Digital Bytes

Tween research

Source: Chiefmarketer.com

We don't often come across research on tweens (10-14 year olds) but DoubleClick Performics have just released their findings on tweens' online search and purchase behaviors across 10 different product categories.  Main learnings were:

• Tweens consume information through many channels, but the Internet leads:  When asked how much time they spent with various media types, 83% said they spend at least an hour per day online, and 68% reported at least an hour per day watching TV. Radio, magazines and newspapers came in much lower with 29%, 10% and five percent indicating they spent an hour per day with these channels.
• Nearly half of respondents go online many times per day (more than three), and 87% usually spend at least a half hour each time. Looking closer at this time spent online, the survey found:
  · 72% have a profile on at least one social networking site
  · 54% have a MySpace profile
  · 35% have a Facebook profile
  · 45% have some other social networking profile
  · 64% visit social networking sites at least once per day
  · 34% spend four or more hours per week on social networking sites
• Tweens reported varying levels of involvement across product categories, but apparel was the most popular: On average, tweens shopped for apparel 8.2 times over the past six months.
• Other popular product categories for tweens included electronics (4.5 times) and home furnishings (4.4 times).

Click here to find out more

Behavioural vs contextual advertising...the debate rears its head again

Revenue science released some research conducted by Jupiter research a few days ago to show that behaviourally targeted ads were more effective than contextual advertising - by up to 22% in some categories.  I guess Revenue science, who sell behavioual targeing technology, were never going to release reseach that discounted this fact...and it cannot be denied that the findings are interesting.  However, I think it depends on where your brand is in terms of positioning - whether it's already well established or whether it's a challenger brand wanting to break the market and change preception.  If it's the latter, we still think contextual has a very strong role to play, as stated by our blog entry a few months ago: http://www.mindsharedigitalbytes.com/2007/05/thoughts_on_the.html

Here's the write up on the revenue science findings as reported by the 'Center of Media Research':

Branded content has future; branded destination sites, not so much - that's the word from analysts and agency types...

Source: MediaPost Publications

Branded content has a future; branded destination sites, not so much. That's the word from analysts and agency types trying to decipher the potential demise of Anheuser-Busch's hugely ambitious entertainment network, Bud.TV.

"Bud was right on with the idea of branded content," said James McQuivey, an online content analyst at Forrester Research. "Where they ran into trouble was with the idea that they had to be a destination site."

Debate over Bud.TV's troubles, and its industry-wide implications, was sparked earlier this week when August Busch IV, Anheuser-Busch's chief executive, said Bud.TV would "probably fade" during a conference call with investors.

The beer maker grabbed the attention of marketers and the media last year when it unveiled a $30 million plan to challenge Hollywood with a branded digital entertainment network. In an oversized write-up, The New York Times Magazine called it "the most ambitious and costly effort to date of a marketer creating Web content tailored to its own specifications."

But, as the network languished following a splashy Super Bowl debut, Madison Ave. was left trying to figure out where Bud.TV went wrong.

Forrester’s new Social Technographics report

Source: Forrester

A new report has on 'social technographics' has just been released from Forrester, here's the executive summary:

Many companies approach social computing as a list of technologies to be deployed as needed – a blog here, a podcast there – to achieve a marketing goal.  But a more coherent approach is to start with your target audience and determine what kind of relationship you want to build with them, based on what they are ready for. Forrester categorizes social computing behaviors into a ladder with six levels of participation; we use the term "Social Technographics" to describe analyzing a population according to its participation in these levels. Brands, Web sites, and any other company pursuing social technologies should analyze their customers' Social Technographics first, and then create a social strategy based on that profile.

AOP research identifies four digital mega-trends

From AOP
The latest research from AOP focuses on the digital lives of UK consumers and reinforces views that they are incredibly active in their consumption patterns, accessing content in different ways and presenting publishers with potentially different business models. The study, My Digital Life: A review of what we know about digital consumers, consolidates and interprets the wealth of information currently available in the public domain, was commissioned by AOP’s Futures group and identifies four emerging mega-trends in the way we consume content: Participation, On-demand, Mobility and Personalisation.  The findings convey the importance of well defined brands online and serve as a reminder that publishers must continue to ensure they deliver content according to consumer demand.