Businesses are planning to invest more money in mobile platforms over the next 12 to 18 months than they have spent on these platforms to date. According to a survey of 1000 business professionals in the U.S. and U.K. -- the majority of them in sales and marketing -- by Antenna and research partner Vanson Bourne, enterprise-level U.S. companies will spend on average $1.4 million in the next 12 to 18 months on mobile initiatives, compared to an average investment of $587,000 they have already spent cumulatively on the platform so far. For small- to-medium-size businesses surveyed, their previous investment was $405,000, but over the next year to 18 months it will escalate to $852,000. This is not to say that mobile marketing has become de rigeur among businesses, or that they are all seeing the ROI they expect. The Mobile Business Forecast for Marketers 2012 also found that only one in five companies report that their mobile projects thus far have attracted a majority of the consumers they targeted. Indeed, 45% of the companies that used a third-party agency for their mobile projects were frustrated by the length of time it took to complete the projects, with 21% complaining that the end result was not easy enough to use, 11% that it was not “sleek” enough and about 10% finding the mobile execution did not align with their brand. On average, however, small businesses are planning to spend about $431,000 on consumer-facing projects in the forecast period, whole larger enterprises are planning to spend $696,000 on mobile executions aimed at consumers. Mobile Web sites continue to be a priority, with 45% of both U.S. and U.K. firms working on the mobile Web presence and 43% including apps on their to-do lists. Web apps are attracting 32% of those surveyed. Depsite the aggressive build-out in mobile media, the report finds that the relatively low uptakes of these projects by the consumers demonstrates a lack of research and preparation on the part of the brands. “Too many businesses are initiating projects without doing the necessary research into what content their customers would like to engage with or into the format they’d like to receive,” the report argues. The report also suggests that businesses are frustrated with the number of outside agencies needed to executive these projects as well as the lack of integration and coordination among them. The full white paper is available online from Antenna.
With Twitter’s rollout of "expanded Tweets," the microblogging service gave media companies a richer canvas for showcasing online content and driving interaction. Along with other recent steps, including the launch of Tailored Trends and curated “hashtag” pages, the company continues to transform itself from a simple messaging service to a media-friendly marketing platform. The launch of expanded Tweets underscores that trend by allowing users to preview stories, images and videos linked within tweets on both the desktop and mobile versions of the service. Previously, this was only possible with videos from YouTube and images from Instagram. For content such as articles, Twitter will display an image, the headline, a 280-character summary that is separate from the 140-character tweet, and a headline plus a link to the writer’s Twitter handle. Videos can include a video gallery of related videos below the main posted video that users can scroll through and click on within the tweet. The new feature launched with a small number of publishers, including The New York Times, BET’s 106 & Park, WWE, Lifetime and Dailymotion. It’s expected that Twitter will eventually enhance content capability to publishers and brands more broadly on the site. “We’re excited to test expanded Tweets on behalf of our clients,” said Blake Cahill, president of social-media agency Banyan Branch. “It has a very Pinterest-esque look, and will be great for sharing fresh visual content or previewing links we'd like users to visit.” But expanded Tweets also have the advantage for Twitter of keeping people on the site longer if they don’t click through to a linked site or landing page. “Some brands may be reluctant to take part and allow people to consume media entirely within Twitter rather than at their own sites, where such interactions can be better monetized,” noted David Berkowitz, VP, emerging media at digital agency 360i. Noah Mallin, group director, social marketing at Digitas, agreed -- but said monetization might work better for certain types of content within tweets. A video played within a Tweet could still be monetized, for example, but it would be more difficult to do so with static content. “Publishers will have to balance increased visibility in the Twitter stream with ensuring the headline, image and synopsis are compelling enough that a user will click through for more, rather than getting everything they need from that first view," he said. The debut of expanded Tweets followed on the heels of Twitter’s introducing “hashtag pages,” where editorial staff at the company curate pages tied to events to help boost discovery. The pilot program kicked off this month with launch partners NASCAR and Turner Sports. Twitter is creating a landing page for searches on the term #NASCAR in connection with the Pocono 400 race. The page provided an “enhanced live event experience” by offering a portal populated with curated tweets and photos from influencers within the NASCAR community, including drivers. One immediate benefit of the curated pages is that they enhance the two-screen viewing experience for TV viewers for live events. What’s the opportunity for brands? The 360i report suggests the expansion of hashtag pages to other live events could provide major event sponsors -- like Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the recent "American Idol" finale -- an effective tool for generating buzz. The 360i report also indicates that brands may at some point be able to sponsor hashtag pages directly, although Twitter hasn’t yet discussed that possibility. Like hashtag pages, the launch of Tailored Trends reflects the effort to tame the information flowing through Twitter via an algorithm that surfaces the types of trends of most interest to individual users. Before, people could only see -- through the Trending Topics feature -- what the top subjects and hashtags were based on velocity at any given time. Digitas’ Mallin suggested Twitter could go farther, using its algorithm to alter users’ streams to emphasize those tweets it thinks are most relevant. That would be similar to how Facebook uses its EdgeRank algorithm to shape what people see in their news feeds. Again, Twitter hasn’t announced such a step. But Mallin advised in a new a report that brands should prepare for some of the challenges that have emerged on Facebook, “where a Like only guarantees visibility to the users for a short period of time before the algorithm determines whether (based on engagement) the brand is still relevant enough to be shown consistently in the user’s news feed.” That makes posting rich, engaging content all the more important, he concluded.
Nielsen CFO Brian West just reported the company has a measurement system to capture iPad and other tablet usage that is being tested by large media companies. The move is a natural extension of Nielsen’s efforts in its extended screen work, where it would add tablet data into a system with TV and PC measurement. “This is one where technically we can do it,” West said at an investor event. Yet there are still significant steps that must be taken before the tablet measurement functionality becomes widely deployed in the market, partly because the marketplace often breeds disagreement. “Nothing moves fast enough in the space,” West said, referring to client adoption and revenue potential for Nielsen. “You’ve always got to facilitate constituents that have different viewpoints, but you’ve got to be the referee sometime -- and that’s the role we play, and we’re perfectly happy to do that.” West spoke during a week when Nielsen lowered its revenue growth projections for 2012 slightly from 5%-7% to 5%-6%. A hurdle is a “very difficult” Western European economy that is causing some clients to pull back on discretionary projects in the company’s business that tracks sales, West said. Outside Europe, some multinational corporations are exercising restraint, he said, saying they are “being very deliberate in how they invest around the world -- they’re investing but they’re being more deliberate.” West, however, expressed bullishness on Nielsen’s initiatives to move deeper into the single-source arena, where one aspect would have it marry its TV viewing data with retail sales, looking to gain cause-and-effect insight. It’s a small part of Nielsen’s business, he said, but touted the company’s “unique assets” as a help in building a system that many marketers seek.
The number of Americans who own tablets is surging, and that’s good news for advertisers, according to the Online Publishers Association, which found that tablet users respond to advertising delivered via their devices -- and also spend a fair amount of money on purchases made with tablets. Some 29% of tablet owners say they have researched a product in the last six months, while 23% have clicked on an ad, 20% have used a special offer or coupon, and 19% have visited a product Web site. This is the second wave of a survey first conducted in 2011, allowing the OPA to identify and track developing trends among tablet owners. Based on a survey of 2,540 Internet users conducted from March 19-26 by Frank N. Magid Associates, the OPA found that 31% of the U.S. Internet population currently owns a tablet -- up from 12% in 2011. That number is predicted to rise to 47% by early 2013, according to OPA President Pam Horan. The latter figure will equal 117.4 million U.S. consumers, based on a projected Internet population of 249.7 million in 2013. Tablets are rapidly becoming embedded in consumers’ lives as a central component of their media consumption, the OPA survey found, with 60% of tablet owners using the device several times a day for an average of 13.9 hours per week. Most tablet usage takes place in the evening, with 59% of tablet owners using their devices between 5 and 8 p.m. and 53% using them between 8 and 11 p.m. In terms of location, most tablet usage occurs in the home, but there is a significant proportion taking place outside the home. Overall, 67% of tablet usage (in terms of time spent) occurs in the home, compared to 15% at work or school, 14% in the car or commuting and 4% while shopping. In regard to perceptions of tablet advertising, 37% of tablet owners said ads delivered via the device were “hard to ignore,” 33% called them “eye-catching,” 29% said they were “unique and interesting” and 28% thought they were “relevant.” Twenty-seven percent said they were motivated to purchase a product by tablet advertising, and 26% were motivated by ads to research products. E-commerce is also a popular application, with 38% of tablet owners (some 23 million people) saying they have used their device to make an online purchase. That includes not only tablet apps -- where total spending is projected to increase from $1.4 billion in 2011 to $2.6 billion in 2012 -- but retail and apparel (21% of tablet users), consumer electronics (19%) and personal care and beauty (17%), among other categories. Tablet users spent an average $359 on tablet purchases over the last 12 months.
The Commerce Department will convene a broad array of online companies and advocates next month to attempt to reach a consensus on privacy guidelines for mobile apps. The meeting, slated for July 12, marks the first in a series of "multi-stakeholder" meetings aimed at reaching a consensus on privacy issues. The goal of the process is "to develop a code of conduct to provide transparency in how companies providing applications and interactive services for mobile devices handle personal data," the National Telecommunications & Information Administration stated. A February report by the Obama Administration called for the NTIA to convene a series of multi-stakeholder meetings about privacy. More than two dozen of the groups that submitted comments responding to that report addressed the need to focus on mobile privacy, according to Jules Polonetsky, co-chair and director of the think tank Future of Privacy Forum. "Mobile apps are a uniquely good topic for them to start with," Polonetsky says. He adds that the industry currently is in flux, largely because Apple is transitioning away from allowing developers to access iPhones' unique device identifiers: 40-character alphanumeric strings that can be used to track users. It's still not clear what Apple intends to offer developers as a replacement. The NTIA is convening the meeting at the same time that a separate standards group, the World Wide Web Consortium, is trying to develop consensus guidelines for do-not-track headers. It's not yet clear whether that group will be able to reconcile opposing positions by the members, including browser developers, privacy advocates and ad industry groups. Microsoft recently stirred controversy within the W3C by announcing that the next version of the Internet Explorer browser would turn a do-not-track header on by default. Until Microsoft's announcement, it was generally assumed that browser developers would not activate do-not-track for users. The standards group also is struggling to decide how much data ad networks and other companies should be able to collect from users who have turned on a do-not-track header. But unlike W3C, the NTIA has tapped a professional facilitator -- Mark Chinoy of the Regis Group, according to sources -- to help participants arrive at a consensus. The Federal Communications Commission previously hired Chinoy to coordinate an effort to craft guidelines regarding cramming. Privacy advocate Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, says that consumer groups intend to participate and push for privacy protections. He adds that he expects that the NTIA meetings will at least shed light on industry practices. The process "opens a window into how information is collected in the 21st Century," Chester says. "Consumer groups will push to make these little-known marketing practices more visible."
The New York Times has released a redesigned version of its Windows Phone news app intended to keep pace with the evolving design of smartphones. The new app includes features like live tile integration, allowing users to pin sections and blogs as live tiles to see headlines at a glance on their phone’s start screen; pivot navigation to all The New York Times’ digital content, including videos, slide shows and blogs in each section. It also allows cloud saving of content to enable access from multiple devices. Users can read content offline, as well as share content through social media and email. The app sports a new look and improved performance speed. As with the NYT’s other digital channels, the Windows Phone app gives some content away for free, in the form of a “Top News” section on the app, but then requires users to pay for further access. The launch of the new version of the Windows Phone app coincides with Nokia’s announcement of a new strategy aiming to take market share from Android with cheap, Windows-based smartphones. (This was overshadowed somewhat by the news that Nokia will also be laying off 10,000 employees worldwide.) The New York Times also reports that Microsoft itself is set to launch a new tablet computer that will use a revamped version of the Windows operating system, probably to be unveiled Monday. The newspaper is devoting more attention to its mobile platforms, which require constant updates to stay abreast of the rapidly changing mobile scene. In late May, the NYT released revamped versions of its iPhone and iPad apps, which were updated to allow customized reading, automatic updates and reduced bandwidth requirements.
According MobileSTAT from Jumptap, screen size doesn’t always matter when it comes to mobile ad performance. Data from the study showed that the Amazon Kindle Fire, which measures seven inches in length, had a 1.02% click-through rate (CTR) while the slightly larger, 9.7 inch iPad had a 0.9% click-through rate. While tablets tend to have higher CTRs than smartphones, screen size isn’t always a predictor. Click Through Rate by Mobile Device DeviceScreen Size “CTR % Kindle Fire 7.0” 1.02% Apple iPad 9.7 .90 Apple iPhone 4.0 .84 Samsung Note 5.3 .58 Samsung Galaxy S 3.5 .53 Samsung Galazy Tab 10.1 .53 Xperia Mini 2.5 .42 B&N Nook 7.0 .36 Source: Jumptap, June 2012 Paran Johar, Chief Marketing Officer, Jumptap, says “... what makes the mobile market thrive are the... features, functionalities and form factors of each device. “ Ownership of tablets and purchasing on tablets is heaviest among older Millennials, those 25-34 years-old, says the report. Millennials as a whole, ages 18-34, are most likely to use an iPad, while Baby Boomers are the heaviest users of the Kindle Fire. Tablet Ownership (vs average) Millennials (18-34) 23% more likely to own an iPad 16% less likely to own a Kindle Fire Generation X (35-44) 3% more likely to own an iPad 10% less likely to own a Kindle Fire Baby Boomers (45-64) 3% less likely to own an iPad 19% more likely to own a Kindle Fire Source: Jumptap, June 2012 Tablet Purchaser by Tablet OwnershipAge GroupOwn a TabletMade Purchase on Tablet 18-24 7% 11% 25-34 24 19 35-44 23 12 45-54 8 18 55-64 2 11 Source: Jumptap, June 2012 Additional MobileSTAT findings: On Kentucky Derby day, mobile trafc around Louisville, KY grew steadily as the day progressed, then spiked in the evening shortly after the race. At the time of the race itself (6:24 PM), there was a brief dip in local trafc, likely due to fans looking up from their devices to watch the action. For advertisers planning campaigns around live events: expect a surge in traffic directly following the event itself, says the report. Based on analysis of mobile ad campaigns by companies in the Quick Service Restaurant industry, consumer interest in fast food ads peaks on the weekends QSR ads see CTRs that are 9.9% higher than average on Saturdays and 5.9% higher than average on Sundays. The same ads garner their lowest CTR on Tuesday, which came in 5.7% lower than the average. Fast Food Advertiser Mobile CTR by Day (Q1 2012) DayDaily CTR ± Average (%) Monday -2.3% Tuesday -5.7 Wednesday -1.2 Thursday -5.1 Friday -3.4 Saturday +9.9 Sunday +5.9 Source: Jumptap, June 2012 Finally, eMarketer estimates that there will be 54.8 million tablet users in the US by the end of 2012, with the number jumping sharply to 89.5 million users by 2014. For more information from Jumptap, please visit here,