Party Data Unite
In 2011, we witnessed more and more online publishers achieving a better understanding of the value of their audiences, and as a result, better monetizing their inventories. However, from the advertiser’s perspective, first-party data is only the beginning. Advertisers have seen the ROI benefits that come from using both first- and third-party data to target prospects. As a result, I predict that in 2012, these two types of data will begin to blend seamlessly, ultimately driving deeper insight and ROI for marketers. Advertisers will also buy third-party data sets to integrate with their own data for better efficiency and targeting.
Read More: Bizo
Mobile Behavior Could Finesse Search Strategy
Mobile queries on tablets spike between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. while consumers sit at home watching television — which could support a cross-channel search and TV campaign strategy, according to Michael Slinger, director of mobile advertising at Google.
That type of insight, shared by Slinger at the Search Insider Summit, should provide brands with a road map for charting search campaigns.
For instance, Slinger said the single biggest barrier that companies have in entering the mobile search space is their mobile sites. In February, Google reported that 80% of the Fortune 500 companies have a mobile ready site. About two weeks ago, Google released a tool at HowToGoMo.com that shows companies what their Web site looks like when viewed on a mobile phone.
Industry executives suggest that the average consumer stores about seven apps on their mobile phone. And while they might have an app for banking, they might not have an app for a specific retail brand. Companies need to give consumers choice.
Slinger points to research that Google conducted with Compete on the use of mobile devices during the automotive research process. The goal was to get consumers into dealerships. About 34% of consumers use tablets throughout the research process, versus 30% on mobile devices. Still, 20% of consumers rely on tablets at the top of the purchase funnel — compared with 22% on mobile phones — to do research on cars. In the middle of the process, consumers use tablets 34% of the time and mobile phones 19% of the time. At the very end of the funnel, as consumers enter the buying process, 8% will rely on tablets versus 27% for mobile phones.
Read More: MediaPost
Online Video Viewing Passes 50% of Total US Population
Mobile devices also become important video viewing channel
Having surpassed 50% penetration among the general population in 2011, online video viewing is now a mass-market pursuit. Increasing numbers of Americans are watching more content on more devices than ever before.
Even though growth rates will necessarily slow as the number of users swells from year to year, there is still room for expansion. By 2015, US online video viewers will represent 60% of the general population and 76% of internet users.
“Audience growth over the next four years will come from all demographic segments, but it will be more pronounced among preteen children, older boomers and seniors,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of a forthcoming report on premium video content. “These groups have traditionally lagged teens and younger adults in their video viewing activity, but the gaps will start to close as the market matures. This will give marketers opportunities to take advantage of growth pockets among viewers at either end of the age spectrum.”
Read More: eMarketer
Guardian Merging Yield Metrics For Print And Digital With Operative Says Beale
In November, Guardian announced a partnership with Operative where Guardian’s “print and digital media businesses, including guardian.co.uk, as well as The Guardian and The Observer newspapers, will all be running from the same platform – Operative.One – in the first half of 2012.” Read the release.
Andy Beal, Technology Director at Guardian News and Media, discussed the deal and its implications.
AdExchanger.com: What was the turning point for bringing the print and digital operations together into one ad platform?
AB: If you go back to the start, it was driven initially by efficiency. What can we give the sales teams to make their lives easier and make them more efficient in a sales process? That was the initial driver. We had practical issues around the age of the system too. With nothing else going on, we needed to look to modernize. But the philosophy for the project changed about three years ago as it became more about supporting the growing digital revenue than it was about simply integrating systems, and then making those systems efficient. It became a revenue-driving project.
How does the revenue breaks down for you all in terms of digital versus print – especially over time?
The real story there is the direction the arrows are going. We still make a significant proportion of our revenue from the combined sale, but a lot is still from our print products. But digital is a growing area. And that is a structural position that is not going to change. Regardless of the detail, it’s about supporting our growing revenues. The actual product that we are providing our clients, in terms of that monetized audience, is a combined cross‑platform package almost always now. It’s not quite from a revenue perspective. Print versus digital – they have symbiotic relationship.
Read More: AdExchanger
