• by March 5, 2001

A new “Advertising Agency Streaming Media Awareness Study” released by MeasureCast Inc. and The Yankee Group concludes that advertising agencies say streaming media is a viable advertising medium, and that streaming media ads are effective corporate and product branding tools.

The reported objective of the study is to identify ad agencies’ level of awareness and their perception of streaming media, and to reveal trends in the streaming media marketplace. The survey targeted agencies with experience managing clients that have some accounts purchasing on-line advertising, and that make recommendations to clients on placing interactive media.

One hundred advertising agency executives were interviewed. Fifty of them worked for traditional ad agencies (including media buying services) with on-line media capabilities, and 50 were with on-line, or interactive, agencies.

Highlights:

- 61% of the respondants have recommended streaming media advertising to clients in the past 12 months.

- 65% percent of the respondents are likely to recommend streaming media advertising to clients in the next 12 months.

- 47% say clients who have not previously invested in streaming media advertising will allocate dollars to streaming ads during the next 12 months.

- 56% who previously purchased streaming media ads expect to spend more on streaming media advertising in the next 12 months.

- 69% agree that audience demographic data is crucial to making ad purchase decisions.

- 54 percent say clients’ perceptions that streaming media ads are too expensive keep them from purchasing those ads.

In a related report, MediaMetrix says that media players now are installed on 99% of U.S. home PCs, enabling these computers to deliver both online and offline digital-audio and video to consumers. The report goes on to say that in November 2000, 47% of U.S. home computer users used a media player, while 40% used a streaming-media player.

And, in the streaming-media category in November, 2000:
- 28% of all U.S. home computer users used RealPlayer
- 22% used Windows Media Player
- 4% used Quicktime

Check out MeasureCast, or MediaMetrix for more.