Category results for "Industry-Research"

Industry Research

Intimate brands are strong financial performers

October 13, 2015 DCN

Brand loyalty is the Holy Grail in the quest for profitability. In fact, marketers, content creators, social media strategists, sales teams, designers and creatives depend on this essential consumer relationship for a strong business performance. In MBLM’s Brand Intimacy 2015 Report, which examines brand relationship, it found that top ranked intimate brands outperform major financial indices in profit growth and revenue growth over the past 10 years. This year’s report includes 54,000 brands and responses from 6,000 consumers in the U.S., Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.

Interestingly, among intimate brands there are six patterns present to some degree that identify the character and nature of ultimate brand relationships: Fulfillment (service quality exceeds expectation), Identify (aspirational or admired values), Enhancement (becoming better through use), Ritual (habitual behavior), Nostalgia (memory focused) and Indulgence (pampering). Consumers build relationships with brands Using and identifying with these patterns.

MBLM’s defines brand intimacy as an essential relationship between a person and a brand. It provides brands with the propensity to share experiences and when intimacy is achieved it results in lasting value. Measuring and understanding brand intimacy can also inform what time, what message, what media and how often a brand can connect effectively with its customers.

Overall, in the U.S. one-quarter of people surveyed (15%) have intimate brand relationships. Further, consumers under age 35 tend to have emotional relationships with technology, entertainment and retail brands, while those over 35 have stronger connections with consumer packaged goods. In terms of brand intimacy across categories, automotive industry ranked highest, retail ranked second and health and beauty ranked third; travel and leisure was the poorest performing category.

Brands are also ranked based on a Brand Intimacy Quotient. The quotient is based on prevalence and intensity (sharing, bonding, fusing). In other words, the quotient demonstrates how a brand performs relative to its ability to create brand relationships. The quotient score enables comparisons to other brands in the same category.

In the U.S. within all categories, the top three intimate brands were Apple #1, BMW #2 and Toyota #3. Within the entertainment category, Disney ranked #1, Nintendo #2 and Xbox #3 and in technology, Apple ranked first, Samsung ranked second and Google ranked third. Importantly, building emotional bonds and measuring brands can lead to new and untapped business opportunities.

Exploring the Internet of Things in 5 charts

October 13, 2015 Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director – DCN

According to Forbes, a new rule for the future is going to be, “anything that can be connected, will be connected.” Given the widespread availability of broadband internet, ever more devices are being created with built in Wi-Fi and sensors. Today, just about anything with a power switch can be connected to the internet—with all of the context, content and data that comes along with it.

Here’s a look at this “Internet of Things” (IoT) in 5 charts:

According to analysis from Business Insider Intelligence, more than 18 billion devices will be connected to the Web by 2018.

The IoT has a total potential economic impact of $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion a year by 2025 according to McKinsey&Company.

The IoT opens a range of new business opportunities for a variety of players according to strategy&, the consulting team at PwC. These opportunities tend to fall into three broad strategic categories, each reflecting a different type of enterprise: Enablers, Engages, and Enhancers.

According to Gartner, security and identity issues represent major IoT roadblocks. Managing identities and access is critical to the success of the IoT. However, traditional techniques cannot provide the scale or manage the complexity that the IoT requires from the enterprise.

The IoT is among the top marketer priority areas, according to Millward Brown Research conducted on behalf of Kentico Software.

Industry-Research

Instant messaging use rises as more people opt for closed platforms

October 7, 2015 Research Team—DCN

The popularity of instant messaging (IM) has soared over the past year, with a 12% uplift in daily usage as more people opt for closed messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Viber. Over half of internet users worldwide (55%) are now using instant messaging every day, while 76% are using it on a weekly basis, according to Connected Life, a study of over 60,000 internet users worldwide from global research consultancy TNS. Despite this, social platforms are still rising in popularity with a 6% uplift in daily usage. As people’s online habits become ever more fragmented, TNS asserts that brands need to tap into the growing popularity of IM and other emerging platforms. The research shows an increased need for a content-driven approach across IM, social and traditional channels.

Among TNS’ key findings:

The US still lags the ‘mobile-first’ markets with 35% of US internet users using IM every day, but is catching up quickly (up 10% compared with 2014).
Instant Messaging (IM) is particularly dominant in emerging “mobile-first” markets, with daily usage rising even higher in markets like China (69%), Brazil (73%), and South Africa (64%).
Facebook has maintained its position as the world’s favorite social platform; almost one third of global internet users (30%) say they use it every day.
Facebook’s dominant position among US internet users is even stronger at 53%, followed by YouTube (26%), Instagram and Twitter.
TNS found that although IM users are wary of brands interrupting them, they are more concerned with how content they share impacts their own image.

TNS data reveals that consumers are even more connected to each other, and across multiple platforms. While IM popularity is rising, traditional social media platforms are still holding strong, allowing content to go viral more quickly. The challenge, says TNS, is for brands to create content that consumers actually want to share.

Industry-Research

Sports fans are twice as likely to watch sports on TV than on the Internet

October 6, 2015 DCN

Television is still the primary and preferred platform for viewing sports reports Frank N. Magid Associates in their study conducted for ONE World Sports. In fact more than three-quarters of sports fans (77%) stated that they often (“often” or “every chance I get”) watch sports on television versus 37% of sports fans that stated they often watch sports streamed online.

With many sports fans cutting the cord to pay-tv, viewers are shifting to alternative platforms. In fact, half of broadband subscribers (51%) cut the cord to a pay-tv subscription more than 5 years ago and another 25% cut the cord within the past two years.

Interestingly, while TV still dominates sports viewing, more than half of sports fans (57%) reported that they watch sports streamed online. Top ranking platforms for viewing appear to stack up according to screen size and accessibility with computers at 37%, followed by over-the-top (OTT) to a TV at 26% and tablet and smartphone both at 25%.

The study and findings appear consistent with television and digital viewing patterns of sports related content. Live-event viewing is a must for sports fans and now there are options to watch it live on the best screen available.

Industry-Research

Wearable developers say biggest challenge is lack of information on consumer usage

October 2, 2015 Research Team—DCN

Two-thirds of wearable app developers reported that the greatest challenge they faced as first movers was the lack of information and research available on how, when, and for what consumers would use wearable technology, according to research by Clutch, a source of reviews on application development companies. Clutch spoke with experts from 15 businesses with experience designing and developing for a variety of wearable platforms. To gain insight into the development process, Clutch’s research aimed to identify the challenges encountered and the steps taken to overcome them.

In addition to a notable lack of information about how consumers use wearables, the developers interviewed also revealed four additional development challenges:

8 out of 15 emphasized the incompatibility between the perceived ideal uses for wearables and the technological capabilities of the platforms.

8 out of 15 referenced the difficulties involved in designing and developing an application before the release of the wearable device.

7 out of 15 claimed that the small screen space on most wearable platforms limited applications’ features and functionalities for the user.

4 out of 15 explained how the necessity of troubleshooting on a new platform lengthened the development process.

Clutch’s interviews also explore related topics, such as the trends shaping the future of wearable technology, the motivating factors for engaging with wearables, and the lessons learned from the design and development process. In addition to an infographic, Clutch published 16 in-depth examples of how these businesses applied the new technology to accomplish specific goals.

Industry-Research | Perspectives

Digital news audiences shift to mobile as platform widens margin vs. desktop

September 30, 2015 DCN

The rise of mobile among digital news audiences has been swift and relentless, and in just the past half year has gone from being neck-and-neck with desktop audiences to nearly 50% greater. How has mobile been able to surge ahead so quickly, and what are the implications for digital media economics as audiences shift?

To better understand the audience dynamics in today’s digital news environment, I conducted an analysis of leading digital news properties along with Andrew Lipsman, comScore VP of Marketing & Insights. We pulled together a selection of 25 leading news publishers, which ran the gamut from traditional print publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post to digital-first news entities like Buzzfeed and Vox, and computed their average audience and engagement metrics across desktop and mobile, app and mobile web.

As the above graph shows, the average number of desktop unique visitors to news sites was moving more or less in tandem with the average number of mobile unique visitors until late 2014. At that point there began to be a noticeable divergence in the two curves. As mobile unique visitors continued to quickly rise, desktop unique visitors softened. These opposing trends have continued on through June, indicating that more and more people are choosing to get the news on smartphones and tablets rather than on desktop.

Is Mobile Now Cannibalizing Desktop in the News Category?
The question arises whether it’s fair to suggest that mobile may finally be cannibalizing desktop. But first, some good news: on balance, news audiences are growing overall because the huge gains in mobile audience are substantially outweighing any softening on desktop. So in theory, this should be a boon to the digital news business because bigger audiences should translate into more ad or subscription dollars.

But the economics are not that simple. If mobile ad CPMs are, on average, lower than desktop ad CPMs the potential for cannibalization is real.

What is actually happening in terms of content audiences and engagement? The metrics below suggest that cannibalization might indeed be happening. When we looked at the six-month period beginning December 2014, which marked the start of the trend divergence, desktop news experienced a 13% drop in average audience while mobile news jumped 14% during that span. We also observed a 5% drop in desktop news engagement while mobile engagement jumped 21%.

Mobile is picking up the slack for desktop, and then some. And while desktop is in no real risk of cratering, it’s clear that audience growth today is coming from mobile and that digital news organizations should be pointing their strategy in the direction of that opportunity. This begs another important question as to what is the best path for mobile growth: apps or mobile web?

Apps vs. Mobile Web: Which Matters More to News Publishers?When a news consumer reads a New York Times article on their phone, are they more likely to do so via the newspaper’s app or on the mobile web, and which access method drives more overall consumption of content? The answer is while the mobile web is a much more important driver of audience, apps have a disproportionately high impact on engagement.

The graph above shows that an overwhelming majority – 93% – of these news publishers’ mobile audiences come from the mobile web rather than from an app. This is likely because many people get their news fix by way of social referral, particularly on Facebook and Twitter. This has the positive benefit of expanding news brands out to new audiences, but many of these “drive-by” visitors are more promiscuous with their news consumption. Loyalty is generally not their forte.

On the other hand, while apps comprise an average of just 6% of the 25 news properties’ mobile audiences, they account for nearly half (45%) of the time that audience spends with those properties. So although news apps may not be the most popular access method, their audience is clearly engaged in a way that the mobile web audience is not.

Someone who absently scrolls through their newsfeed on their phone and opens an interesting story only to close it moments later, might also open the New York Times app and spend a considerable amount of time cycling through each section. How they arrive at that content matters, and how they feel about that brand before engaging with the content determines how much time they’re likely to spend with it. “The mobile browser on a smartphone is a point of convenience,” Dow Jones’ chief innovation officer said recently. The app, on the other hand, “is the place where you discover engagement.”

But – and this is a big but – it’s not enough for a publisher to simply get their app on someone’s phone. The app must also occupy that hallowed real estate – often the homescreen – where users are more likely to engage with it. This is easier said than done. However, there are many clever strategies out there that publishers have yet to employ or even yet to discover.

Jacob L. Nelson (@JNelz) is a doctoral student in Northwestern University’s Media, Technology, and Society program and spent the summer working as an intern at comScore. A former journalist, his research looks at news consumption and media metrics.

Industry-Research

Two out of every three digital minutes are spent on mobile

September 29, 2015 DCN

Consumers’ digital usage continues to increase its concentration in mobile. According to comScore’s 2015 Mobile App Report, mobile phones now account for two out of every three digital minutes or 62% of time spent online, up from 51% in 2013. In contrast desktop usage only accounts for 38% of digital time, down from 49% two years ago. Further, mobile users spend more than 44% of their digital time using smartphone apps.

Mobile App usage is the key driving force in the overall growth of digital media. In fact, nine in 10 minutes spent on mobile are spent on a mobile app. Smartphones apps have a slightly higher share of total minute at 88% versus table apps at 83%.

It’s not surprising that Facebook and Google own eight of the 10 most-visited mobile apps among unique visitor, age 18+. Facebook leads with nearly 126 million unique visitors and close to half have installed the app.

Interestingly, millennials’ mobile usage time is dominated by social, video, music and communications. They spend on average almost 26 hours a month on Facebook, 7 hours on Instagram, 6 hours on Snapchat and Tumblr each and 3.5 hours are spent on Twitter.

The millennial audience is the most engaged digital audience spending an average of two hours a day on social and entertainment apps, more than any other demo. In fact, half of all time spent on smartphone apps is spent on the person’s most used app and approximately 60% usage for tablets’ most popular app.

ComScore also reports mobile ads to be quite effective with 2-3x greater point lifts with regards to aided awareness, favorability, likelihood to recommend and purchase intent. Mobile ad effectiveness can be attributed to mobile ads placement in a less ad clutter environment and also the immediacy to a point of purchase.

Mobile offers publishers a unique opportunity to expand their brand across platforms. It’s also a key opportunity to attract millennials as long term and engaged users.

Industry-Research

Video effective for content marketing despite challenges

September 24, 2015 Research Team—DCN

Video is proving to be one of the most effective types of content marketers are using to achieve their objectives. However, according to research released by Ascend2, challenging obstacles continue to hinder video marketing performance. To examine these challenges, Ascend2 fielded the Video Marketing Strategy Survey and completed interviews with 280 marketing, sales and business professionals from around the world.

Increased brand awareness (47%) and online engagement (45%) top the list of objectives for a video marketing strategy followed closely by improving consumer education (43%) and increased lead generation (41%).

Video marketing is rated very successful at achieving important objectives by 25% of companies and another 60% rate it somewhat successful. A total of only 15% say that they are struggling to achieve success with video marketing.

Lack of an effective strategy is the most challenging obstacle to video marketing success according to nearly half (48%) of companies surveyed. A strategy with sufficient resources and budget to produce compelling content are critical to successful outcomes.

Lack of compelling content is a top challenge for video marketers due in many cases to the degree of difficulty required to create some types of content. The most difficult types of video content to create are customer testimonials, project reviews or case studies.

The report found that more than half of respondents say their video content marketing budgets are increasing marginally (51%) while only 18% predict a significant increase.

Industry-Research

Building consumer trust in digital brands

September 22, 2015 DCN

It is essential for digital publishers to understand what key factors connect user satisfaction and brand trust and monitor to ensure growth of user engagement. In a Neustar sponsored study, conducted by The Ponemon Institute, a leader in cyber security research, three key components were identified to be influencers of online trust.

The first factor connected to digital brand trust is accuracy. According to more than 9 in ten respondents (91%) inaccurate content causes users to lose trust in a website. Further, inaccurate content goes beyond just getting the information wrong, it also includes misspellings, broken links to content or outdated offerings. In addition, advertising that interferes with content (55%) and ads that redirects users to sites they don’t want to see (52%) also has negative effects on a website’s brand.

A second component involved in a site’s brand trust is stability. Eighty-eight percent of the respondents identified a site’s downtime as a trust eroding practice. Also a site’s general usability and its capacity to work with different browsers, plug-ins and flash are important to the perception of a site’s stability.

Lastly, website security is an important feature connected to a site’s brand trust. Both the speed of overall site performance and page downloads are related to security concerns. More than three-quarters of respondents (78%) reported that security concerns them when a site performs slowly. Further, 67% of users lose trust in a website when its pages take a long time to download. In addition, close to two-thirds of respondents (63%) report distrusting brands whose data was breached.

As consumers spend more time online, monitoring accuracy, stability and security is key to delivering an exceptional brand experience.

Industry-Research

Smartphones can tell when you are bored

September 15, 2015 DCN

Given today’s information and sensory overload, capturing someone’s attention is a high commodity. Researchers at Telefonica Research in Barcelona, Spain recognized that peoples’ attention are available when they are bored. And most often, when people are bored, they turn to their cell phones. This is why the researchers developed a machine-based learning model that detects when mobile phone users are bored and pushes content to them.

The researchers identified usage patterns that were indicative of boredom and confirmed the specific behaviors patterns were related. This data was then used to predict patterns of boredom; the predictions were correct 83% of the time. Interestingly, they also noticed the more bored the participants, the more likely time had passed between the participants sending and receiving phone calls, SMS, or notifications. Importantly, users were significantly more likely to open and engage with content pushed to them on their mobile phones when the model predicted them to be bored.

These findings have major implications for future applications in being able to predict when a user is bored couple and knowing a user’s location could provide content in relation to specific context. New apps are already being developed along these lines. As well boredom detection could be a great way for publishers and marketers to know when to push content or messaging for it to be most receptive.

Industry-Research

Twitter: a major news hub

September 11, 2015 DCN

New research from the American Press Institute supports Twitter’s role as a real-time news network for social media users. Approximately nine in 10 users (86%) report using Twitter for the news with nearly three-quarters (74%) using it daily for this purpose.

Interestingly, nine in 10 Twitter news users get their news by either scrolling through their timeline or looking through tweets they follow. Close to three-quarters of Twitter news users (73%) follow individual journalists, writers and commentators and 30% report getting their news from trending topics.

News publishers incorporating Twitter into their game plan will find it valuable. API recommends that journalists are active on Twitter and focus on the present with live events and breaking news. Offer new angles to storylines and know that sports and politics work well on Twitter. Use hashtags only when related to breaking news since most hashtags draw small followings and ensure your tweets are mobile friendly. Eight in 10 Twitter users are accessing via their smartphone with almost three-quarters (72%) using its mobile app.

Overall Twitter users tend to be younger (median age 36) than the average social media user (median age 46). Almost half of Twitter users are single (49%) and 22% are likely to be married. More than half of Twitter users (57%) have a college degree or higher.

Industry-Research

Data Key to Digital Ad Revenues

September 9, 2015 Research Team—DCN

As the number of screens and ad impressions continue to proliferate, advertising dollars are moving from traditional to digital environments with Forrester predicting that overall digital display advertising dollars will grow from an estimated $20 billion in 2015 to $38 billion by 2019. Publishers’ ability to leverage real-time data will be key to capturing their share of the digital ad spend. According to a commissioned study Real-Time Data Analytics: Empowering Publishers to Make Better, Faster Decisions, which was conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of PubMatic, 67% of publishers – large and small – believe that real-time data is important to their efforts, and 62% find that it leads to an increase in revenue, yet only 27% report receiving data in real-time.

Among the key findings from the research:

Real-time data drives publisher growth.
However, the vast majority of publishers do not receive their data in real time.
As publishers grow, so, too, does their appetite for data and their need for analytics and insights that are actionable.
Aggregating multiple data streams into one holistic view remains a challenge.

On behalf of PubMatic, Forrester conducted a survey of 110 media analytics professionals responsible for revenue management and decisions for analytics reporting tools. Sixty of the surveys were from US media and publishing companies, while 50 were from the UK. For the purposes of this paper, small publishers are defined as those with fewer than 500 employees, representing 43% of the respondent base, and large publishers are those with 500 or more employees, representing 57% of the total respondents.