Here's something  for local-direct clients to understand more about email marketing: Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.

COMMENTARY

Is Email Enough? Not Unless It's Personalized, Shoppers Say

• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, Yesterday

Email marketers are clueless about how consumers perceive them

Fully 50% marketers believe that most of the emails they have sent in the past six months have been personalized. But only 34% of shoppers agree. 

Indeed, 53% of consumers feel the emails they got were generic, rather than tailored to them, according to the Cordial Cross-Channel Marketing Study, a dual survey of marketers and consumers conducted by Cordial, with the Harris Poll and Momentive.

What’s holding up personalization? Among marketers, 74% admit there are obstacles: 

• Lack of resources: we have too much else to do—25% 
• Data formatting: we can’t use the data we have without time and effort to prepare it—14% 
• Lack of experience: our team lacks the skills we need—12%
• Data access: We’re unable to access the data we need when we need it—12%
• Platform: our current vendor makes it hard to do what we want—10% 

Another issue is that 35% of marketers need three or more platforms to create and send emails and tasks. Only 24% can send them through a single platform. 

On the positive side, 30% of consumers who shop in response to emails have signed up to receive more than they did before the pandemic. And 31% have opted in for more text messages. 

Thus, 61% of email marketers grew their email subscription list in the last six months, and 49% their SMS file. 

And they plan to use them: 82% of marketers plan to increase the number of emails they send over the next year. And 75% plan to do the same with their text messages. 

Overall, 83% of consumers have shopped in response to emails from brands, and 67% have from text messages. But only 15% do so always or often, versus 13% for text. Another 43% sometimes shop in response to emails, while 29% due to texts. 

So an opportunity awaits. Of the consumers polled, 59% of the consumers who shop online purchased more during the pandemic, 23% more.  

And, overall, 47% of consumers always or often shop online, versus 53% who go to stores to do their shopping. 

In line with this, 56% of brands have seen increased sales online, with 16.5% reporting significant upticks. 

In general, 60% of shoppers are likely to purchase a product from a brand they’ve never heard of before. 

Marketers also have a generational opportunity — 41% of Gen Zers have signed up to get more emails from brands, compared to 44% of millennials, 27% of Gen Xers, 24% of those in the 55-64 category and 11% of those age 65+. 

In contrast, 37% of Gen Zers have subscribed to more texts, 48% pf millennials, 25% of Gen Xers, 26% of those age 55-64 and 12% of the 65+ cohort. 

As to the future, 62% of shoppers plan to buy online this holiday season, given concerns about the Delta variant. This tops the 59% who said they shopped more online in 2020 due to the pandemic. 

Of the consumers who say most of the emails they received were personalized, 28% are more likely to shop in response to emails from brands, versus 11% of those who felt the emails were generic. When it comes to text, the numbers are 26% and 11%. 

“The acceleration of ecommerce has been the defining story of the pandemic for retailers,” states Carrie Parker, senior vice president, marketing at Cordial. Parker. “Consumers are shopping earlier, and online, to ensure they can get what they need.” 

Parker adds: “This holiday season represents a real make-or-break moment for many retailers to ensure they are keeping customers informed of relevant real-time changes with product availability and communicating in a meaningful way.”

The real secret to email success? Triggered emails. Basic triggers such as browse, cart abandonment and subscription reminders can drive a 43% lift in average order value.

Moreover, brands generate 42% of their email revenue from triggers and automations, but these account for only 7% of total email volume. 

Cordial worked with the Harris Poll to survey more than 2,000 consumers between August 10-12, 2021, and with Momentive to poll more than 550 marketers from September 9-12. 

 

COMMENTARY

Why Marketers Are Spending More Time Researching 'Experiential Marketing?'

• by Michael McLaren , Op-Ed Contributor, Yesterday

“Experiential marketing” is back in the top spot of content consumption by marketers, as measured by Bombora Company Surge. In a hybrid environment, increasingly driven by purpose-driven consumers, expectations of the value exchange we get from experiences has fundamentally changed — which can have interesting implications for today’s organizations. 

We’ll soon see a resurgence of seeking in-person experiences, so considering how every touchpoint may be paired with the same level of convenience as one would have at home or at work is important to keep in mind.  

In the experience economy where attendee touch points are currency, it’s the emotions customers take away that matter most. Being agile and fast-to-market is critical when it comes to creating experiences that make the most of these few and far-between moments. A hybrid world opens the experience economy up to endless possibilities for company investment. Across the board, customer experience will remain a top priority for the next few years – and most buyers would pay a premium for an above-the-line experience. 

“Enterprise search” is also on the rise among marketers, according to intent data. This could suggest the growing role of CMOs and marketing teams within organizations. Leading marketers are known to have a wider remit in their business, giving them more influence in maintaining a longer-term sustainable competitive advantage. 

They are more likely to be responsible for product and service innovation and for medium and long-term brand health, but the biggest difference is their involvement in the delivery of digital transformation programs — which could encompass entire buyer portals, employee databases, and even intranets. Enterprise search also enables adaptive organizations to become more efficient. What can be seen as a major endeavor with no clear end in sight, figuring out your enterprise search solution can lead to empowerment through cultural independence to deliver more effective collaboration. Now for a minute imagine an extra three weeks a year. That’s the freedom enterprise search grants companies on the leading edge of innovation. 

Agencies, on the other hands, have “brand ambassadors” on their mind. With the creator economy charging full steam ahead, everyone has a voice. Brand ambassadors, much like creators, are plugged in and set social trends and, as a result, brands are looking for ways to create genuine connection connections. Brand ambassadors offer a level of authenticity and trust that can’t always be found in the creator economy. Also referred to as “brand advocates” or “brand representatives,” they provide a face for your company within a community of people with whom they have established trust. Think of it as word-of-mouth marketing on steroids.

 

Roadblocks Remain In Shifting Legacy TV Ad Dollars To CTV-OTT Options

• by Wayne Friedman , Yesterday

New data-driven TV and digital TV advertising is expected to see soaring growth of 45% to near 60% in the U.S. over the next 12 months, according to a new study from Xandr, AT&T’s advanced advertising unit. The research also says traditional advertising is expected to increase 28%.

The company’s analysis says there are still “roadblocks” to advertisers moving media dollars to new CTV/OTT, digital, addressable and “data-driven linear TV.

These include “a lack of understanding” among internal and external clients; “breaking through existing organizational silos,” and “stakeholders caught up in category thinking.”

Even then, Xandr’s research -- coming from 200 U.S. media executives from junior to senior positions -- see a strong upsurge in new video advertising platforms.

The research says participants estimate a 58% increase in data-driven linear TV spending over the next 12 months in the U.S.; a 53% hike in OTT/CTV spend; a 50% increase in addressable linear TV; and 45% growth in other digital video.

The research also shows reticence to programmatic buys.

“Though almost every advertiser in this study saw benefits to automating OTT buys, only about half of OTT/CTV budgets across key regions are allocated to programmatic buys,” according to study authors. The global study also surveyed respondents in other countries: Australia, UK, France and Germany

Respondents, who cited challenges “like limited scale or poor ROI,” talked up building and growing direct relationships with publishers.

But the Xandr study authors countered there was “easier targeting and optimization, better pricing, and unified campaign activation across multiple sellers are among the top programmatic OTT benefits touted around the globe, compared to direct sold OTT.”

 

AUTOMOTIVE

Pandemic Continues To Impact Automotive Shoppers

• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped transportation and car-shopping for the foreseeable future, per CarGurus research. 

Demand has rebounded following dips early in the pandemic: Due to decreased spending and an inflow of stimulus money, buying confidence has recovered. Major life changes like moving to a new house (29%), getting a new job (22%), and working from home (12%) have also made people more interested in buying a car this year.

Shoppers have gotten used to the ease of digital retail, with an increasing number (60%) of people hoping to complete at least part of the car-buying process at home, says Madison Gross, director of consumer insights at CarGurus.

Consumers are much more comfortable shopping in-store this year, but they still want a safe experience, with the majority (51%) expecting dealers to continue wearing masks.

Consumers hope dealers will continue the adaptations they made during the pandemic, such as various contactless services. Shoppers are most interested in pre-scheduled dealership appointments (46%), solo test drives (42%), test drive at home (32%), and at-home delivery (30%).

As consumers continue to steer clear of shared mobility and turn to purchasing their own vehicle instead, they’re faced with rising prices due to the current inventory constraints, Gross adds.

CarGurus, Inc., a multinational, online automotive platform for buying and selling vehicles, released its most recent COVID-19 sentiment study that examines both short- and long-term trends of how auto shoppers have reacted to the pandemic. 

The research is the latest iteration in a series of previous CarGurus studies that were run in April, June and November of 2020.

The inventory shortage is hitting buyers. The majority (58%) of shoppers are aware of high vehicle prices as a result of low inventory, an increase from 26% in November 2020.

Ultimately,  the pandemic prompted a decline in demand for shared transportation, and consumers aren’t eager to return, per the latest study. 

Only half (54%) of consumers who previously used ride-share services expect to return to their pre-pandemic activity in the next year, and few more (59%) plan to in the long term.

 

NFL Viewing Up 8% As 'Sunday,' 'Monday Night Football' Post Gains

• by Wayne Friedman , 8 hours ago

Three weeks into the NFL season, there has been an 8% increase in overall average game viewership versus a year ago to 16.1 million Nielsen-measured viewers.

NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” series has seen major improvement -- up 5% to 19 million viewers for the first three games versus 18.1 million viewers a year ago.

On Sunday afternoon, for five games on linear TV, CBS has been averaging 17.2 million viewers. Through four games a year ago, CBS was at 14.7 million. That’s a significant increase of 17% year-over-year.

ABC/ESPN's “Monday Night Football” is also a big winner percentage-wise -- scoring a 9% increase to 14.6 million viewers versus 13.4 million a year before.

"Monday Night Football" had a simultaneous airing on ABC and ESPN for the first "MNF" game.

In the other two “MNF” games, ESPN also benefited from simultaneous airings on sister service ESPN2, featuring entertaining “MNF” analysis from Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as some as guest athletes.

The biggest game of the year to date was the NFL Kickoff game on NBC. The Super Bowl champions -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- beat the Dallas Cowboys in a close contest. That earned 24.8 million viewers, up 19% from the game a year ago.

This year on Fox, also for five games, the network is at 16.2 million linear Nielsen-measured TV viewers. A year ago, Fox came in at 18.1 million viewers through three weeks.

In 2020, Fox had the best Nielsen number of any NFL game through this period: 25.8 million viewers for a Tampa Bay Buccaneers-New Orleans Saints game in Week One, featuring longtime New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on his new Tampa Bay team.

The NFL says with the addition of digital platform viewing to linear TV -- through the first two weeks -- overall viewership grew 14% to 17.7 million versus a year ago.

Television News Daily's analysis of Nielsen data for just linear TV for those first two weeks recorded an 11% bump to 16.6 million viewers versus a year earlier.

 

COMMENTARY

Consumers Say Social Is Preferred Customer Service Channel

• by Steve McClellan , Staff Writer @mp_mcclellan, 11 hours ago

The following was previously published in an earlier edition of Social Media Insider.

A report from social media research firm Sprout Social finds that social media usage has increased substantially  over the past year.

Over 70% of consumers say their social media usage is up over the past year, with three-quarters of Generation X, Generation Z and millennials all reporting greater usage. More than half of baby boomers also report greater social media activity.

The research, from Spout’s latest “Index Report,” also found a disconnect between consumer expectations of brands on social and how brands prioritize their channels.

Consumers increasingly expect great customer service on social, according to the report, which surveyed over 1,000 consumers and 1,000 marketers for the study. Social media is the most-preferred channel for consumers to share feedback about a product or service (31%) and raise customer service issues or questions (33%), with nearly half (47%) saying strong customer service is the top trait that makes a brand best-in-class on social.

However, marketers rank customer service much lower on their list of priorities, falling behind five other attributes when asked to define what makes an exceptional brand on social, including engagement, content and transparency.

The report also found that social media is playing a more significant role in driving bottom-line growth as social commerce grows, Nine out of 10 consumers will buy from brands they follow on social, and 86% will choose that brand over a competitor, while 85% will buy from that brand more often.

Facebook remains the most-used social platform according to the Sprout report, while TikTok has become one of the top-5 platforms that consumers use to follow brands. But surprisingly few brands are exploiting that potential opportunity, as only about a third of the marketers surveyed are currently on the platform. 

While 88% of marketers agree their social strategy positively influences their bottom line, only 15% of marketers use social data to measure ROI.

“Marketers have an opportunity to educate the rest of their organizations on the power of social and where the future of business intelligence lies,” the report concludes. “When the entire organization learns to embrace social data, they’ll discover the path forward to rapid growth—and marketers will be the ones to show them the way.”

 

COMMENTARY

Is Your Marketing Leveraging The Changing Hispanic Demographic?

• by Karla Fernandez Parker , Columnist, 8 hours ago

Since we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, there are a few standouts about this changing demographic marketers need to note.

The first key takeaway from the 2020 Census shows Hispanics are having a baby boom. There were 9.3 million Hispanic babies born in the U.S. from 2010 to 2019. On top of that, there was a significant decline in immigration, contrary to popular belief. Net immigration from Hispanics was only about one-third of the number of births at 3.5 million people during the same period.

So, if you’re in the business of children’s shoes and clothes, children’s household items, toys, sporting goods, and food, you should be fully invested in this growing segment. Colleges and cars will be next!

The mention of college brings up another key statistic from the census results. The share of Hispanics with at least some college education has increased from 36% in 2010 to about 42% in 2019, up more than 16%. Hispanic women had a slightly higher rate of some college versus Hispanic men.

Another positive was that the number of Hispanics with bachelor’s  or post-graduate degrees rose as well, from 13% to 18%. The number of Hispanics enrolled in college has also increased, from 2.9 million to 3.6 million over the past decade.

College education, not to mention college degrees, typically leads to an increase in income. This sets up opportunities for marketers of banks, loan products, auto purchases and entertainment/leisure consumption.

The census also revealed a dramatic increase in English proficiency among Hispanics. This is being driven by the first statistic — significantly lower immigration and an increase in U.S.-born Hispanics. English proficiency among Hispanics over five years old has increased from 59% in 2000 to 72% in 2019, according to the Pew Research Center.  While there is a significant number of Hispanics who still speak Spanish at home, the trend continues a trajectory to greater English proficiency, especially among U.S.-born Hispanics.

Marketers should be mindful of language preferences in parts of the U.S. and the role Spanish still plays as many Hispanics move seamlessly between English and Spanish. This is also important when marketing to older Hispanics who are more likely to be immigrants. 

These findings point to a boon for marketers who can connect culturally with the right media mix and spend to capture this changing demographic that is becoming increasingly more powerful to the U.S. economy and its growth.

 

COMMENTARY

The New TV Season Kicks Off, CBS Leads

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, September 24, 2021

Not sure that you realize it, but the new TV season has begun. What really matters this time around? Viewers? Advertisers? Maybe just profits.

Early returns are in -- that is, live-plus same-day time-shifted viewing, via Nielsen preliminary results. After two days, CBS leads, at around 6 to 7 million average prime-time viewers.

On Monday, CBS had 6.55 million, while NBC had 5.92 million, followed by ABC with 4.36 million, Fox at 3.61 million and CW with 419,000. Tuesday went somewhat in the same direction -- with CBS at 6.77 million, followed by NBC with 5.94 million, ABC at 2.41 million, Fox with 2.28 million and CW at 535,000.

We, of course, can’t glean much from this -- not in a time-shifted-watch-TV-whenever-you-want-world.

Let's see what seven days of time-shifted viewing brings. Or 14 days. Or 21 days.

Historically, live numbers could increase anywhere from 35% to 40% for many broadcast network entertainment shows. That could mean top programs could rise to 9 million or 11 million.

The bottom line is -- what do advertisers feel about this?

Strange as it sounds, lower ratings, apparently do not necessarily mean bad news -- at least according to some networks. NBCUniversal points to the Tokyo Summer Olympics this past summer.

Although traditional TV ratings were down over 40%, the company said the Olympics achieved strong results for those messages in terms of “engagement” -- which can mean many things to marketers.

Does it all result in actual higher monetization and profits? Jeff Shell, CEO of NBCUniversal, has said that even against all the poor ratings, the Olympics will still be profitable.

That’s pretty remarkable. Does it speak to the durability of TV -- or some other fringe media business science?

The jury is out, probably making a snack while their TV is in a commercial-break pause. So then ask the next question:

With multiple 15% per TV season declines in prime-time ratings over the years -- even with added time-shifted viewing data -- can TV networks continue to make the same profitable prognostications for primetime say two, three, or four years from now?

This past summer witnessed sky high prime-time upfront pricing gains -- in part due to unfavorable comparisons a year before, an uncertain weak pandemic TV upfront period.

Sharply rising CPMs, the cost-per-thousand viewer prices, rose 20% to 30%. Better financials for broadcast networks? Don’t forget to add in continued rising retrans revenues.

That said, we know TV networks have less than a secret ace up their sleeve for the future: Their highly desired streaming services -- even if there isn’t enough ad inventory available on those services at present.

Lower next-day prime-time viewing numbers?

Don’t even look. They will barely tell you any decent business piece of this TV story.

 

COMMENTARY

What Is A Cable Network Worth Now?

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, September 23, 2021

With all the hype around new fancy streaming platforms that seemingly everyone wants, let’s talk about what remains: What’s the value of a typical U.S. cable TV network -- and does it matter?

If you are a top AT&T executive, you probably believe it’s a bit less than you might think -- in terms of WarnerMedia and its HBO Max streaming service.

John Stankey, CEO of AT&T, says that with regard to its streaming business HBO Max, AT&T is pleased with its progress. He added this at a recent industry conference: “But we need that global momentum.”

And that’s where the potential spinoff of WarnerMedia merging with Discovery Inc comes in.

“It's trading right now like a cable network asset, if you kind of look at the evaluation within the stock,” he said.

“My belief is, as we get through this, we should see that [value] multiple start to recognize the fact that there's a great direct-to-consumer business. That it should be valued in the same way the market is valuing other great direct-to-consumer businesses, given the prospect that's in front of it.”

All of which reflects back to cable network's piece of any major media company that owns one. You might have a great legacy TV cable entertainment-focused network. But that’s not what investors -- and consumers — want in the near term.

The original warning sign came in 2015 with perhaps the top U.S. cable network -- ESPN -- with its declining subscribers. Since then, the Disney-owned network made a significant and relatively rapid expansion to a streaming service, ESPN+, which now has 15 million subscribers.

A worse predicament comes when your new premium streaming service isn’t up to par in a business sense -- that it might need much more business clout. Apparently, that’s where HBO Max sits.

Scores of lesser-profile premium streaming services are hoping they can make up ground -- perhaps as niche services. Are they just treading water, looking for a big global or U.S. merger partner to grow their business value far more quickly versus their declining legacy, cable TV network? Oh yes.

If this condition is widespread in the modern TV industry, you can see why there is much urgency -- and possible panic -- among media and entertainment and communications executives.

Whether you are Walt Disney, ViacomCBS, or NBCUniversal, there will be an added question that businesses will be asking for years to come with  regard to streaming: What becomes of your cable TV networks?

 

COMMENTARY

We Are Officially In The Post-Traditional-TV Era

• by Maarten Albarda , Featured Contributor, September 17, 2021

The new TV season has started on network TV. CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, the CW and others are rolling out their fan favorites and newcomers. Sports is back, too. And yes, ratings are down -- and prices in the upfronts were up.

Meanwhile, the shows people are talking about are not on mainline TV. You know this, because you have a Baby Yoda sitting on your desk, and can’t stop talking about who murdered Tim Kono. None of these shows (Disney+’s “The Mandalorian” and Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” respectively) were aired as part of a start of any particular season. They just air. And none of them were sold or premiered at an upfront event.

We have officially entered the next stage of screen entertainment. Traditional TV is challenged and is morphing into something new and different. Traditional players are reinventing themselves faster than they can come up with acronyms for their viewing platforms. TV, movies and video content are all merging -- indeed, blurring into new distribution and monetization models.

I believe that we are now at the other end of the development. We are no longer seeing the slow evolution of video content; we are living in the first phase of the post-evolution. This first phase is characterized by consumers watching lots (and I mean LOTS) of video content across a wide array of platforms and technologies. Most of that content is watched on-demand,  not on linear channels. It's hard to predict when something will be watched: Will it be binged in one or two sittings, or consumed in dribs at a convenient moment, whenever that is?

Most of it is accessed not through antennas or cable, but modems and WiFi. Nielsen has learned the hard way that this is damaging the way it measures viewership. You are better off adding up actual viewers across the various platforms of distribution -- but sadly, many of these are walled gardens where it is hard to track who is watching what and when, if that data is released by the proprietors at all.

All this means you obviously will have to rethink your video planning strategy.

Budgets should not be allocated by media type or sub-type, like budget for TV, cable and online video. Instead, allocate media impressions by audience. Whom do you need to reach -- and by how much -- to create impact?

Gross rating points and target rating points are a thing of the past. If your media mix includes a traditional and/or cable buy, use these metrics to optimize that part of your buy. But don’t attempt to take these metrics across all the various platforms of video you are advertising on.

If your video production budget splits between 30 seconds and 15 seconds, start over. Get the message right, get the content right and produce for each platform. Your mix will cover anywhere from five seconds to long-form. There are no rules, other than creating what the audience expects on the platform they are on.

And finally, don’t just create advertising. Create content, collaborate with other content creators, and be prepared to get it wrong. Not all Netflix or Disney+ content is a winner. But at the same time, sometimes a piece of content just hits the right spot at the right time and becomes an unexpected big hit that you did not see coming. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to find out if Ted Lasso and Rebecca are or are not going to be an item….

 

COMMENTARY

Marketers, Stop Apologizing: It's OK To Use Data

• by Ben Kunz , September 17, 2021

Like medieval monks lashing themselves for past sins, marketers have been wincing in shame at their data behavior. The flood of webinars, white papers and new technology announcements related to Google’s decision to end third-party cookies (a move now slated for 2023) have essentially apologized for targeting, presuming that marketers will retrench from most online one-to-one tracking.

So let’s pause and consider something radical. What if it’s OK to track consumers individually? In fact, what if marketers have a moral mandate to personalize advertising? Let’s explore some facts the industry narrative overlooks.

Consumers need advertising. Admit it: While surveys show that most consumers dislike advertising and online tracking, they depend on billions in advertising to support their universe of unpaid content. Only 16% of Pandora users pay the subscription fee to avoid the ad clutter. Facebook could remove all ads entirely if its 2.8 billion users paid $3 a month for membership – about 10 cents a day! -- but we won’t. So, advertising is essential.

Beyond subsidizing media, advertising boosts our economy. The Association of National Advertisers estimates U.S. ad spend accounts for $7.4 trillion in product and service sales. That’s one-third of our GDP tied to marketer intrusions. If you like your job or want your company to succeed, advertising is vital. Any big moves that reduce advertising effectiveness will be like letting air out of your car tires: The economy won’t hum along.

For advertising to succeed, marketers need targeting data. In the 1970s, if you wanted to reach people in market for a new car, you’d have to run ads in a magazine known for car reviews, a pretty blunt “content proxy” approach. Today, online data monitoring picks up signals of people actively searching for any product, even people who have visited a retail location. Data matches message to human interest, and suddenly, advertising works.

The outcry over cookies is exaggerated. Even if every third-party cookie were vaporized tomorrow, the giants in the online industry -- Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook -- would still pick up so many data signals that “online privacy” is still nonexistent. Search for a hammer on Google and within minutes your email receives a hammer ad. Amazon likely knows the brand of dishwasher in your kitchen based on your thousands of shopping clicks there. Instagram watches what you Like to immediately serve related ads. Digital cookies are only one part of how marketers track and target, and if anything, they’re already the smallest tool in the arsenal.

Yes, there is a line where too much surveillance is creepy. People do have a right to adequate privacy, and no one wants drones peeking in their bedroom window. But advertising supports the economy, to the tune of billions of dollars -- and that requires data.

So stop apologizing, marketers. Go find more data. Make ads even more personal. The worst thing that will happen is you may tell someone about a car they find interesting.

 

Young Viewers 18-34 Choose Live TV Only 11% Of The Time After Turning TV On

• by Wayne Friedman , September 16, 2021

Only 11% of young viewers 18-34 this year are going to live TV channels from cable, satellite, or telco services after turning on their TV sets -- down from 14% in 2020 and 21% in 2019, according to Hub Entertainment Research.

At the same time, those same young viewers -- 18- to-34-year-olds -- go to Netflix 31% of the time after turning on their TV sets. And good news for the five next-biggest streaming platforms and competitors to Netflix is that their share is growing -- now at 24%.

The share was 16% in 2020 and 14% in 2019 among 18- to-34-year-olds. This seems to have come at the expense of Netflix, which dipped from 39% in 2020 to a 31% data point this year.

The study characterizes the networks and platforms viewers go to after turning on their TV sets as “default” networks.

When a broader range of consumers 16-74 were asked if they could pick only one individual TV provider/network/platform, “live TV” -- from cable, satellite and telco providers -- was on top with a 35% score. Netflix came in at 28%, followed by Hulu with 16%, Amazon Prime Video, at14%, HBO Max with 9% and Disney+ at 8%.

Looking more broadly at platforms -- online versus pay TV -- 55% of all respondents said online was their “default source for TV viewing," while 39% said that pay TV -- live TV/DVR/VOD -- was their default source.

The data for these results was collected in August 2021, and comes from a study conducted among 1,616 U.S. consumers ages 16-74 who have broadband, and who watch at least one hour of TV per week.

 

COMMENTARY

55% Of TV Viewers Go First To OTT, Vs. 39% To Traditional Pay-TV... But Netflix Is Losing Ground

• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 17, 2021

When it comes to TV viewing, paid or free online streaming services are the first destination for 55% of U.S. broadband consumers, compared to 39% heading first to traditional linear, DVR or VOD pay-TV services, according to Hub Entertainment Research’s latest “default” viewing sources study.

Last year, online/OTT sources were the default for 50% of those surveyed, and 42% went first to pay-TV sources. (The rest are those who default to viewing over-the-air, from an antenna.)

For this year’s research, Hub surveyed a census-balanced sample of 1,616 U.S. adults 16 to 74 who have broadband and watch at least an hour of TV per week. Data collection was completed in August.

As recently as 2019, pay-TV sources accounted for half of viewers’ total TV time. Now, it’s down to a third.
Hub, which began studying viewing-source defaults in 2013, reports that while the percentages of consumers defaulting to live TV from cable, satellite or telcos have been declining within every age group, the trend is particularly pronounced among younger consumers.

Currently, just 11% of those 18 to 34 tune in first to live channels — down from 14% last year and 21% in 2019. 
Younger consumers are also the primary force behind a significant decline in Netflix’s stance as the go-to streaming service.

Until 2018, Netflix was on track to surpass traditional pay-TV as the default choice. But while it’s still by far the streaming service default leader — and it’s the overall default platform for a fifth of consumers — it’s lost three points since 2020.

Meanwhile, the other four most popular streaming services—Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and HBO Max — have gained four points in the past year alone.

Those 18 to 34 are still the most likely to default to Netflix — 31%, versus 20% among those 35-54 and 6% among those 55 and up. But the Netflix bias among the youngest group dropped by eight points in the last year alone, as their tendency to default to the other big streamers has increased. 

As for the overall scenario, the average number of TV sources has risen from three in 2018 to nearly six currently, thanks to new streaming platforms — including the rapidly expanding free, ad-supported options — combined with many providers’ shift to making their best content available on streaming platforms. 

And while the number with streaming-only services hasn’t changed much in the past year, the traditional-TV-only group has dropped by half.

Still, seven in 10 use both streaming and traditional — up nearly 10 points since last year.

 

Podcasts Up Brand Awareness, Purchase Intent

• by Ray Schultz , September 17, 2021

Nielsen, which offers a podcast buying service, has released a survey showing that podcasts drive high brand awareness and purchase intent.  

The study coincides with one by NCSolutions, showing that 42% of listeners have at some point purchased a product advertised in a podcast. And the results are telling.

For instance, CPG brands derive a 37 point increase in awareness, financial services firms add 30 points and select technology brands 21 points, Nielsen reports. 

In addition, CPGs gain 23 points for information seeking, financial services brands 18 points and technology firms 15 points. 

And, CPG and financial services brands each gain 18 points in purchases. Technology firms get 8%. 

Moreover, CPG brands receive a 19 point hike in recommendations, financial services companies 18 points and technology brands 12 points.  

Judging by data based on breakdowns in Nielsen’s Podcasting Buying Power service, podcasts tend to be consumed by people approaching middle age — the median age is 39. And more men listen than women by a margin of 54% to 46%. 

However, women make up a majority of the audience for Kids & Family podcasts (79%), Health & Fitness (59%), Religion & Spirituality (59%) and education (53%).

Also, podcast listeners have solid middle-class incomes, the median being $82,590. The highest incomes are enjoyed by consumers of science podcasts ($90,921) and news ($90,521). 

In addition, 74% of podcast listeners have a financial investment of some type, 54% in 401ks and 39% in IRAs. 

One financial services brand began advertising in podcasts, the result being that 79% recalled the brand, which is higher than the median 65% for the financial services field.

Overall, podcast consumption has grown by more than 40% in the last three

 

Streaming Content Discovery: Beyond Chance, Ads, Word-Of-Mouth Are Main Drivers

• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, September 18, 2021

As the number of streaming service options  — and the numbers being used by consumers — have multiplied, content discovery challenges are consistently cited as one of the top drawbacks of the streaming experience. 

Now, Conviva has released a study that digs into how consumers actually go about discovering content. It was conducted June 10-14 by Dynata among 2,502 consumers who are over 18, use social media, watch television or other video content through internet streaming, and also watch linear (non-internet-streamed) TV. 

General “word-of-mouth” was found to be the top discovery source — cited by 59% — followed by advertising (52%), social media (49%) and recommendations from streaming services (43%). 

However, those top-line results overlap somewhat, since the study’s definition of word-of-mouth included social media, as well as in-person buzz: “chatting with or seeing social media posts from friends, family, or influencers."

When sources were broken out more finely, absent the broad word-of-mouth category, the top sources were “discovered by chance,” TV ads, friend and family recommendations, streaming service recommendations, in-person conversations, media reviews and social media ads. 

Various forms of social media word-of-mouth were also cited by significant percentages, including friends talking about content on social media (20%), recommendations by a friend on social media (18%) and recommendations by a celebrity or influencer on social media (11%).

 

BRAND MARKETING

No Big Surprises: Amazon, Apple, Netflix Dominate Loyalty Rankings

• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, 8 hours ago

Image above from Amazon ad.

 

Brand Keys has just released its annual loyalty ranking, and the biggest news this year is which brands didn’t make the cut. Despite consumers’ widespread willingness to try something new during the pandemic, they remain fiercely loyal to their favorite brands. While Brand Keys Loyalty Leader List typically shows a fair amount of flexibility, this year only a handful of brands made their debut in the top 100.

That's the fewest number of newbies in more than a decade. And Robert Passikoff, Brand Keys founder and president, says this is the strongest evidence yet that loyalty is still important.

“We’ve been doing this for 24 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he adds.

Passikoff says while it’s true consumers may be willing to occasionally try new brands, that doesn’t mean they’re less loyal. In fact, they’re seeking emotional engagement more than before, and looking for solace in the brands that provide the most security.

In a sense, that makes the winners all the more predictable. Amazon, as an online retailer, is again in the No.1 spot, followed by Apple (up from #4 last year); Netflix (down from #2); and Domino’s Pizza, up from #5.

Amazon, when rated as a video streaming brand, comes in again at the No 5 spot. Disney+, Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and Nike round out the top ten.

Only one newcomer -- TikTok -- made its way into the top 25.

And former favorites, including McDonald’s, Shake Shack & Konica-Minolta, are back in the top 100. “There’s a desperate desire to return to normalcy,” Passikoff says.

He adds that for brands, COVID-19 and the upheaval of the last two years has created a kind of trial by fire. “Companies are having to ask themselves, 'What does a brand really stand for? And how are consumers going to behave?”

The New York-based loyalty and engagement research company included nearly 1,300 brands in 112 categories in its surveys. More than 53,000 consumers, ages 16 to 65, weighed in.

Many of these rankings stem from emotional connections, which Passikoff says impacts roughly 70% of its score, while practicality accounts for the other 30%. And even amid supply-chain problems, the durability of names like  Home Depot, Clorox, Hulu, and Purell demonstrate that sense of security.

Loyalty doesn’t mean people won’t experiment, either by choice or necessity. “When they couldn’t buy Clorox or Purell, people were probably just as happy to buy some other brand, and may even think they are just as good,” he says. “So if you ask them, 'Would you consider buying Brand X again?”, they’ll say yes. But the minute Purell or Clorox were back on the shelves? They went back to those names.”

Besides TikTok, only a handful of new brands are on the top 100, including Apple TV (#26), Levi Strauss (#46), Red Bull (#61), Walmart.com (#64), Crest (#65), Svedka (#86) and Lululemon (#90).