US Business Elite Embraces Online Media

To meet their information needs, American senior executives have become voracious users of all media channels — including online video, blogs and podcasts — according to a study by Ipsos MediaCT, MarketingCharts reports. The Business Elite Study explores the media habits, attitudes, opinions, business and personal purchasing habits of America's "C-Suite," surveying executives and C-Suite […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Consumers Increasingly Turn to 'Net for Auto Insurance

15 percent of respondents to a comScore survey say they purchased their current auto insurance policy online — a gain of three percent from last year, comScore said (via MarketingCharts). Traditional agents recorded a corresponding decline in market share, decreasing three percentage points to 53 percent of total policies purchased, according to the 2008 […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 5/13/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Real estate search site Trulia has built its own ad network, which may be valuable for advertisers pursuing local ad opportunities. ABC has introduced the "advertising value index," which tracks how well commercials perform on a given platform. Agencies and Marketing Execs: Digital shop Enliven will merge with DG FastChannel, a production and asset management […]

Posted: Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

Radius Incorporates User Reviews in Display Advertising

BazaarVoice has unveiled a partner program, Radius, which ports customer comments and reviews into online ads. Radius gives firms access to an open API which enables clients to syndicate comments and reviews from product pages, then include them in display ads or other units. Content can also be ported to comparison shopping sites. BazaarVoice said Radius will […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

Mother's Day 2008: Men Will Spend More Than Women

Men plan to spend more than women this Mother's Day, with an anticipated average "spend" of $170 compared with women's $110, according to a Brand Keys survey, writes MarketingCharts. The survey, part of the Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, asked 1,200 men and women (age 18-65) how they planned to celebrate Mother's Day. Higher gas prices and subsequently […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

Online Channels Work Well for Large Retailers, Less So for Others

Consumers cite the web as the fastest-growing retail channel by a 2-to-1 margin. They are also starting to expect more from businesses, including the ability to order products in one place and pick them up — or have them delivered — elsewhere, according to a Retail Systems Research (RSR) report, MarketingCharts writes. Large retailers (those […]

Posted: Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Online Shopping More Appealing as Gas Hits New Highs

One-third (33 percent) of online US adults are more likely to shop online, rather than at a store, because of high gas prices, according to a Harris Interactive study conducted for iCongo - writes MarketingCharts. Some highlights from the study: Incentives Consumers give various other reasons they would be more likely to shop online as opposed to a […]

Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2008

New Releases Now Available to Rent or Own on iTunes

Apple announced it will begin selling new release films on iTunes. The deal includes inked signatures from Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Sony, and New Line Cinema — which currently also deliver rentals to iTunes users. The relationship is a fresh grievance for Wal-Mart, whose DVD division is expected to suffer. In February, […]

Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 5/1/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: MediaBank released v2.0 of its analytics platform, adding widgets and other new formats into the system, and decreasing reliance on manual information entry. One True Media is adding Spot Mixer, a DIY video ad creation tool, to its arsenal. Google might relaunch MeasureMap, a blog analytics service it has quietly owned, as an add-on […]

Posted: Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Text-Based Discounts May Spark Impulse Buys for Fashion Mag Advertisers

Hearst Magazines has added ShopText technology to a slew of its publications, including Redbook and Seventeen. ShopText enables readers to text product keywords to a number in exchange for coupons or samples. Hearst has been using the system in select titles since 2006. ShopText keywords were particularly powerful among CosmoGIRL readers. The technology is a baby step […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Top Canadian Web Rankings Issued for March

Google Sites again edged out Microsoft Sites for top position among web properties in Canada, according to comScore'S Media Metrix March 2008 rankings of the largest, fastest-growing Internet properties and site categories in Canada, MarketingCharts reports. Canadians focused on their finances in March. Online trading, tax and personal finance sites gained as visitors prepared to […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 30th, 2008

Mother's Day Gift Spending: This Year, Less is More… Common

84 percent of US consumers will celebrate Mother's Day, but most will scale back on number of gifts and instead purchase one major gift. Participating consumers will spend $138.63 ($0.51 less than last year) on average, according to the National Retail Federation, MarketingCharts writes. "Mom has been saying for decades that it's the thought that counts […]

Posted: Monday, April 28th, 2008

Industry Buzz & Snippets: 4/24/08

Ad Networks and Analytics: Adap.tv launched OneSource, the first "universal" video ad platform for multi-site video publishers. Broadband Enterprises has signed on as the exclusive provider of video overlay ads to ScanScout. Behavioral targeting firm Phorm could run afoul of online security firms if they decide Phorm's cookies are adware. So far, no one has made that claim. Gorilla […]

Posted: Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Consumers Use Social Media to Vent about Customer Service

To make purchasing decisions, affluent online consumers use social media channels to share customer-service experiences and learn about others', according to a new study from the Society for New Communications Research, MarketingCharts reports. Some 59% of survey respondents use social media to "vent" about customer-care experiences. Over 300 active internet users participated in the survey, sponsored […]

Posted: Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Amazon's Q1 Sales Rise to a Creamy 37 Percent, Wall Street Still Skeptical

Buttressed by sales in the US and overseas, Amazon's 1Q08 sales reportedly rose 37 percent. Earnings for the quarter approached $143 million — 34 cents a share — from $111 million — 26 cents a share — in 1Q07, beating Wall Street expectations of a 32-cent-per-share profit. Revenue hit $4.14 billion from $3.02 billion during the same […]

Posted: Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Newspaper Ads Drive Online Research, In-Store Purchases

Print newspaper ads reach people at all stages of the buying cycle, inspiring web research at the beginning, and prompting in-store/web purchases at the end, said the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), citing a Google study (via MarketingCharts). Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo conducted the study for Google. "Newspaper advertisements drive readers to the web, where they search, […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

British Lawmakers Levy for 'iPod Tax'

The UK music industry is pushing for a tax on music uploaded to portable devices like iPods, reports The Globe and Mail. The so-called "iPod Tax" would tax users that port music from a personal computer to a portable music player, even if they purchased that music in CD form or on iTunes. It is the […]

Posted: Friday, April 18th, 2008

Consumers Return to Online Shopping Sites That Embrace Web 2.0

With consumers continuing to spend briskly online, and social websites aggregating ever-larger numbers of participants, the twain - online shopping and social networking - may finally be meeting, according to a nationwide survey from Guidance and Synovate, writes MarketingCharts. In the new survey, more than 60 percent of respondents report being drawn to online retailers […]

Posted: Friday, April 18th, 2008

CA Considers State Tax on Digital Downloads

California is making moves that could lead to taxation of digital download purchases such as music and movies, reports CNET. State Democratic Assemblyman Charles Calderon recently introduced a bill that would bring "digital property" under the umbrella of taxable items. The rules were previously only applicable to physical items. While the bill was defeated this time, Calderon […]

Posted: Thursday, April 17th, 2008

Top 50 Web Rankings Issued for March - Yellow Book Network, MLB.com Gain

Yahoo beat back Google in the neck-and-neck race for top US web property honors, as traffic increased to online radio, gambling and retail-healthcare sites, according to a comScore Media Metrix monthly analysis of US consumer activity at online properties in March, MarketingCharts reports. Top 50 Properties (Unique Visitors) Among the highlights: The top 10 properties maintained their […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 15th, 2008