CBS has launched a new iPad app offering access to content from its local TV, radio and online properties in 24 major markets nationwide, including the top 10. The free “YourDay” app also features content from CBS-owned sites such as Chow.com, CNet and CBSSports.com. Ezra Kucharz, president, local digital media at CBS, unveiled the iPad app at a conference as the latest example of the media giant’s efforts to ramp up local digital initiatives. During the last two years under Kucharz, CBS has revamped local media sites, extended content across online and mobile platforms and pushed to integrate digital sales specialists with traditional TV and radio sales teams within its 30 markets. Citing comScore data, Kucharz said that from 2010 to 2011, monthly average unique visitors on local CBS Sites are up 43%, total listening hours for streams are up 20%, and total listing hours per session is up 18%. He also noted that as of last month, the number of monthly mobile visitors (including via tablets) has more than doubled since October 2010. CBS local properties across TV, radio, online and mobile reach a total audience of 83 million a week, said Kucharz. He attributed that total to the company’s focus on “quadcasting” or streaming content across all four outlets. On the financial side, local digital revenue has increased 40% from 2010 to 2011, and 20% excluding expenses, said Kucharz, without disclosing actual dollar figures during his presentation. He also noted that margins have increased 2,000%. One of the key strategies has been to consolidate separate Web properties in a given market into one local online hub. In New York, for example, different sites for WCBS-TV (Channel 2), WFAN, 1010 WINS and WCBS 880 were combined into one property -- CBSNewYork.com -- leading to traffic gains beyond the total of the combined audiences for the four properties. Kucharz said CBS has now replicated that approach in 25 markets. The changes have been heavily guided by user data, with new or updated sites launched when only 80% or 90% complete to begin gathering information about usage immediately. “We pour gasoline on the fire of things that are working and shut down things that aren’t,” said Kucharz, who added that CBS’ digital overhaul has not involved a big technology investment. But the company has beefed up digital sales efforts. Kucharz didn’t specify how many of CBS Local’s 1,700 ad sales people focused on digital, but said it has adopted a hybrid approach to sales. “We have a number of over-the-air sellers who are really good at selling digital, so they sell both,” he said. Others continue to sell mainly traditional TV and radio spots, while still others focus mainly on digital sales. Using that integrated model, digital ad revenue increased 50% last year, while local commerce (directories, local offers, e-commerce) went up 200%, said Kucharz. Another key internal change Kucharz highlighted was removing local authority over digital operations. “We have the digital teams leading the activities, with the news and program directors involved, but the program and news directors don’t call the direct shots on sites, because the sites aren’t just about news anymore -- they are about different types of content,” he said. That includes non-news offerings like local daily deals and music streaming from CBS’ 130 radio stations. In that vein, the company last month launched its Audio Roadshow app, which encourages people to tune into Mike Francesa’s show on WFAN and allows users to offer instant feedback on segments and submit their own 10-second audio clips. Kucharz said the initial response has been strong, with listeners submitting an average of 150 audio files per show and the average segment poll drawing 2,000 votes. More locally focused digital properties like the new YourDay and Audio Roadshow apps will be rolled out in the coming months, he added. In a forecast presented earlier at the conference Wednesday, Borrell predicted that local online ad revenue will grow 21.1% from $16.4 billion in 2011 to $19.9 billion this year. Over the next four years, that total will grow at an annual average rate of 11.2% to $27.9 billion in 2016. Pure-play Internet companies accounted for the largest chunk of local online ad dollars last year, with 46.2%, followed by newspapers (24.7%), directories (12%) broadcast (12%), radio (1.8%), and cable/satellite (1%).
Banyan Branch, which bills itself as a full-service social media agency, just got a little more full service. It has launched a media buying practice that will focus on paid social media ads to amplify and compliment the work on social media programs that it does for clients. Banyan has hired two media agency veterans to run the new practice, including MEC’s Matt Haynes, who has been named director of social strategy and media planning, and Kerry Antezana who has been appointed director of agency services. At MEC Haynes was most recently social media lead and media director at MEC Interaction. Antezana was creative director at JWT Inside before opening a consultancy in 2010. In addition to buying, the new unit will plan out purchase strategies and do post-buy ROI analytics. Commenting on the new buying practice, agency president Blake Cahill stated, “Brands need to amplify their social campaigns, and paid social ads provide an effective and measurable approach for extending reach and increasing interaction with a target audience.” The launch of the new buying practice comes after a recent round of Series A funding in the amount of $1.7 million for the agency. The Seattle-based shop also recently a hired a new senior vice president of client services, Jennifer Blank Hecht and two new account directors. The shop’s clients include Amazon, Fox, Gilt Groupe, Microsoft, Porsche and T-Mobile. Investors in the agency include Bob Gay, CEO and co-founder of Huntsman Gay Global Capital, Bill Bryant, venture partner at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Geoff Entress, venture partner at Voyager Capital, among others.
Charging into the next phase of online advertising, a bevy of companies will begin to roll out platforms and services that integrate offline data with online to improve ad targeting across the Internet. Companies like The Weather Channel began offering data related to weather to improve product selection and ad targeting. Kenshoo, Proclivity Media, and others will soon integrate offline check-in and sales data with online search and other activities. Kenshoo, a digital marketing software company, will roll out tools that allow advertisers to combine check-in services with search and social data. Geoffrey Shenk, a managing director for the company, shared details with MediaPost and a handful of OMMA Global attendees who joined the conversation. CMO Aaron Goldman briefly mentioned the service and ability to add performance data in December. Shenk said the product ties into application programming interfaces, a source code specification, from Facebook, Foursquare and others allowing Kenshoo to pull in data to its search platform. It ties physical intent to search queries to connect the physical world with the virtual. It will also attempt to identify and combine electronic-wallet purchases from platforms like Google Wallet. A check-in on a mobile device, ad pixel and cookie in the browser helps Kenshoo's technology identify intent through a path to conversion of clicks and swipes. In this case, consider the conversion a check-in -– which Shenk called "pixel-less." The search could take place on the desktop or mobile. A unique ID that comes from Kenshoo ties it together. Near field communication, the technology supported in Google Wallet, will become the next "big thing for advertisers," Shenk said. It's a topic that Michael Liard, director of the Automatic Identification Business Practice at VDC Research, will highlight at the Search Insider Summit in April. Kenshoo isn't the only technology company building platforms that support online and offline data. David Kenny, chairman and CEO at The Weather Channel, during Tuesday's keynote at OMMA Global in San Francisco, described how several retail stores use the data to build statistical models to determine what should go on sale for the weekend based on the weather. Then there is Proclivity Systems. The company will rebrand to Proclivity Media within a couple of weeks when it launches a private ad exchange called FLX that offers the integration of offline and online data. Sheldon Gilbert, Proclivity's CEO, said the company is working with advertisers to buy media based on customer transactions in stores. The strategy aims to help advertisers better understand those customers looking for specific products by using a brand's or a retailer's online and offline data. The benefit comes from knowing that a 30-year-old woman recently bought a black dress and metallic gold purse at Nordstrom before serving an online ad for another product or service she might want.
Adding to development of tools and metrics across traditional TV and new digital media, Viacom says it has adopted a new data management program to help marketers follow its cross-platform buys with the media company. Using Adobe Audience Manager, Viacom says it is launching "Surround Sound," which will track and scale media buys across nearly 100 million TV homes and more than 80 million unique visitors via its digital platforms. It can also reach mobile and email users. "Surround Sound" will be available cross-platform -- on-air, online and mobile platforms -- for Viacom Media Networks, including MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land and Spike TV. Chris Robison, senior director, advertising solutions, Digital Marketing Business, Adobe, noted the AudienceManager value is providing "a single view of all its data assets." "Surround Sound" uses proprietary, anonymous first-party data from Viacom, as well as anonymous data from industry partners. It focuses on demographics, geography and purchase behavior. The service affords advertisers the "sustainable, scalable ability to reach very specific consumers across every screen we program," said Jim Perry, head of advertising sales for Nickelodeon Group for Viacom Media Networks. Recently, Nielsen teamed with Group M to develop cross-platform metrics for marketers that can calculate the reach and frequency of consumer targets of media buys across traditional TV and in the online digital space.
Rather than cannibalize “old media,” some online activities can actually boost viewership. In particular, new research shows that social media can significantly increase consumers’ TV time. A majority (58%) of heavy engagers -- i.e., consumers who share related thoughts via social networks at least 10 times a week -- report watching more live TV, according to an iModerate Research Technologies study. Adam Rossow, vice president of marketing at iModerate, says there are several reasons for the synergy. “The respondents in this study consistently remarked that it makes TV more fun,” he said. There is also “the desire to keep up with the conversation” -- especially if and when someone becomes recognized as an online authority on a particular show or genre. An increasing number of viewers also "love the social interaction and frequently add shows to their viewing lineup due to social chatter,” Rossow notes. “That adds up to more time spent on social networks and more hours watching television.” Among some 150 males and females who engage in what Rossow calls “social TV” at least once a week, the emerging behavior has also made these viewers into more active consumers and influencers. To that end, one-third of respondents said their primary reason for engaging in social TV was either to give feedback to the television network or to show support for their television program. What sort of consumers are participating in social TV? iModerate found three specific types, which it groups as “The Spots Nut,” “The Extrovert” and “The Girlfriend.” Sports nuts are 25-54 males who partake in social TV primarily for “big games.” They post more than five times a week on social media and enjoy debating sports, talking trash, celebrating and venting about their teams and showing off their sports knowledge. Extroverts are 18- to-34-year-old males who have a vast network of virtual and personal friends. They make new friends online in chat rooms. By posting about social TV, they consider social friends to be “real” friends. Finally, “the girlfriend” is a 25-44 female who mainly engages in social TV while watching dramas and reality shows. According to iModerate, she relates deeply to her favorite shows and looks forward to the “girls’ night out” aspect of interacting with them through social TV. The study also found that beyond giving feedback and supporting their shows, individuals engage in social TV to be relevant and recognized, be part of a community, maintain relationships, and have virtual “hang out time” with friends.
adCenter, Microsoft's paid-search marketing platform for Bing, has made some improvements to the system: automated bid recommendation analysis, targeting features. location-based options and click-to-call for mobile. While some features have already rolled out, brands will begin seeing others this week across both Bing and Yahoo. Yahoo and Microsoft product development teams spearheading the search alliance, along with an advisory board and joint customer forums, continue to drive the future of paid-search advertising for the duo. In Q4, Bing experienced 15% year-on-year click-through growth, according to Craig MacDonald, senior director of product marketing for Microsoft adCenter. MacDonald, who joined the Microsoft team earlier this year from digital marketing and platform company Covario, said the collaboration among companies is better than he had expected. Search engine marketers will get a better glimpse into improvements when companies like IgnitionOne, Marin Software, Kenshoo and others begin releasing paid-search market share this quarter. Microsoft will roll out new adCenter functions this week that give advertisers more control over URL match types. Other than assigning unique destination URLs for each keyword match type in the same ad group, advertisers can assign unique parameters, such as creative, keyword set, and match type. Advertisers also gain access to a targeting feature that lets advertisers create keywords with greater reach than phrase match. It offers control through modified broad-match keywords to help advertisers up clicks and conversions. The tools now provide advanced location options to target consumers by physical location and/or intent. A function built into adCenter called Share of Voice Analysis enables advertisers to view the clicks and analyze missed opportunities, comparing performance to the competition. It automates recommendations for bid-strategy changes in paid-search ads. In February, adCenter integrated the ability to add click-to-call telephone numbers in ads for mobile. This year, Microsoft will advance the Yahoo alliance into France, Germany, and Asia, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA). The company also continues its mobile partnership with Nokia.
IMM Interactive has agreed to pay more than $1.3 million to settle charges that it duped consumers by creating fake news sites touting acai berry as a weight-loss supplement, the Federal Trade Commission announced. The company, formerly Intermark Communications, also promised that it won't make future misrepresentations to consumers, such as presenting marketing copy as news reports. IMM also promised to keep a tight rein on affiliates in the future. Among other terms, IMM agreed to require affiliates to submit any marketing materials to the company for vetting. IMM also said it won't pay affiliates for any leads or sales if it uses marketing materials that have been disapproved. The company did not admit wrongdoing. IMM is one of nearly a dozen companies sued by the FTC last year for allegedly using fake news sites to sell acai berry. IMM allegedly also recruited a network of affiliate marketers, who created at least some of the fake sites. With names like “News 4 Daily,” the fake sites often included names or logos of major TV and cable networks, in an effort to trick people into thinking the posts were broadcast on television. The sites carried "articles" claiming that that reporters who tried acai berry lost 25 pounds in four weeks, the FTC alleged. The FTC also said on Wednesday that a second online marketer, Coulomb Media, reached a settlement with the FTC over fake news sites. Coulomb, which also didn't admit wrongdoing, agreed to a $2.7 million judgment, with all but $170,000 suspended. In January, the FTC announced that it had reached settlements with six other online marketers it sued for using fake news sites to sell the supplement.
That dip in overall Web usage and worldwide productivity you just felt is likely to be merely the effect of Angry Birds Space finally dropping into app stores today. The long-awaited major follow-up to the highest-profile mobile entertainment hit of them all appears on the major platforms from Rovio. While the first time Angry Birds launched on mobile it was the humble wannabe among many other gaming apps, now it is arguably the only mobile-endemic media brand ever to become iconic. Now the Angry Birds franchise is visible in everything from pistachio commercials to the skull caps we just saw being sold in San Francisco’s Union Square near this year’s OMMA Global. News Corp’s TheDaily even created a custom publishing project around the development of the sequel. The “Special Edition” of TheDaily “Birds in space” on iPad reports on how Rovio came to find another level of game play by reimagining their irked feathered friends in low-gravity worlds. Rovio is the Finnish game company that released Angry Birds in 2009, but the company dates back to 2003. It claims that Angry Birds has been downloaded over 700 million times, and paid versions account for a quarter of those installs. It was among the first games to demonstrate how touch interfaces and physics invited new conceptions of game play and interactivity with the new kinds of digital screens. The Rovio plan has been to develop the birds into franchise icons along the lines of Nintendo’s Mario or Disney animated film characters. Last year the game aligned with the animated film release Rio, where it integrated a game clue in the studio’s Super Bowl ad. A new line of merchandise includes t-shirts, branded toys and books. It has marketing partnerships with Barnes & Noble, will open branded retail stores in China soon, and plans a theme park in the UK, according to a report from Reuters. For those who are not opening their app markets and stores this second to experience the game for themselves, Rovio released one last trailer this week teasing the game play.
The large, lush, feature-rich iPad as we have known it will continue to enjoy a leading position in the market in the short term. But emerging markets and a demand for lower-cost and smaller units worldwide will ultimately tip the momentum away from the high-end iPad, says ABI Research in a new report. The company says that despite Apple ruling the U.S. and other Western markets right now, there are already 220 tablet models in the market. Tablets priced under $400 will drive the greatest growth, and will take 60% of the market by 2016. “The majority of new entrant media tablet models have been in the sub-$400 segment that focuses on growth markets like India and China,” says Jeff Orr, group director, consumer research. For now, however, what are being called “wide aspect display media tablets" (i.e., the current iPad) accounted for 75% of the worldwide market in 2011. ABI says the most growth will come from screens between 7 and 9 inches. IDC made a similar prediction last week when its analysts found Apple share already down to 54.7% and momentum behind Android-powered, cheaper and smaller competition. IDC cited tablets in some international markets starting at $120. According to some estimates, Amazon Kindle Fire sold between 4 million and 5 million units in late 2011, demonstrating a hunger for inexpensive -- if smaller -- devices.
Received a recent Mother Jones story link in an email from a dear friend the other day. The story examined a perceived rise in misogyny. The lead, of course, featured Rush Limbaugh’s recent attack on Sandra Fluke, but later in the story, the author speculated that the perceived rise of misogyny might be owed to the suddenly public nature of everything and everyone, thanks to the Internet. With the possible exception of my pre-teen daughter, all the women I know are more than capable of defending themselves, so I won’t even comment on any perceived rise in misogyny -- or on any of the talking-head buffoons on either side of the political spectrum. Except to say that nothing is profane when everything is profane. But here’s what I replied to my friend. “Don't know if misogyny is on the rise. Then again, why not? Seems like everything else is (except peace of mind). Seems to me that we tend to find whatever it is we're looking for nowadays, at least online. But isn't the whole point of search engines to justify the query, however spectacular, base or banal? "Google pornography and you'll find a universe of nothing but pornography. Google misogyny and all you'll find are articles and videos about misogyny. Either way, we sleep with dogs and wake up with fleas. “Fast information, like fast food, always comes at a price: the ancient Vedic Seers observed several thousand years ago that we have a tendency to become our attention. Dreams -- they knew for certain -- are powerful. Perhaps the pursuit of everything at once, all the time, simply leaves no room at the end of the day for civility. Perhaps freedom of speech will die as it becomes too expensive to sustain.” Real freedom of speech is far too politically incorrect and chaotic to sustain for the biggest TV and online networks, and political correctness is a poor surrogate for civility, a ham-handed attempt to enforce values in a culture that traded them years ago in a massive drug deal for 24/7 access to reality TV and all its online derivatives. That’s why we find whatever freedom of speech still remains on TV so far up the dial these days, and buried so far off the beaten path online. Generally speaking, the farther up the dial we go, the less political correctness and the more freedom we encounter. Civility, of course, ended more than a generation ago, with the arrival of MTV. But that’s what happens when we hand the keys to the kingdom over to a generation too young to remember Barney Fife. Then again, why bother to remember anything when we can Google everything then proclaim ourselves as instantly knowledgeable and wise? As the Egyptian King Thamus told the god Theuth, the proud inventor of writing (and lisps): "Those who acquire it will cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful; they will rely on writing to bring things to their remembrance by external signs instead of by their own internal resources. What you have discovered is a receipt for recollection, not for memory. And as for wisdom, your pupils will have the reputation for it without the reality: they will receive a quantity of information without proper instructions, and in consequence be thought very knowledgeable when they are for the most part quite ignorant. And because they are filled with the conceit of wisdom instead of real wisdom, they will be a burden to society.” Civility, like freedom, is a casualty of our addictions to all things media, an unfortunate concession to the digitally scaled conceit of wisdom.