Spur Interactive

Like many, I receive numerous industry email newsletters every day.  I tend to skim each edition and see if there’s anything worth noting or acting upon.  I thought others might like to read the cliff’s notes and take a look at what I think are the most interesting / relevant notes for my business.  So… here goes!

Internet Accounts for 33% of Daily Media Consumption (Pew Research)
According to Pew Research, U.S. adults have nearly doubled their daily use of the Internet. The average U.S. adult now spends 3.8 hours per day on the Internet, compared to 2.1 hours per day in 2006 (81% increase). The Internet now represents 32.5% of the typical “media day” for all U.S. adults when compared to daily exposure to newspaper, radio, TV and outdoor advertising. Even those who are considered heavy newspaper readers spend about as much time online today as the typical U.S. adult. According to the report, heavy newspaper readers, those who spend more than one hour per day reading, spend 3.7 hours online.  Yet, most marketers allocate only 8-10% of their ad budgets to the Web.  This is a big disconnect and a significant opportunity for marketers who care about maximizing return on ad spend. It’s pretty simple – spend your money where you will get the best ROI.  I wish more understood this.

Internet Ad Spending Stands Alone in 2009 Forecast (Mediapost)
In short, online is the only medium that will see more revenue in 2009.  And Search is main reason, growing 9% (display will shrink 1.2% – a buyers market, see my recent note on this). Notable quote: “The internet is the only medium expected to actually attract higher ad expenditure in 2009, thanks to its accountability and innovation in ad formats”.  I’m glad to be on this side of the media wave.

CMOs Not Happy with Digital (Businessweek)
“Although digital is the best use of scarce ad dollars in the downturn, the segment needs better tools to demonstrate ROI” – Hallelujiah!!! If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.  By the way this is where we excel.  If you need help measuring or optimizing ROI from online media, give us a shout.

Brand Mentions Preferred Over Ads (eMarketer)
Not surprisingly, consumers assign more weight to a brand being mentioned in an article vs. an advertisement. Not sure how this constitutes as breaking news – I thought everyone knew that.  What WAS interesting was the “Email Offer” was a close #2 to Brand Mentions, and above #3 Search Engine listing.  While somewhat surprising, we continue to have successin promoting client offers through email (for the record, not all email marketers are spammers. Like anything, there’s a right and a wrong way to do it).

Why Marketers Want You to Click, Not Call (AdAge – requires registration)
Pizza giants sell 20-30% of deliveries online. They want to increase this to 50% – here’s how they are doing it (includes “5 tips to get more people to purchase your product online”). Useful for B2B (re-orders) as well as B2C.

Display Ads Lift Search (Mediapost)
If you want more ROI from your search campaign, display ads can help you get there and here’s why: display advertising creates demand and awareness of your brand.  When consumers are ready to buy they will likely use a search engine to find a provider. If they recognize your brand, you’ll benefit from higher click-through and conversion rates.  Yet most marketers manage these interdependent channels separately and they often cut display ads that create valuable awareness but not direct leads.  This is why you need expert tracking and analysis. If you’d like to learn more, I know a great agency that would love to help you.

Why Email Marketing Deserves More Respect (iMedia)
I often say that email marketing is the most profitable way to drive repeat business, yet is the most underutilized tool in most marketer’s kits.  Here’s a good article from Simms Jenkins (howdy ATL!) on why you can’t afford to overlook your email marketing program.

Five Things Agencies Want from Clients (iMedia)
This is a MUST READ if you are an in-house or client side marketer. Forget the agency implications – these are basic principles every brand / client side marketer needs to grasp.

Venture Investments drop 50% in First Quarter (Wall St. Journal)
It’s a tough time to start a new business – especially if it requires millions in funding to get off the ground. On the other hand, it’s a great time to be an angel investor!

Ogilvy Looks to Asia for Growth (Wall St. Journal)
I think about Asia as a vacation destination.  Apparently China and India are growth markets for advertising as well.  Hmmm… makes me wonder…

All for now – please feel free to comment, share and subscribe via RSS.  Thanks for reading!

Steve Latham
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