Number of Social-Network Users in Latin America Doubles in '07

The number of social network users in five major Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico) more than doubled from Jan. '07 to to Jan. '08 - it was up 103 percent - according to an Analytics 2.0 analysis, using comScore data (via MarketingCharts). During the same period, the number of US Hispanic […]

Posted: Friday, April 11th, 2008

ZenithOptimedia Ad Forecast: Boom in Developing Markets, Gloom in West

In its first ad expense forecasts of '08, ZenithOptimedia downgraded combined growth forecasts for North America and Western Europe from 4.4 percent to 3.8 percent, as the credit crunch drains consumer and business confidence, reports MarketingCharts. Growth continues to strengthen elsewhere. Zenith increased its 2008 forecasts for the rest of the world from 10.9 percent […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008

To Reach Hispanic Boomers, Advertisers Must Look Beyond Language

Hispanic Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) represent about 10 percent of the US Boomer segment — over 7 million consumers — but cannot be segmented by language alone, a Focalyst study concludes (pdf), MarketingCharts reports. "Marketers need to look beyond language and understand the demographic, attitudinal and behavioral differences within the Hispanic Boomer market […]

Posted: Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Carat: 6.0% Global Ad Spend Growth in 2008, 4.9% in 2009

Carat issued revised forecasts for global advertising expenditures in 2008, lowering them marginally, to 6.0 percent from 6.2 percent in September last year. Aegis's media-buying unit also published forecasts for 2009 and issued separate data on Canada, Central and Eastern Europe and the Nordics, writes MarketingCharts. In 2009, ad spend is predicted to grow of 4.9 percent […]

Posted: Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

Social Network Sonico Quietly Sweeps South America

Launched in August 2007, Buenos Aires-based Sonico is the latest social network to build a userbase of millions. The site targets the South American market and has over 8 million users, according to TechCrunch. Available in Spanish, Sonico recently launched a Portuguese version to better address the rest of South American users. According to Alexa, the site […]

Posted: Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

YouTube to Invade Latin America's Mobile Units

Latin America's top wireless operator, America Movil, announced its users will soon be able to watch YouTube videos on its phones, reports Reuters. YouTube access will appear on 3G phones in Mexico before broadening to other parts of Latin America. The service hits Brazil in the first quarter of this year. YouTube has local sites in 15 […]

Posted: Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

875MM Consumers Shopped Online, Up 40% in 2 Years

Over 85 percent of the global online population has used the internet to make a purchase, increasing the market for online shopping by 40 percent in the past two years, according to the Nielsen Global Online Survey on internet shopping habits, reports MarketingCharts. Globally, more than half of internet users have made at least one purchase […]

Posted: Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Ad Spend to Increase Nearly 7% to $479B in '08

Global ad spend in measured media will reflect 6.8 percent year-over-year gain, reaching $479 billion in 2008, compared with 2007's 6.0 percent YOY increase, according to GroupM's This Year, Next Year study, writes MarketingCharts. That forecast growth rate is unchanged from GroupM's previous estimates, though at the time global spending was forecast to reach $462 billion. Television […]

Posted: Monday, January 28th, 2008

Influential World Citizens Just Not Happy with Big Corporations

Most of the world's most engaged citizens say large companies wield too much influence on government decisions. Furthermore, they want aggressive action against the activities and influence of national and multinational corporations, according to a new Ipsos survey. The poll of 22,000 people, covering 22 of the world's leading and burgeoning powerhouse economies, finds the most active, […]

Posted: Friday, January 4th, 2008

Yahoo Lands Search Deal with Grande Latin American Carrier

Yahoo is partnering with Latin America's largest mobile phone company, America Movil, to provide mobile web services in 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to Reuters, Yahoo's oneSearch service will become the default on Movil's wireless carriers' portals. Yahoo plans on rolling out localized versions of oneSearch for each region. Mexico City-based America Movil […]

Posted: Friday, December 21st, 2007

Wal-Mart to Deploy Multi-Ethnic Three Kings for 12 Days of Christmas

At Wal-Mart stores with a large Hispanic consumerbase, don't be startled to find three multi-colored holiday entities bearing candy and gifts for children after Christmas. Those would be Wal-Mart's ethnicity-neutral Three Kings. Called the Epiphany in the Catholic church, many Latin American countries don't exchange gifts until Jan. 6, the 12th day of Christmas. This is when […]

Posted: Thursday, December 20th, 2007

QuinceGirl Allies with Terra to Better Target Young Latinas

Considering the size of the Hispanic population, Quinceaneras — elaborate debut parties for 15-year-old girls — are increasingly embraced as a cross-border cultural trend with significant ad and revenue-generating potential. In response, Terra has formed an alliance with QuinceGirl.com to share bilingual content and create advertising packages, reports MediaBuyerPlanner. The Terra sales team offers targeted media packages […]

Posted: Wednesday, December 19th, 2007

US Hispanics' English Fluency a Matter of Education, Generation, Exposure

US-born Hispanic adults have immigrant parents that tend to be fluent in English (88 percent are fluent), while their foreign-born parents tend not to be (23 percent are fluent), according to a new analysis of six Pew Hispanic Center surveys of more than 14,000 Latino adults, reports MarketingCharts. Later generations of Hispanic adults are fluent in […]

Posted: Monday, December 10th, 2007

US Ad Spend to Grow 3.7% in '08, Up from 2.8% in '07; Global to Grow 7%

Advertising spending in US measured media is expected to increase almost 4 percent in 2008 compared with 2007, when spending is expected to increase 3 percent, according to a new study from GroupM, MarketingCharts reports. Worldwide spending is expected to go up 7 percent in 2008, after an anticipated 6 percent increase in 2007. The study, This […]

Posted: Wednesday, December 5th, 2007

Consumers Would Partner with Brands for Social Change, Environment

85 percent of consumers worldwide are willing to change the brands they buy or their consumption habits to make tomorrow a better place. And over half (55 percent) would help a brand "promote" a product if a good cause were behind it, according to a nine-country survey of consumers, reports sister site MarketingCharts. Also, 88 percent of […]

Posted: Monday, November 19th, 2007

U.S. Leads 'Dirty Dozen' Spam-Relaying Countries in Q3

Over the third quarter, the US (again) relayed more spam than any other nation, accounting for a massive 28.4 percent of all the world's spam emails sent through compromised computers, according to the latest Sophos study of the top 12 spam-relaying countries, reports MarketingCharts. Mexico book-ends the list at number 12, having relayed 1.9 percent of […]

Posted: Tuesday, October 30th, 2007

Business Travel Demand to Outpace Capacity, Drive Up Rates in '08

Demand for business travel services will again outweigh supply in 2008, driving rate increases for air travel, hotels, car rental and corporate meetings and events, according to (pdf) the American Express annual Global Business Travel Forecast, writes MarketingCharts. Hotel rates, in particular, will soar with double-digit increases in demand-heavy markets across the US, Europe and Asia, […]

Posted: Monday, October 29th, 2007

Social Networking's Explosive Growth to Plateau in Five Years

Global active memberships in social networking sites are expected to reach 230 million at the end of 2007 (including multiple memberships by users). Revenues from social-networking services should reach $965 million, growing to $2.4 billion by 2012, according to a new report, writes MarketingCharts. But growth in social networking will plateau worldwide by 2012 — and earlier […]

Posted: Wednesday, October 24th, 2007

Zune Launches Custom Player for Reggaeton Fans

While Apple dedicates specialty iPods to U2, Microsoft's Zune shoots for the Latin market with a customized Zune for reggaeton act Wisin & Yadel. The limited edition Wisen & Yadel Zune will hit Wal-Mart stores nationwide Oct. 29, according to Reuters, and will feature a new album by the duo, as well as videos, photos and […]

Posted: Monday, October 22nd, 2007

comScore Debuts Worldwide Search Market Report, Asian Engines Hot

Some 61 billion online searches were conducted worldwide in August. Google was the top global search property and more than 750 million people age 15 and older — 95 percent of the world's internet audience — conducted 61 billion searches (an average of over 80 searches per searcher), according to comScore. comScore's qSearch 2.0 service reported on […]

Posted: Thursday, October 11th, 2007