Sixteen brands in 15 categories -- with Best Buy, Cadillac, Ford, Olive Garden, Pizza Hut, Samsung and Visa topping the lists -- had the best advertising of 2012. Twenty had the most effective individual advertisements among 6,000 ads measured. And many of the brands that won toppled established winners. “2012 was a year marked by creative strategies that stressed innovation while embracing cause and humor,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of TV and video analytics measurement firm Ace Metrix, which also developed the best-of rosters. “To deliver five great ads in a year and beat out your category competitors is quite an achievement, but to develop 20 or upwards of 50 ads in a year and remain the most effective brand of a category is a truly stellar accomplishment.” In Ace Metrix's study, based on viewer surveys, Samsung won Brand of the Year in the technology category, of which smartphones are just one segment. The Korean brand, which also had the top-scoring ad for 2010, won both for the quality of its creative and the volume -- three times new creative versus Apple. Three of its ads were among the top 20 ads, across categories. “In a category as vast as technology -- which spans hardware, software, mobile phones, tablets, TVs, video games and Web sites -- the competition is especially fierce,” said Daboll. Within iPhones, Apple retained most-effective mobile phone brand for its Siri campaign featuring Zooey Deschanel and Samuel L. Jackson. The brand also took honors for the launch of the iPhone 5. Two of those were in the top 20, per the analytics firm: one for photography functionality, and another for Apple’s new earbuds. Samsung was second for smartphones. Brands of the year, in their categories, were Cadillac and Infiniti in a tie for luxury autos; Ford for non-luxury; Blue Moon and Ocean Spray for beverages; M&M's (for its Ms. Brown campaign); Visa for Financial; Lysol for household; Liberty Mutual for insurance; Kraft Dairy for CPG; Dr. Scholls in personal care; Olive Garden for restaurants; Best Buy in retail; Samsung Hardware; and T-Mobile Wireless for Telecomm. The firm notes that both Blue Moon and Ocean Spray pulled off coups against big beer and Coca-Cola. And Olive Garden had the best score of any brand. While Microsoft's "On the Surface" campaign won a berth on the "Ad of the Year" list, its Kinect tech went nowhere. The top five ads last year were for tech-forward household appliances and products (one of Samsung's big wins was for its refrigerator, not its smartphones.) The former Big Three automakers also did well: Cadillac and Ford were prime examples.
Santa wasn’t so keen on gadgets after all. Despite strong sales early on in the season, NPD reports that sales of consumer electronics fell 7% in the holiday season, to $13.7 billion. (NPD excludes some of the industry’s hottest segments, including Kindle, iPads and Surface, as well as mobile phones.) It’s the third year in a row that sales became slower as the season wore on, says Stephen Baker, VP/industry analyst for the Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm -- with 46% of purchases occurring in the first two weeks of the shopping season, the highest share in the past four years. Especially noteworthy, he tells Marketing Daily, is “the decline in a lot of the secondary categories, such as MP3 players and point-and-shoot cameras, which seemed to accelerate.” He also says that sales of TVs “were a little bit weaker than expected. While there is an awful lot going on in the smaller big screens, in the 32-to-39-inch range, the 40- to-50-inch segment was very weak as consumers either traded down for better pricing, or made the decision to trade up since there were an awful lot of good deals in the 50-to-60-inch range.” Unit sales of the mid-range size declined 29%, compared with gains of 46% in the larger size. Windows 8 did not help notebook sales, which dropped 11% in units. While they did decline, sales of both notebook computers and flat-panel TVs exceeded $2 billion; no other single segment accounted for over $1 billion in revenue. One significant change this season, he says, is that tablets radically expanded their distribution footprint in the same way that non-electronics retailers once rushed to sell camcorders and digital cameras: “These non-electronics retailers can drive a lot of traffic, and generate a lot of dollars.”
The once-dominant cultural concept of snacking as a special occasion between meals is long gone. In 2012, 52% of all eating occasions among American consumers were snacking occasions -- up from 49% in 2010, according to The Hartman Group’s Eating Occasions Database. Using that database and a recent survey of members of its HartmanSalt.com consumer panel, the company took a snapshot of Americans’ current snacking behaviors and attitudes. Some highlights: *On average, Americans consume 2.35 snacks per day. Specifically, 41% eat two snacks per day, 24% eat three, 17% eat one, 13% eat four and 4% eat five or more. *Snacking occurs most often later in the day. More than half of consumers report snacking between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. (56%) and/or between 5 p.m. and midnight (51%). In addition, 34% report snacking between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m.; 31% between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; and 17% between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. *More than 3 in 10 consumers say that they most often eat snacks at home, while just 12% report snacking at work, and 7% report snacking “on the go.” *Increasingly, consumers believe that eating smaller meals more frequently is healthier, and that snacking bridges gaps between meals due to long work and commute times. *While 28% say that they snack when they “want an indulgent treat,” many say that there’s no particular driver behind snacking (27% describe snacking as “an impulse”). In addition, 16% say they snack when they don’t feel like cooking or preparing a meal, and 14% snack when they “feel stressed or anxious.” *A disconnect between attitudes about healthy snacking and actual behaviors continues. More than half (57%) of survey respondents said that it’s very important or important that the foods and beverages that they snack on are healthy. However, the two most popular (most-often mentioned) snacks are chips and soda.
Smartphones may be growing in popularity, but the computer is still the primary device when it comes to researching and buying products online. According to a Harris Poll of more than 2,300 adults conducted in mid-November, an overwhelming majority of smartphone owners favored using a laptop or desktop for researching goods or services (81%, or the third-most reported activity, compared with 45% -- or the eighth-most popular activity -- for smartphones). A similar disparity arose when it came to purchasing products or services (78%/4th, compared with 23%/12th.) Smartphones, meanwhile, are the preferred devices for immediate communication such as texting or instant messaging and mapping/navigation services. “[Computers and smartphones] are still definitely used differently,” Regina Corso, a senior vice president with Harris Polling, tells Marketing Daily. “This is the first time we’ve asked this question. It does seem like there is a narrowing in that, in the not-so-distant future, we’re going to see smartphone usage outpace laptop and desktop usage in certain areas.” Already the two types of devices are approaching parity in certain areas such as social media, where they were both used with about the same frequency. Email, meanwhile, continues to be a highly utilized feature on smartphones, though users more often use their devices to read e-mails, rather than composing or responding to them. Understanding the different ways consumers use their devices is a key component in crafting marketing messages, Corso says. “Don’t worry so much about sending the text because the end-user is not there,” Corso advises. “They’re still using their computer to do the shopping and the researching. That’s going to be a longer switch.” The survey -- the first of its kind for Harris Interactive -- did not account for tablet usage, because the devices had not yet achieved a full enough penetration for measurement, Corso says. She expects future surveys, which will likely include tablet findings, to show even deeper usage results. “That’s definitely going to change results,” she says. “We’re going to see more people using tablets. They’ll take that out for certain things that they may use a laptop for.”
Annuity.com is launching a brand campaign targeting baby boomers. The creative, which launches Jan. 7, showcases how safe an annuity is through the ongoing image of a “Safe Man” who follows consumers throughout their daily lives. “Safe Man” is everywhere the baby boomers are (from a golf course to a grocery store) in order to demonstrate to the consumer that their money is safe and protected with an annuity. The campaign will run on a variety of cable networks and syndicated TV, targeting the boomer generation who have retired or are about to retire -- and, according to the U.S. Census, control 67% of the country’s wealth. The company hired New York-based creative boutique Karlin+Pimsler based on their experience in creating results-driven advertising, said Kevin Dufficy, managing director, Annuity.com. “Karlin+Pimsler is known for building brands that build a company’s value and they are a both a strategic and creative partner of Annuity.com,” Dufficy said in a release. The agency’s strategy with the campaign was to share Annuity.com’s story and highlight the value of purchasing an annuity in a smart, fun and memorable manner, said Mal Karlin, president and chief creative officer of Karlin+Pimsler. "Throughout this campaign, we get the chance to tell the stories of baby boomers' active lives while also shining a spotlight on the benefits of annuities,” Karlin says. Most boomers don’t understand what an annuity is, or the value of it, Dufficy says. “But Karlin+Pimsler’s ability to communicate the message in an easy-to-understand story is the key to our marketing strategy,” he adds. “Their visual representation of the safety of annuities is unforgettable and right on target for our brand.”
E-cigarettes, lozenges, and inhalers could steal smoke from cigarettes, per a new Mintel study on smoking cessation aids. The firm finds that sales of such products are set to increase 3% from 2011-12, reaching $1 billion, and they are expected to continue growing through 2017 reaching $1.2 billion in sales. Emily Krol, health and wellness analyst at Mintel, says the market's challenges include the fact that there are fewer and fewer smokers (which is, of course, good news). However, bans and taxes on cigarettes could help fuel the market. "And growth opportunities for this market will be found in product innovation and line extensions,” she says. Per Mintel, 60% of Americans who currently smoke or quit and returned say motivation is a problem because smokers like smoking -- although they admit they are scared by health warnings. And there's the rationalization factor that is common to most addictive behaviors: about half of users feel strongly that they would be able to quit smoking at any time. And smokers also see quitting as a tradeoff between lung damage and adipose tissue: people who quit tend to gain weight. The study says that of those concerned with weight gain, 54% are women, versus 31% men. The study also finds that 41% of smokers who are interested in quitting are mulling a range of anti-smoking products and substitutes. They say they are interested in trying OTC nicotine sprays, and 41% would give prescription nicotine inhalers a try. Forty percent would go for OTC nicotine replacement lozenges and 38% are interested in nicotine-free cigarettes. The anti-smoking foundation Legacy took a look at another option: e-cigarettes, those battery-powered nicotine delivery systems that go by brand names like Blu and Victory, and that deliver the drug in a propylene glycol vapor. Foundation-sponsored research led by Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, and its Schroeder Institute found that 40.2% of Americans have heard of e-cigarettes, and over 70% percent believe e-cigs are less harmful than regular cigarettes. In addition, current smokers are several times more likely to use e-cigarettes than non-smokers. The research finds a couple of not-so-surprising reasons for this. One is a perception of e-cigarettes as just plain safer than traditional coffin nails; the other is the fact that more stringent smoking laws mean fewer smoking venues. “We found that, while overall e-cigarette use is still relatively low, awareness of e-cigarettes is high,” said Schroeder Institute research Jennifer Pearson in a statement. She added that younger smokers are more likely to have ever tried an e-cigarette. The Schroeder Institute wasn’t able to nail down a verdict on e-cigarette safety, although it found that manufacturing standards vary, the amount of nicotine delivered is far less than advertised, and such products often perfuse glycerin impurities into the inhalant. The Mintel study says the major concern for smokers trying to quit is dealing with the craving that goes with the weaning process. And 61% of Americans who quit and relit, or are interested in quitting are worried about the desire factor. While the ultimate goal is to keep a lung or two, 59% of want-to-quits said they don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for that luxury.
Hundreds of companies will share their wares at the Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 8, but a few trends and patterns have begun to emerge, such as brainwave technology that identifies intent before movement. Qualcomm filled the opening keynote, taking Microsoft's place this year, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff will attend the show for the first time to deliver the Brand Matters keynote interview, a sign that mobile and cloud computing will play a major role. Combining wireless with computing, Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor powers mobile devices supporting the ability to serve up content related to sports, entertainment and education and help developers create new technologies and connect devices. Paul Jacobs, CEO at Qualcomm, will talk about the future of smartphones and demand for data during the keynote. Smartphones become even smarter when connected to televisions and car entertainment systems that send and receive content through the cloud. Today, consumers use apps, but those will transform into intelligent agents that use signals to push information, based on location, preferences, calendar events and searches on engines across networks. Consumers will share content across screens and operating systems. Another prediction: eye tracking will become a consumer technology and sensors will begin capturing intent prior to movement, going beyond features in gadgets like Microsoft Kinect. IBM exec Kevin Brown predicted brainwave technology would become beneficial within five years. This year, Ariel Garten, Trevor Colemen and Chris Aimone -- co-founders of InteraXon and innovators of Muse -- will demonstrate at CES the potential of brainwave-sensing technology related to improving brain health, ADD/ADHD, entertainment, stress management, fitness training, gaming and studying aids. More than 1.9 million square feet of exhibitor space will bring significant innovation, from 3D screens that don't require glasses, to self-driving cars from Toyota and Audi. Google has been working on driverless cars. Now big automakers are getting serious, too. A video shows a Lexus LS, complete with driverless technology. "Brain Radar photo from Shutterstock"
Chris Rock, the comedian, has a vivid way of describing anti-Semitism as a society's reaction to what ails it: “That train's never late.” Too true. Scapegoating, originating in the Biblical Jewish rite for the expiation of sin, has been for millennia turned against the people who ritualized it. No livestock required. In pogrom after pogrom, the role of the goat was played by actual Jews. Because when things go wrong, someone must be blamed -- and we blame what and whom we most fear and mistrust, and we fear and mistrust what we least understand. Bigotry and ignorance. Those trains never stop running. Whenever a society is confronted with evil, or just plain tragedy, the handwringing begins in earnest. There must be a deeper, more sinister, more pernicious explanation. When a deranged kid, armed to the teeth, murders two classrooms full of children, it can’t simply be about Americans’ near universal access to unlimited quantities of firearms and ammunition. Something else must be making lunatics kill. The Jews? Tempting, tempting. But, no -- it must be a force even more ubiquitous and immoral and malign. The media! But of course. Here is Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association, illuminating the real culprits in Sandy Hook and 2012's other mass shootings in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Florida, California, Oklahoma, Washington, Delaware, Texas and Oregon: And here's another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal: There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people.Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse. And here's one: it's called Kindergarten Killers. It's been online for 10 years. How come my research department could find it and all of yours either couldn't or didn't want anyone to know you had found it?Then there's the blood-soaked slasher films like "American Psycho" and "Natural Born Killers" that are aired like propaganda loops on "Splatterdays" and every day, and a thousand music videos that portray life as a joke and murder as a way of life. And then they have the nerve to call it "entertainment."But is that what it really is? Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography? In a race to the bottom, media conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate and offend every standard of civilized society by bringing an ever-more-toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty into our homes — every minute of every day of every month of every year. Get it? Day after day, like telepathic signals from Son of Sam's dog, the media are urging all of us to kill. (Come to think of it, on the subject of unspoken messages, between the words “the” and “media,” can you hear LaPierre's dog-whistling “Jew-controlled?” Maybe that's just my imagination, or perhaps it's the sound of the train, at some distance, heading for the station.) Anyway, the NRA observes correctly: the media are awash in gratuitous violence -- just as they were in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Countless dime novels, broadcasts, comic books and movies about cowboys, gangsters, cops, private eyes and soldiers titillated audiences with gunplay and body counts -- resulting somehow in vanishingly few actual mass shootings of actual flesh-and-blood Americans in schools, workplaces, shopping malls and theaters. And why? Because Jimmy Cagney was less murderous than Jason Statham? No. Because guns were harder to come by. Despite hundreds of peer-reviewed studies on the relationship between media violence and actual violence, no researcher has ever demonstrated a historical correlation between the two. On the contrary, the jagged trend line of violent crime in America looks nothing at all like the trend line for depictions of violence in mass media. Yet this scapegoating of the media persists -- including, of course, the Evil of All Evils, advertising. Ad Age this week ran an op-ed titled "In a Culture of Mass Shootings, the Ad Industry Shares the Blame." David Morse, who runs a research shop called New American Dimensions, strains to draw that very link. I say “strain” because he uses so many question marks to equivocate that the column is as much quiz show as commentary. Still, he seems to be advising the advertising industry to walk away from the gun lest it have more blood on its hands. Oh, for crying out loud. What fatuous scapegoating. Morse is imputing sinister powers to an institution that most of the time can't get Americans to switch deodorants. Dude -- advertising doesn't kill people. People kill people. With guns.
When speaking at an industry event this fall, when asked how many different online audience segments existed in the realm of digital marketing to date, the average answer was around 200, with the highest answer being 500. It surprises many marketers that in reality, the number of different segments is closer to 70,000. This journey first began with segmentation, which was closely followed by hyper-segmentation. But have we now reached a new degree of segment variety? Digital marketers are starting to recognize thousands of extremely specific, targeted groups of buyers. It’s easy to equate this process with laundry -- just when you thought you had completed the process, there's already more to be done. In fact, marketers could spend the next 50 years doing the laundry, so to speak -- figuring out which segments best target the right prospects based on their interests and behavioral attributes. This leads to a few bigger questions: how many segments can a marketer truly track and care about? Is there an inflection point where there are too many segments to consider, where the quantity becomes overwhelming and therefore loses its value? The answer is that the number of segments matters -- a lot. While the numbers may be daunting, there are a few different ways to figure out what type of segment to target in a time when there are so many different choices: 1. Move away from manual: If you were to go about the arduous process of manually selecting audience segments, there wouldn’t be enough hours in your life to wade through the various possibilities. To tackle the magnitude of available data, recent advancements in computing technology have made automation and presenting marketing insights in a straightforward and comprehensible platforms possible. This allows marketers to gain a wealth of insight from information that had once yielded little to no insight -- giving marketers the information and understanding required to create sophisticated mapping and modeling techniques. 2. Use your current segments as a benchmark: To determine whether there is a large conversion attribute (a behavior or type of buyer) you’re missing, make sure to closely examine the segments you’re currently targeting. Look for similar types of audiences to target, and then delve a little deeper into their behaviors. Be sure to note important factors including when and where they go online. If your audience segments are not converting, then you may need to narrow or broaden your target audience. In order to take advantage of the vast number of segments, it is imperative to learn from the past and evolve with analysis. 3. Continue evaluating segments: The primary segments that your company needs to focus on are constantly changing because the people you analyze are constantly changing, per human nature. Factors like weather, time of year/holidays, social trends and the economic factors all alter online behavior. The reality is that this is a dynamic and fluid process, and you always need to be looking at who you’re targeting and why. Even when you think that you have the segments right, the list you have will be irrelevant in a few months. With the abundance of segments today, it’s impossible for a brand to fully reach all relevant segments that they have discovered. However, it's undeniable that marketers need to be more focused and measured than ever. The most successful way to do this is with the help of powerful computing tools and discerning audience targeting experts that can help you find the right audiences for your ad campaigns.