The National Hockey League and NBC Sports Thursday unveiled a campaign that integrates Facebook, Twitter and national television on the New Year's Day broadcast of the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. This year's NHL Winter Classic features two of the game's biggest stars as Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins take on Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. NHL and NBC are running very similar "watch and win" campaigns on both Facebook and Twitter, but they run in parallel, not integrated. NBC only supports the Facebook campaign. Michael DiLorenzo, senior director of social media marketing and strategy at the NHL, calls the campaign a "watch and win" promotion that gives viewers a chance to win either a Honda CR-Z automobile, or trips for four to both Universal Orlando Studios and the 2011 NHL All-Star Game. "We're running the social and broadcast integration to test the effectiveness and examine the data," DiLorenzo says. "It should grow our Facebook Fan base, because people must 'like' the page to play. It also will build a window into the event for those who may not be in front of the television." Excluding Google, Bing and Yahoo, Facebook is the No. 1 site driving traffic to NHL.com. Those referred visitors watch more videos and read more articles. They spend three times more time on the site. Social media agency Rocket XL designed the campaign for the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. The idea is to get fans to tune in and engaged. On Dec. 31, the NHL will run its first promoted tweet on Twitter to promote the campaign. For example, if Sidney Crosby during the game gets a five-minute penalty the NHL may ask via Twitter: "retweet this message #winterclassic who just got a 5-minute penalty?" The first one to reply with the correct answer wins. The live portion of the campaign gets underway once the first goal is scored during the day of the game and the question gets tweeted on Twitter, Rocket XL will run the names from the tweets to determine the winner. Beginning Thursday, fans also can register to play by going to Facebook signing up and clicking on the "Watch And Win" tab. Fans come to Facebook to enter and upload a photo that could air on NBC the day of the game if they win. NBC will run on-air television mentions throughout the day such as during the Rose Bowl. NHL introduces the drive to Facebook in some of the 15-second Winter Classic TV spots airing now until game day. At various times during the game, a Facebook message will appear on screen selecting a lucky winner. The NHL will call the winner to answer questions related to the broadcast. If the winner answers correctly, he or she wins one of the prizes. The winning names and faces appear on NBC during the game. "Aside from looking at how people interact in social communities, this campaign will determine how to leverage fans to influence connections from offline to television to Facebook or Twitter," says Eric Vieira, associate director at Rocket XL.
For the first 49 days of the season, holiday e-commerce spending is up 12% year-over-year, according to comScore. So far, that amounts to $28.36 billion spent online. The week ending December 19 reached $5.5 billion in spending -- an increase of 14% year-over-year. "Spending growth has remained strong right through the final shopping weekend of the holiday season," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. Furthermore, the final shopping weekend before Christmas reached $900 million in retail e-commerce spending -- representing a strong 17% growth rate versus last year. "The growth rate of 17 percent witnessed during the final weekend capped off the heaviest online spending week of all time at $5.5 billion," Fulgoni added. "Although there are still nearly two weeks remaining before the end of the year, holiday spending is inching very close to the total for the entire 2009 holiday season, a sign of just how much the online retail landscape has improved in the past year." The positive numbers seem to follow negative spending forecasts released prior to the holiday season. While still better than last year, Deloitte's retail group in September expected total holiday sales to climb just 2% to $852 billion this holiday period, excluding motor vehicles and gasoline. At the time, Deloitte attributed its modest forecast to the continuing softness in both housing and employment, which is making consumers reluctant to spend. Meanwhile, earlier in the holiday, heavy promotional activity by retailers pulled demand forward, so comScore suggested that 13% growth rates could not be sustained throughout the season. Through the first 33 days of the November-December 2010 holiday season, ecommerce spending hit $16.8 billion -- a 12% increase year-over-year -- while Cyber Monday hit a record of just over $1 billion.
Newspapers surpassed broadcasters for the first time in the third quarter in total video minutes streamed and the number of video titles uploaded, according to the latest data from analytics firm TubeMogul and video-hosting service Brightcove. Newspaper sites had a total of 313 million minutes of video streamed compared to 290 million for broadcast sites. Meanwhile, the number of videos downloaded on newspaper sites surged 51% quarter-to-quarter (and 110% from a year ago) to 482,000, more than any other type of media company. "This is an interesting development, and suggests that newspapers are rapidly adopting and producing video content for what was once a print business," notes the TubeMogul/Brightcove report. It also noted that in contrast with longer-format content on broadcast sites, newspapers are producing many more, but fewer, titles on a rolling basis. That approach likely has more appeal for advertisers, allowing them to run more pre-roll spots more often. "Newspapers have a lot of battle scars from the digital crusades of the last decade, so they've become pretty tenacious when it comes to the Internet," observed Gordon Borrell, president of local media research firm Borrell Associates. A major part of that effort has been seizing on video in innovative ways to draw in online audiences. Because of concerns about cannibalizing TV viewership and ad revenue, broadcast companies have been more reluctant to embrace online video. Thanks in part to the influx of video ad dollars, newspapers for the first time in five years have actually gained share of local online advertising dollars, according to Borrell. "Not much, but enough for us to say that they appear to be turning the corner and evolving from 'newspaper' companies to 'media' companies," he said. Outfits like The New York Times and McClatchy Corp. will get about 25% of their revenue this quarter from digital compared to 5% to 7% for most broadcast companies. The TubeMogul/Brightcove study also showed Facebook's growing influence in online video viewing, surpassing Yahoo in referring traffic to online video content. Facebook now accounts for nearly 10% of all referred video streams, second only to Google, which accounts for more than half. But Google as a referrals source accounted for much higher engagement for newspapers at one minute, 57 seconds per session, compared to the category average of 1:27. "This suggests that viewers look to the search engine as a source for the most relevant breaking and timely content," stated the report. "Facebook was the most engaging referral source for entertainment categories, including broadcasters (1:57 ) and magazines (1:34). For brands, video referrals from Twitter provided the highest rate of engagement at 1:47. Twitter also accounted for the highest average engagement rate across all media categories, and specifically for broadcasters (1:57) and online media properties (1:40) as well as brands. Completion rates for video from brand marketers continued to climb in the third quarter, reaching 47%. That's up from 35% in the first quarter. Completion rates also rose for broadcasters (44%) and online-only media properties (45.9%). When it comes to devices, game consoles (such as the Wii and PlayStation) lead in average viewing time, at 2:45 per session, compared to 2:27 for online video and smartphones at about 2 minutes. This is not surprising, "considering that gaming consoles are currently the most common playback device connected to TVs and most closely replicate a comfortable lean-back experience," according to the study. Brightcove said it expects the disparity to grow as media companies make more content available to viewers through connected TV apps and game consoles.
Republicans may have won a landslide victory at the polls this fall, but when it comes to using cell phones to connect politically, voters were evenly split along party lines. That's among the main findings from a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project on politics and mobile use in the wake of the mid-term election. Among people using mobile phones to share election-related information in 2010, their votes went equally to Democratic and Republican congressional candidates, at 44% for each side. The political preferences within this group were a bit different but in line with the general population: 27% say they're Republican, 35% Democrat, and 32% independent. The partisan divide was further underscored by mobile users' views about one of the political season's most salient movements: the Tea Party. About a third (34%) said they agreed or strongly agreed with the Tea Party and 32% disagreed or strongly disagreed with its goals. Overall, about a quarter (26%) of adult U.S. mobile users turned to their phones to keep up with the election and politics and pursue related activities. Those actions included using cell phones to tell other people they had voted (15%), send text messages about the election (10%), monitor election results (4%), and use a politically oriented app (2%). Since this was the first time the Pew Research Center had asked about mobile use in a mid-term election, it had no comparable data. But in 2008, it found that 29% of text messagers had traded texts with others or with candidates, their campaigns, or other groups. Demographically, the mobile political user group skews more male than female, young than old, better off financially than less well-off, and better educated than less well-educated. African-Americans are also more likely than whites or Hispanics to be part of this segment. Not surprisingly, younger users were especially likely to extend political activities to mobile devices. For instance, 58% of those 18 to 29 used their phones to tell others they had voted, compared to 30% of 30- to-49-year-olds and 10% of those 65 and over. Because Democratic supporters tend to be younger than Republicans, there were also a few areas where those voting Democratic were more likely to engage in campaign-related activities on cell phones. For example, 36% of Democrat backers told others they had voted via mobile phone, compared with 24% on the Republican side. About a fifth of people (21%) who used their phones to participate politically ended up not voting in the election. Overall, 71% of cell phone owners said they voted in the 2010 election, compared with 64% of the full adult population in the survey who said they voted. Since the actual turnout was 40%, Pew noted that in post-election surveys it's common for a greater number of people to say they voted than was actually the case. The study's findings were based on a survey of 2,257 adults conducted in November.
Those receiving an email from Mark Zagorski will no longer see the signature tag "chief revenue officer" at eXelate after his name. As of Wednesday, it reads "chief executive officer" for the Israeli company headquartered in New York. So, MediaPost caught up with Zagorski by phone to ask the difference between CRO and CEO duties at the 30-person company, which focuses on data for online ad targeting based on consumer behavior or providing data management and tools for publishers. "When you're the CRO you can still point the finger at someone else," he says, jokingly. As the CRO, Zagorski handled just the business side of transactions. Now, as CEO, he oversees both the technology and the business strategy. Meir Zohar, eXelate's founder and former CEO, will remain as an executive for the company as he returns to Israel. There are plans to add about 30 employees in 2011. Research firm eMarketer projects a 10.5% increase in U.S. online ad spending next year, followed by double-digit growth every year through 2014, when spending will reach $40.5 billion. The focus in 2011 for the industry will become more relevant and higher-performing advertisements driven by data that is "privacy friendly and efficient." Zagorski believes the online advertising industry continues to grapple with an undervalued inventory ecosystem. "We need to clean that up," he says. In terms of the privacy issues related to data collection, Zagorski says "obviously the industry isn't getting out the correct message." Most of the 840 U.S. adult Internet users participating in a USA Today and Gallup poll study released earlier this week are aware that advertisers tap online browsing history to target ads -- but many oppose that tactic, even if it helps to keep content free. When asked whether advertisers should be allowed to match ads to specific interests based on Web sites visited, 67% said no; the remainder said yes. The bright spot for advertisers in this poll is that when given the choice, consumers prefer advertisers of their choosing to target them with ads. Advertisers need to become more direct when it comes to communicating with consumers. They need to say "hey, we're going to drop a cookie on you and in exchange for that to deliver more relevant content. Does that make sense to you?" Moving to a cleaner and content-driven Web driven by relevancy works better for both consumers and advertisers. If consumers really knew what happens with their data it wouldn't seem as nefarious to them, Zagorski says. "We're just capturing information and delivering ads based on their interests," he says. "If you ask consumers if they would rather have a bunch of punch-the-monkey ads without frequency caps and continually showing up on sites or something more interesting to them they would respond differently." Zagorski suggests the industry should launch a series of clever social videos to get out the message. In other words, the industry should eat some of its own dog food, tapping viral videos to inform consumers about privacy and data use. A television ad campaign wouldn't hurt either, Zagorski agrees, but larger companies with deeper pockets need to spearhead efforts. Aside from privacy, in the next year, the industry will see a growing focus on who owns the data.
They don't often have the same opinion, but net neutrality advocates and Internet service providers are in agreement that the Federal Communications Commission has created years of legal uncertainty by voting to regulate broadband carriers. The FCC still hasn't released the new rules, but officials have said that the order bans wireline providers from blocking or degrading content and from engaging in "unreasonable discrimination." Chairman Julius Genachowski said that unreasonable discrimination can include paid prioritization, or fast-lane treatment for companies that pay extra, but the extent of that restriction isn't yet clear. The order also bans wireless providers fom blocking sites or applications that compete, but doesn't impose a no-unreasonable-discrimination mandate on wireless carriers. Even though the substance of the rules offers wireless carriers a great deal of leeway, some Internet service providers still condemned the decision. They argue that the FCC's order could result in years of litigation because it's not clear that the agency is legally empowered to enact neutrality regulations. Verizon wrote on its blog that the FCC's "assertion of authority without solid statutory underpinnings will yield continued uncertainty for industry, innovators, and investors." The advocacy group Media Access Project, which criticized the rules as "riddled with loopholes," also said that the FCC's decision to proceed without first reclassifying broadband access as a telecommunications service "did not improve the chances for these rules in court, nor clarify the agency's authority to promote broadband deployment and adoption by underserved communities and populations." In addition, the two Republican commissioners also said that the rules might be shot down in court due to questions about the FCC's authority. To be sure, not everyone criticized the FCC's move. Comcast, for one, said the FCC's order marked a "workable compromise." Some neutrality advocates also said that the FCC's order is a good start, though they would like to see wireless neutrality rules as well. Still, many observers believe that the FCC's authority for its order is questionable, thanks to a decision made during the previous administration to categorize broadband as an "information service," subject to Title I of the Telecommunications Act. One reason why that order could prove problematic for the FCC now is that the agency has more power to regulate Title II telecommunications services than Title I information services. In fact, a prior attempt by the FCC to regulate broadband as a Title I service has already been shot down in court. In 2008, the FCC attempted to sanction Comcast for violating neutrality principles by throttling peer-to-peer traffic, but an appellate court vacated the move. That court specifically ruled that the FCC lacked authority to enforce neutrality principles because broadband is considered an information service. Given the ruling in the Comcast case, many neutrality advocates had urged the FCC to reclassify broadband -- or at least Internet access -- as a Title II service before attempting to enact rules. Earlier this year, Genachowski recommended doing so, but apparently retreated from that proposal. This week, Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps specifically expressed his disappointment that the FCC didn't take that route. "I pushed -- pushed as hard as I could -- to get broadband telecommunications back where they belonged, under Title II of our enabling statute," he said Tuesday in his prepared concurrence. "I continue to believe that a reassertion of our Title II authority would have provided the surest foundation for future Commission action," he added, noting that the FCC could still decide to reclassify broadband in the future.