Marketers need to better communicate how revenue acquisitions goals and results contribute to the companies' bottom- and top-line revenue growth, according to a recent study. The Forrester Research study commissioned by Marin Software says 83% of marketing participants believe their online advertising efforts are held accountable to revenue outcomes. Only 6% said their companies are less focused now on driving revenue from online ads than they were in 2011. And 80% expect revenue targets for online ad campaigns to increase slightly this year. Although marketers are aware that search contributes to a company's growth, data analysis needs to improve. "I can't tell you how many companies have their search marketing team in a little separate silo, or the CMO comes up from the display site of the business," said Matt Lawson, VP of marketing at Marin. "Search budgets are nearly half of the $98 billion online advertising marketing." Forrester expects brands will spend more than $33 billion on search marketing by 2016, up from $24 billion this year. More accurate ad targeting, followed by improved efficiencies in marketing operations and better campaign measurement, are the top three benefits of online advertising, marketers believe. Still, Lawson said many marketers sidestep processes, although most survey respondents said they take responsibility for revenue outcomes. Ad goals and metrics lack alignment, with nearly two-thirds of marketers admitting they are focused on driving sales, 65%, and leads at 64%. While marketers track conversions, their top metric is site traffic.
The Mobile Marketing Association and the Interactive Advertising Bureau have teamed up to introduce a set of mobile ad creative guidelines, aimed at simplifying the development of ad units across the industry. Released today for public comment, the "Mobile Phone Creative Guidelines" offer ad specifications for both standard and rich media units, as well as mobile Web and in-app inventory across feature phones and smartphones. The standard display units defined in the guidelines parallel those the MMA published in its updated Universal Mobile Ad Package rolled out last year. The new document provides additional instructions and tips for creative shops and publishers, such as submission lead time, labeling requirements, supported creative elements and best practices. For the first time, the IAB is also adding the mobile creative rules to its own Display Ad Guidelines. “This is an extension to the ongoing effort to help our industry be more efficient, and through that efficiency, we will see growth in higher returns and apply our dollars to what we know works and apply other dollars to innovation and what comes next,” said Michael Becker, managing director, MMA North America. Among other things, the guidelines call for ad creative to be clearly delineated from other page content so as to avoid confusion between advertising and editorial content. They also instruct ad images and landing pages should be mobile-optimized and not to use Flash assets. The submission time is three days for standard banners and five days for rich media units. Becker added that the creative guidelines could be applied to the half-dozen basic mobile ad types established, as well as other units. By joining forces on the initiative, the MMA and IAB aim to broaden adoption of the guidelines as widely as possible. “IAB members have long requested that we integrate mobile into our ‘Display Advertising Guidelines’,” said Anna Bager, vice president and general manager of the IAB’s Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence. “With these new guidelines, we’re giving marketers a direct pathway to consistently creating mobile ads that can produce strong results.” The deadline for public comment is Feb. 25. After that, the two trade groups will meet to evaluate the comments and make any necessary changes, and release a final version.
Powered by its Galaxy line of devices, Samsung set a record for smartphone shipments in a single quarter -- 63 million -- in the fourth quarter. That gave the South Korean manufacturer a 29% share of the global smartphone market -- up from 22.5% a year ago, according to new data from research firm IDC. Apple shipped 47.8 million iPhones in the quarter for a 21.8% share, down from 23% a year ago. Rounding out the top five smartphone vendors were Huawei (4.9%), Sony (4.5%) and ZTE (4.3%). The smartphone market overall grew 36.4% in the fourth quarter, with smartphones accounting for 45.5% of all handset sells -- the highest percentage ever. Samsung remains comfortably atop the overall mobile phone market, which grew just 1.9% in the fourth quarter to 482 million devices shipped. Samsung claimed 23% share in the quarter, followed by Nokia (17.9%) and Apple (9.9%), with China-based manufacturers ZTE and Hauwei taking 3.6% and 3.3% share, respectively. For the full year, Samsung in 2012 controlled 30% of the smartphone market -- up from 19% in 2011 -- and 23% of the total phone market, up from 19%. The South Korean tech giant separately on Friday reported that it earned a record $6.6 billion profit in the fourth quarter, up 76% from a year ago, while revenue rose 18%. While Samsung and Apple dominate the smartphone business, IDC analysts said the market still offers opportunities for new challengers like Huawei, which overtook LG in as a top-five vendor in the overall mobile phone market, and HTC in smartphones. At the same time, consumer tech and entertainment powerhouse Sony showed signs of a resurgence in the smartphone arena with its release of the well-received Xperia TL in the fourth quarter and two more Xperia handsets coming in the current one. Sony’s smartphone share in the fourth quarter reached 4.5%, compared to 3.9% a year ago. With the demand for smartphones slowing in developed markets, China is where the battle for new customers could increasingly play out. While Apple has lost ground to Samsung in the last year, IDC noted that iPhone shipments to China doubled in the fourth quarter. If Apple introduces a cheaper iPhone this year, as rumored, that would only intensify competition in emerging markets like China and India.
Calling all comedy creators. Digital production studio My Damn Channel is expected to unveil a network model today that will offer partners various distribution, promotional and monetization opportunities in exchange for a share of ad revenue. The launch of the so-called My Damn Channel Comedy Network also represents a concerted effort by My Damn Channel to acquire new content. Throughout 2013, the network plans to premiere hundreds of new comedy series on MyDamnChannel.com, as well as its corresponding YouTube channels. Founded by former MTV and CBS Radio executive Rob Barnett in 2007, My Damn Channel experienced significant growth in 2012. From 2011 to 2012, according to Barnett, the company saw a 300% increase in revenue; a 268% increase in videos produced; a 366% increase in YouTube subscribers; a 550% increase in U.S. YouTube views; and a 91% increase in total video views across all of its owned-and-operated sites. Barnett has appointed Eric Mortensen director of programming and acquisitions for My Damn Channel. Mortensen is joining My Damn Channel after six years at Blip, where he was senior director, content and network programming. “We’re investing in the team and the infrastructure,” Barnett said of the new network, and Mortensen’s arrival. My Damn Channel will share revenue with creators while providing them with distribution, promotion, marketing and social media support. Creators joining the new My Damn Channel Comedy Network will be expected to sign a nonexclusive, one-year licensing and distribution agreement to show their work on the company’s online properties.
Qualcomm is working to develop augmented reality for more complex 3D objects via affordable phones. The goal is to provide brands with a new revenue stream from virtual items that connect with the physical world. Jay Wright, head of Qualcomm's Vuforia augmented reality program, describes one example to Online Media Daily as virtual furniture for a physical dollhouse that kids can see through the eye of the camera on a smartphone or tablet. Success would require putting more mobile devices in the hands of consumers, which is why analyst firm Detwiler Fenton Group, Boston, suggests that Apple embed the company's Snapdragon mobile processor into its next low-end market phone. If the published report rings true, the deal would create a clean line to Qualcomm's augmented-reality platform Vuforia, which marketers at Sony, Johnson + Johnson, Audi, Lowe's and "Sesame Street" have been using to build mobile marketing campaigns. Wright said Vuforia allows the camera on the mobile device to become a human eye that recognizes shapes and objects. Developers build the feature into apps. "We believe you should have the ability to point your device at something to connect with more information," he said. "It's a way to support visual search, rather than typing something into a search engine." Developers and marketers downloading Vuforia for free have already created than 2,500 apps, up from 400 a year ago; more than half were done within the past six months. The brands have been developing campaigns on Android and iOS devices related to product and packaging. The program now allows brands to build in text recognition into the campaigns, according to Wright. Wright believes Vuforia can bridge the gap for in-store and online marketing departments by forcing discussions between previously competing groups. "We're turning print assets into digital store fronts," he said, as it's a way to sell merchandise from printed material like billboards, movie posters or pages in a magazine. Qualcomm releases calendar Q4 2012 earnings Jan. 30, after the market closes.
A 6-year-old dispute between Universal Music and a mother who posted a clip of her toddler dancing to a Prince song will proceed to trial, a federal judge ruled on Thursday. The battle centers on a takedown notice sent to YouTube by Universal. The music company initially claimed that the 29-second clip, which was uploaded by Stephanie Lenz and featured her 13-month-old dancing to "Let's Go Crazy," infringed copyright. Lenz countered that the short video was protected by fair use principles. Google agreed and eventually restored the clip.Lenz subsequently sued Universal, arguing that Digital Millennium Copyright Act imposes liability when companies send improper takedown notices. On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose, Calif. ruled that the case presented factual issues that can only be decided by a trial. But the decision also curbed the amount of damages that Lenz can potentially recover.One of the key issues for trial will turn on whether Universal acted in bad faith for sending a takedown notice without first considering whether the clip was protected by fair use. Lenz argues in the affirmative. She says that Universal's failure to consider fair use amounts to "willful blindness."Universal says the evidence already brought to light shows that the company did not act in bad faith.Fogel said the question needs to be resolved at a trial. "Lenz is free to argue that a reasonable actor in Universal’s position would have understood that fair use was 'self-evident,' and that this circumstance is evidence of Universal’s alleged willful blindness," Fogel wrote. "Universal likewise is free to argue that whatever the alleged shortcomings of its review process might have been, it did not act with [bad faith]."But Fogel also said that even if Lenz wins, the damages she can recover will be very low -- possibly no more than around $1,300, which represents reimbursement for legal bills related to fighting the original takedown notice. (The Electronic Frontier Foundation is representing Lenz for free, but Fogel says the group might still be entitled to recover legal fees for the time it spent countering the DMCA notice.)Fogel specifically rejected Lenz's theory that she was entitled to damages because her "freedom to express herself through video had been restricted." Fogel ruled that people can only recover damages when the government -- not a private company -- acts in a way that chills free speech.That portion of the decision makes it unlikely that other Web users will file lawsuits against content owners for sending improper takedown notices, says Santa Clara University law professor Eric Goldman. "If someone could show harm from having a video taken down, it might be worth it to consider suing," he says. "But those cases are going to be rare -- really rare."
The Oscars may be a month away, but advertisers are starting to digitally link with ABC’s coverage. A pair of advertisers -- University of Phoenix and Hyundai -- have top-line roles on Oscar.com and a related ABC app. The University of Phoenix is the presenting sponsor of a “My Picks” section on both properties, while Hyundai has the position for the “Nominees” area. Both are also running video spots online and on the app, which are sold by ABC. On the site, the University of Phoenix has an Oscar-themed display ad saying: “And the award goes to … you. For taking the next step in your career.” A third marketer, Samsung, has a presence on Oscar.com plugging its Galaxy line with a banner ad that clicks through to a Facebook entry point. Both Hyundai -- which is promoting a new crossover SUV -- and Samsung were advertisers in both the Super Bowl and ABC’s Oscar coverage in 2012. The awards ceremony this year takes place Feb. 24 and will be hosted by Seth MacFarlane. Studios with award nominees are also benefiting from Oscar.com, as their trailers can be viewed. Last year, reports had ad prices for the Oscar-cast at around $1.7 million a spot. Ad Age reports that this year ABC has been landing deals for up to $1.8 million.
Consumer concerns over companies adequately protecting their privacy on mobile networks and in apps are increasing, according to the latest “Consumer Confidence Index” from privacy solutions provider Truste. In a survey of over 2,0000 U.S. adults conducted in early January, 72% of smartphone owners in the group say they are more concerned about privacy on their phones than they were a year ago.Consumers also say that their content choices and consumption habits are affected by the awareness that their data may not be protected. Eighty-one percent of smartphone owners say they avoid using apps that they don’t believe protect their privacy. Harris Interactive conducted the research on Truste’s behalf. “It’s clear that mobile privacy is the latest hot button issue for consumers and legislators alike,” states Truste CEO Chris Babel. The increased activity in e-commerce and the proliferation of mobile phones is helping to keep privacy concerns high among consumers. The Index for 2013 finds that 43% of U.S. consumers do not trust companies with their personal information, an increase of two points since last year’s survey. Persistent concerns about the privacy issue are down slightly since last year, with 89% saying they worry at least sometimes about the problem (down from 90% last year). But 89% of respondents said they had concerns about their online shopping activities, 87% about using social networks and 86% of online banking customers were concerned about the issue some of the time. September 28 has been declared “Data Privacy Day” by the National Cyber Security Alliance, a non-profit organization with board members from AT&T, PayPal, Google and Microsoft. A series of live and Webcast events will take place today on the topic. Truste’s Chris Babel will be speaking at the Online Trust Alliance’s Data Privacy Day Town Hall in Seattle. Facebook Live will be broadcasting the kickoff events surrounding Data Privacy Day beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Online advertising and marketing tech company SteelHouse announced that brands that used their “Real Time Offers” technology saw a 21% increase in click-through rates and quadrupled conversion. SteelHouse’s announcement gets added to a long list of companies that have had recent success using real-time media. “Relying on only standard display and retargeting ads to message our potential customers doesn’t cut it anymore,” stated Caitlin Romig, digital marketing lead at Rosetta Stone. “The market has changed.” With that changing market is a shift to real-time media. SteelHouse’s success is just one example of “real-time” getting “real big.” OpenX received $22.5 million in new funding earlier this month. Rocket Fuel announced a 238% revenue increase for 2012 last week. Nexage also reported big numbers last week after seeing 171% growth from its real-time bidding platform in 2012. The list goes on. Mark Douglas, president CEO of SteelHouse, believes that 2013 will have more companies looking to tap into the real-time market. He stated: “This will be a big trend in 2013 -- marketers finding their gold mine [data] and building campaigns that integrate rich media using their existing content, and launching them into the right sequence of channels at the right time using one channel to reinforce the other.” Essentially, Douglas predicts companies being able to use big data in real-time to press all the right advertising buttons across multiple channels. Of course, that sounds a lot like the predictions from January 2012. But if 2012 was an indicator as to what 2013 holds in store for the real-time marketplace, next year at this time we will be writing about every company announcing big profits from real-time media...again.
It is embarrassing, and a bit perplexing -- and admittedly a bit satisfying -- to watch the Coca-Cola Co. twist in the wind. How else would you describe the humiliation of running a TV commercial that begins like this: “For over 125 years, we've been bringing people together. Today we'd like people to come together on something that concerns all of us: obesity. The long-term health of our families and the country is at stake. And as the nation's leading beverage company, we can play an important role."Awk-ward, like the church pastor trying to explain the corpse in the trunk of his car. Sure enough, what follows is a bunch of double-talk of the usual kind. In fact, to be precise, it is double-talk that for decades was of the tobacco-industry kind. “We've created smaller, portion-controlled sizes for our most popular drinks, and will have them in about 90 percent of the country by the end of this year…. We support programs like the Boys & Girls Club of America that enable young people to get active and start healthy habits early.” Oh, please. Magicians and street grifters call that “misdirection.” The Atlanta headquarters has been madly issuing press releases now for years to make the case that they are part of the solution, but they are just making fools of themselves and all of us. Not because they are evil, but because the circumstances are as absurd as they are tragic. Coca-Cola has spent 127 years and cultivated the world's most valuable trademark by selling sugar water, mainly to the satisfaction of everyone. The flagship brand is delicious and refreshing and inexpensive and fantastic with food. No -- spinach it ain't, but neither is it a narcotic. A few empty calories never hurt anyone. The problem is that a lot of empty calories, especially in children, have resulted in a national epidemic. No need to break out the epidemiological data here. Let's just agree that the obesity and diabetes statistics are alarming. We can also agree that soft drinks are legal products, which consumed in moderation are essentially benign. Not only is a Coke not coke -- it is not tobacco, which is physically addictive and carcinogenic. On the other hand, we are not speaking of moderation. We are speaking of immoderation. We are speaking of Super Big Gulps and two-liter jugs. We are speaking of habituated users consuming insane quantities to wash down Big Macs and Doritos and Popeyes -- a direct result of socioeconomic shifts of the past 30 years in perfect synchrony with Coca-Cola marketing. Oh, yes, that -- the elephant in the room: the single-minded focus of every Coca-Cola manager to increase per capita consumption everywhere in the world. No brand manager is in the moderation business. Here's an attaboy that has never been attaboyed: “Flat sales in North America this quarter, Tom? Good job! Let's see if we can make that curve slope downward in Q3, okay?” And that's the Coca-Cola problem -- just as it is the McDonald's problem, the Frito-Lay problem and the Mars problem. Junk-food manufacturers are huge beneficiaries of the worst health choices of the society. They make the crap people want and sell as much of it as the market demands, and it is making the nation sick. While nobody should be blamed for merely offering junk, surely at some point brands must take responsibility for profiting -- knowingly and eagerly -- from dietary abuse. But how? Ah, this is where the agonizing spectacle comes in. It is nearly impossible for these companies to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders while also seriously addressing public-health concerns. Indeed, to have an impact, there are but two things Coca-Cola can undertake -- one more costly than the other. The first is to cease using high-fructose corn syrup in sugared drinks and return to the less abundant, more expensive cane sugar. The other is a full-throated labeling effort -- along cigarette-pack lines -- that says something like: This single can of Coke equals an hour on the StairMaster. Use your head. There's a water fountain over there. Yeah. That's what economists call “suppressing demand.” Yet, for the long-term health of the company, those are exactly what the company should do. It won't be long before governments begin regulating against HFCS as a dangerous food additive; there is a first-mover advantage for the company that makes the change first. And in the Relationship Era, maximum transparency pays. The days are over when you could win reputation points by running smarmy commercials and writing checks to the Boys and Girls Clubs. The public knows the difference between conscience and window dressing. It also knows what a bind Coca-Cola is in. Till now, the anger is not especially widespread, and as New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg discovered by targeting Big Gulps, there is little sentiment for a nanny-state solution. But we live in a socially mediated world. If Big Cola continues to like Big Tobacco -- i.e., defensively and disingenuously -- the tide of public opinion will quickly turn. In fact, the online backlash to the Coke ad has already begun. Phony declarations of “bringing people together” will be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but that will come in the form of a mob. P.R. palaver won't generate sympathy. Honesty will. The time has come for radical truth. I'm pretty sure America would rather buy its sugar water from the brand that calls a thing by its name.