Digital

The growth of mobile advertising is slowing spending directed toward desktop ad formats faster than expected, according to new figures from eMarketer, raising the question of whether spending on desktop formats like search and banners will ever grow again.

The magazine industry’s ad spending revenues for print only continue to decline, with eMarketer estimating in March 2013 that the format would contract by 0.4% this year and would not start growing again until 2016.

Millennials—defined for eMarketer purposes as those ranging from 18 to their early 30s in the US—are individuals who are generally not yet settled into lifelong patterns of consumer behavior. Coming of age amid the Great Recession, they are apt to seek low prices rather than favorite brands, according to a new eMarketer report, “Millennials in the Marketplace: A Generation Moving on Its Own Unpredictable Path.”

TV shows and long-form content have drawn the bulk of attention and much of the ad dollars in digital video, but a shift may be underway toward short-form videos. Consider these findings from the most recent FreeWheel report on video consumption habits.

Four of the six industries growing their digital ad spending at or above overall market rates are retail, financial services, consumer packaged goods (CPG) and travel—the result of increased focus on direct response advertising, as well as branding, through digital channels.

With the close of the 2013 Digital Content NewFronts and the Broadcast Upfronts, the dialogue surrounding the efficacy of various video platforms to reach today’s consumer is at an all-time high, yet many still challenge the vitality of digital content in the marketplace. Starcom USA released the results of its own study to uncover how consumers respond to streaming original content versus television content.

As mobile video consumption continues to surge and prove its effectiveness as a marketing vehicle, there is a demand for a clear, actionable framework that unifies the ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA)released a lexicon of definitions and milestones for mobile video advertising.

The online video advertising ecosystem has gained both prominence and complexity, but that might be because buyers have found that the ads really work. A March 2013 survey of US advertising agency executives conducted by online video ad platform BrightRoll found that the vast majority of respondents (75%) said online video ads were equally or more effective than traditional TV. Nine out of 10 also thought online video ads had equal or greater impact than display ads.

Device fragmentation is a tenacious problem for content providers and advertisers. The rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets, the growing popularity of internet-connected TVs and the promise of web-enabled everyday devices like watches and eye glasses means digital content will need to be served to an ever-increasing number of screens, according to a new eMarketer report, “Responsive Design: A Solution for Publishers, a Question for Advertisers.”

More media buyers are putting online display and search dollars to ads served to consumers based on their previous digital behavior. Media-buying platform Chango found that in February 2013, over half of media buyers surveyed in the US, Canada and the UK planned to increase their investments in site, search and Facebook Exchange (FBX) retargeting.

For the first time, a Spanish language ad has become one of the Top 10 most viewed ads on YouTube.

Dubbed “Aroma de Amor,” the web-only Spanish-language novela seeks to connect with consumers while entertaining them with original content, the company notes. Featuring love, friendship, and royalty wrapped into a storyline that puts Gain front and center, the novela features actors Melvin Cabrera, Gabriela Vergara, Fernanda Romero, and Angie Russian.
BY Adam R Jacobson, for HispanicAd.

Social networking sites have grown more important in recent years as a venue for political involvement, learning, and debate. Overall, 39% of all American adults took part in some sort of political activity on a social networking site during the 2012 campaign.