2015 Sets New Peak for North American Box Office Revenues

Source: Rentrak

Notes: North American box office revenues exceeded $11 billion on December 29, 2015, making 2015 the first year for that threshold to be reached, per Rentrak. With a projected $11.1 billion in revenues for the year, 2015's box office total would represent a 7.2% increase from 2014 and about a 1.7% increase from the previous high of $10.9 billion set in 2013. There were several records set throughout the year, per Rentrak's figures.

Top 10 TV Advertising Brands of 2015

Source: Ace Metrix

Notes: Google continues to air creative ads on national TV, according to Ace Metrix's latest rundown of the "Brands of the Year," which lists the brands that aired the most effective ads in relation to their competition. Google - the brand of the year in 2013 and the top advertiser in the Software & Websites category again last year - topped its category again in 2015, outperforming the average brand Ace Score by 20%.

B2B Marketers’ Most Commonly Used Video Types

Source: Regalix [download page]

Notes: Corporate videos (76%) and product demos (64%) are the most popular video formats used by B2B marketers, according to a recent Regalix survey of 364 senior B2B marketing executives and business leaders from around the world. In looking at how video formats perform at different stages of the buying cycle, respondents indicated that testimonials and case studies have the most skew towards pre-sales stage, while behind-the-scenes videos and how-to tutorials are the only to be more effective in the post-sales stage.

Who Owns Smart Home Technology?

Source: Coldwell Banker

Notes: Close to half (45%) of American adults either own smart home technology or plan to invest in it in 2016, according to a survey conducted by Coldwell Banker. Among the one-quarter who currently own smart home technology, Millennials (18-34) comprise the largest share, at 44%, followed by Gen Xers (35-54; 33%) and those aged 55 and older (24%). Smart home technology adopters also skew more male (57%) than female (43%).

Email Marketers’ Most Important Initiatives in 2016

Source: StrongView [pdf]

Notes: Email marketers are much more focused on increasing subscriber engagement in the year ahead than they are on growing their list, per results from a recent Strongview survey, likely reflecting continuing gradual decreases in click rates. Improving segmentation and targeting ranks as the second-most important initiative for the email marketers surveyed, presumably as that will boost subscriber engagement. These have been the top priorities for at least a couple of years, though better understanding customer context through data analysis has since leapfrogged email list growth as a priority.

US Home Broadband Service Adoption, by Demographic

Source: Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project [pdf]

Notes: The percentage of American adults with broadband service at home has plateaued, reports the Pew Research Center in a recent study, as this year's 67% with broadband is down from 70% in 2013. The drop-off has been particularly stark over the past couple of years for African-Americans (down 8% points to 54%), Hispanics (down 6% points to 50%) and 18-29-year-olds (down 6% points to 75%). These groups are among the fastest growing when it comes to smartphone reliance for home internet connectivity.