Viacom and Google have been hit with three potential class-action lawsuits alleging that they violated privacy laws at Nick.com and NickJr.com. The lawsuits allege that Viacom and Google "developed, implemented and profited from cookies" that tracked video viewing by children. All three cases allege violations of the federal wiretap law, as well as the Video Privacy Protection Act. The latter statute prohibits video rental services from disclosing users' personally identifiable information without their written consent. The complaints, filed late last week on behalf of users younger than 13, are pending in federal district courts in the Southern District of Illinois, Western District of Missouri, and the Western District of Pennsylvania. All the lawsuits allege that Viacom discloses information about children's video-watching by allowing Google's DoubleClick to place cookies on computers of the sites' users. Google's DoubleClick cookie allegedly keeps records of the videos seen on Nick.com and NickJr.com and delivers targeted ads to children based on videos watched. While several recent lawsuits have alleged that Web companies violate the VPPA, these cases appear to mark the first time that companies have been sued under that law solely for placing tracking cookies on computers. Most of the other lawsuits alleged transmission of real names or pseudonyms that potentially could be linked to names. One pending case against Hulu involves the possible transmission of cookie-based information, but in that instance, the cookies allegedly were tied to registration data that includes real names as well as screen names. The lawsuits against Viacom and Google also are unique because they seem to be the first video-privacy cases to focus solely on users under 13. The VPPA itself makes no distinction between users over or under 13. But a different law, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, prohibits Web site operators from knowingly collecting personal information about children under 13 without their parents' consent. The Federal Trade Commission last week issued new COPPA regulations stating that "personal information" includes unique tracking cookies. But an FTC definition for purposes of one law -- COPPA -- won't necessarily apply in a lawsuit brought under the video privacy law, which defines terms differently. The VPPA says that personally identifiable information "includes information which identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from a video tape service provider." A Google spokesperson says the company has not yet been served and can't comment on the case. Viacom has not yet responded to Online Media Daily's request for comment.
Rachel Pasqua is vice president of mobile at digital agency iCrossing, where she works with clients including Toyota, Marie Claire and Slacker Radio. Prior to joining iCrossing in 2005, she was director of strategy at mobile media consultancy Consect. MediaPost recently spoke with her about mobile marketing in 2012, how clients approach mobile and what lies ahead next year. MP: What developments or trends in mobile marketing or advertising in in 2012 jump out? Pasqua: Elevated interest in using mobile for both brand and revenue-driven purposes. We do a great deal of search marketing. But we’ve seen a strong and steady increase as mobile becomes a bigger share of overall traffic to the brand Web site. MP: Where were clients most focused on? Pasqua: We have some clients this year that were interested in investing in the sexy stuff like Augmented Reality or experimenting with NFC (Near Field Communication), things more on the future-forward fringe. The biggest trend across the board was a lot of clients coming to us and saying we need to figure out our mobile strategy from A to Z. A lot of our clients -- at least a quarter -- have come to us and said -- we are going to redesign our site next year and we’re going to go the responsive [design] route. They ask for help in doing that and serving mobile users in the interim. MP: What about clients’ budget allocations for mobile? Much has been made of time spent outpacing ad spend in mobile by something like a 10:1 ratio. Pasqua: Theoretically, if you’ve got 15% to 20% of your traffic coming from mobile users, then clearly you’d think you’d be spending 15% to 20% of your media budget on trying to capture those users. The challenge is that users are looking at your site with a mobile device and then performing an online action on the desktop or an offline action in the store that can’t be tracked to that ad. So it’s not just a “cookie” problem. But it’s keeping brands from maximizing their investment in mobile to match the opportunity. MP: Because people aren’t making purchases on their devices after seeing an ad? Pasqua: If you know the customer is looking at your [mobile] site while in front of the shelf trying to make a decision, you can give them all the information they need to hopefully purchase your product. But if they’re picking it up and taking it to the register, there’s no way for you to measure that action. We need to come up with a different set of assumed metrics for that type of issue. To assign value to a mobile page view, a mobile unique visitor, a store locator request or a click-to-call. When it comes to media, we’ve been very spoiled by the trackability of online actions, and we don't have an easy way to track that mobile page view to the in-store purchase. MP: A number of digital wallet initiatives were launched this year that might eventually help close the loop on mobile purchases. Do you see NFC as the leading technology in that race? Pasqua: Personally, I’m a believer in NFC, and I was disappointed not to see it in this iteration of the iPhone. But I’m also not a believer in anything in digital marketing being a zero-sum game. NFC is going to make a strong push -- you can use Google Wallet almost everywhere you go now if you have Google Wallet. But I also think the Square model with proximity payments is really interesting. MP: Facebook made a much-publicized push into mobile advertising this year, and a new eMarketer report says it will end the year with the largest share of mobile display ad impressions. Does that make it a must-buy for clients in mobile? Pasqua: It’s too early to tell. Obviously, many -- if not all -- of our clients are invested in Facebook to some degree. It’s still the biggest social network and has a tremendous amount of traffic both domestically and globally. YSearch is still very intent-driven, so if you’re looking to reach new customers, that’s still the primary focus. MP: Do you have any big predictions for mobile in 2013? Pasqua: We’ll see an increase in brands using Passbook, and brands using mobile as a loyalty channel. I do think we’ll see overall spend in mobile increase, especially with brick-and-mortar brands, and increased interest in doing locally oriented and targeted campaigns. Whether it’s through something like shopkick or through Wi-Fi or geo-fencing, I’m see more interest in targeting to location and user preferences.
Google TV's lineup next year will be seen on LG electronics models in five screen sizes, including cinema screen. The extended LG TV offerings officially debut at CES in early 2013. Two model series -- GA7900 and GA6400 -- will be introduced in 42-, 47-, 50-, 55- and 60-inch screen sizes. The focus of Google's latest platform and LG's redesigned remote is allowing users to switch to a channel, station or site via voice control rather than clicking or scrolling. The quick PrimeTime guide is helpful when browsing LG Google's library of more than 1000,000 movies and TV episodes. The home dashboard also streamlines access to premium VOD, such as HBO Go, in addition to YouTube and various apps. Havis Kwon, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company, called the LG Google TV lineup a "stellar user experience," which merges the latest Google TV platform with Smart TV technology. 3D TV functionality is also a plus for gamers. The OnLive app is preinstalled, which eliminates the need for a separate console. The app makes video games available from the cloud. Smart TV devices include HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc Players and Network Home Theater Systems.
It isn’t a very cheery holiday season for the consumer magazine business, with yet another big title closing as the year draws to an end. Music mag Spin announced a few days ago that it will cease publication after 27 years of documenting the alternative, indie, and emerging music scenes. The magazine, which was recently acquired by Buzz Media, will continue to operate digital properties, including its Web site, Spin.com, Spin Play for iPad and Spin mobile. Like other music titles, Spin was hit hard by the rapid shift to Internet media consumption, especially among the young adults who typically dominate the audience for music mags. Over the course of the last decade, ad pages gradually declined from 661 in 2003 to 378 in 2011, a 43% drop, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. More recently, ad pages plunged another 40% from 287 in the first nine months of 2011 to 171 in the first nine months of 2012. On the circulation front, in the six months ending December 2011 (the most recent period for which data is available) Spin had a total circulation of nearly 460,000 down 15% from 540,901 in the same period of 2005, according to the Alliance of Audited Media, formerly the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Buzz Media had previously announced that Spin wouldn’t be publishing an issue for November-December 2012, making the previous (September-October 2012) issue its last. In a strange twist, print subscribers who don’t want to refund their subscriptions are being offered issues of Car and Driver. Indeed, there aren’t many rivals left that could substitute for Spin, following the closing of multiple music titles in recent years, although many still publish online. Blender was closed by Alpha Media in March 2009; hip-hop “bible” Vibe closed in June 2009, although it was subsequently revived. Paste shuttered its print edition in September 2010. Category founder Rolling Stone is still chugging along after some revamps, including a shift to a smaller trim size in October 2008. But like other music titles, RS is finding it rough going: Ad pages fell 11.9% to 618 in the first nine months of 2012, per the PIB.
Having been in and around mobile since 1997 — there was mobile messaging and early WAP or mobile Web back then — 2012 really struck me as a monumental year. Smartphones are no longer in their infancy—they are powerful computers in our pockets and purses. The consumer adoption has been dramatic across many demographic segments, not just the early adopters. With that in mind, 2013 promises to be even bigger, and there are many trends we’re anticipating as continued adoption, both by consumers and at the enterprise level, progresses. Continued and increasing fragmentation: The fragmentation of operating systems, devices and browsers continues. Apple and iOS used to be consistent, but now versions come more frequently, new sizes like the iPad mini add complexity to creating optimal experiences across devices and new feature integration means constant running by developers to stay ahead of the game. Android manufacturers each have their own flavor of the operating system and create device nuances to differentiate from competitors, which is great for consumers, but makes the backend challenging. T there’s HTML5, thought to be a panacea as a browser-based solution, but still no standards are in place, so, as Facebook realized, it’s not the be all end all. Bottom line: Apps are still ahead in 2013 and developers have their work cut out. More adoption on the enterprise front: Clearly, Blackberry is no longer the winner for business. Android and iOS have become entrenched in many organizations. IT groups are supporting BYOD (bring your own device), which provides great opportunities for businesses to increase productivity and save costs. Mobile and tablets are now seen as tools for efficiency, digitalization of documents (think sales materials, training, etc.) and more. This goes for both F1000 and SMBs. Bottom Line: The accessibility and proliferation of mobile by consumers has driven the message home for the enterprise as well. Mobile shopping and mobile payments will continue to increase dramatically: Signs were clear throughout the year and the holiday season has cemented mobile’s impact on retail and shopping. Consumers are using mobile as tools for discovery, price comparison and LBS to drive to local businesses. Smart retailers are staying ahead of the game by offering shoppers tools for better experiences, deals and to create loyalty. They are also deploying mobile devices to sales associates as a means to seal the deal, through highlighting products, upselling and easily accessing inventory. Bottom line: Mobile is now integral to both the buying and selling process. Mobile payments are also starting. and we’ll see more of this in 2013. Increasing adoption of augmented reality: Augmented reality is still an interesting story to tell from the marketing end. Brands can get more creative as the technology improves. Consumers now have the awareness they can use their phones to unlock information and entertainment via AR. That said, it’s still not very widespread, so we’ll see what happens. Bottom line: Augmented reality will have another year of experimentation. We’ll see more creativity and more adoption as consumer knowledge and easier access spreads. As we saw this year, mobile is becoming more a part of the fabric of our daily lives and this will continue in 2013 for consumers and business. It’s an exciting and ever-changing time for the industry. Mobile will continue to gain momentum and prove its efficacy for marketers.