Integrated/Cross-Media/Convergence

Wealthy consumers are as likely to make purchases in-store as online, and few have embraced showrooming, loosely defined as the practice of checking out a product in-store before buying online. According to new research from the Luxury Institute, 78% of wealthy consumers (earning at least $150,000 a year) had bought something in a store in the previous 12 months, and 77% had ordered something online via computer. Only 1 in 4 reported buying online after checking out merchandise in-store (the study did not mention the use of a mobile device in-store). Read more »

Few companies believe that their content management system (CMS) facilitates a brand-enhancing digital presence, finds Econsultancy [download page] in a new report sponsored by Adobe. Instead, while a majority believe that content management should help them meet a variety of business goals, such as improving user and customer engagement and brand-building through positive experiences, less than one-third rate their CMS as good for helping them deliver against those objectives. Additionally, 6 in 10 respondents don't believe their CMS allows them to have a complete view of engagement across all channels. Read more »

B2B publishers, especially larger publishers with more than $5M in annual revenues, continue to have difficulty diversifying their revenue sources away from print advertising, finds FOLIO: magazine in its latest annual B2B CEO survey. Print advertising was the dominant source of revenue for the larger publishers last year, at 48% share, which actually represents a small increase from 47% in 2011. E-media (20% from 17%) and events (17% from 14%) are the only other sources contributing double-digit share of revenues. Read more »

An average of just 44% of viewing of full-length TV shows is live, according to [download page] respondents to a study from Vubiquity. However, the survey was limited to consumers with access to video-on-demand services from a cable/telco/satellite provider, meaning that it may not be representative of the entire TV viewing population. (Previous research from Nielsen indicates that around 90% of broadcast and cable primetime viewing is live.) Still, the results suggest that live TV viewing is falling victim to alternative sources of content: respondents to the Vubiquity study indicate that 22% of their viewing of full-length TV shows is from a DVR, 14% is on demand, and 6% is via an online source, among others. Read more »

75% of ad agencies responding to a BrightRoll survey believe that video is equally or more effective than TV, and that's up from 64% who believed that to be the case in last year's survey, according to a new BrightRoll report [download page]. Even more respondents (91%) believe that digital video measures up well with display, although they're less convinced about its effectiveness compared to social media (68%), search (52%) and direct response (45%). The most important aspect of video advertising to clients is its targeting capabilities, according to 45% of respondents, with reach (27%) also valuable. Read more »

Netflix is by far the most popular application used on connected TVs, according to new figures from The NPD Group. 40% of connected TVs (either through the TV or through another device) are streaming content from Netflix, compared to just 17% used to watch video on YouTube, and 11% to watch Hulu or Hulu Plus. The research also indicates that among home entertainment devices, internet capable TVs are least likely to be connected and used for online features. Read more »

The IAB has released a new research report [pdf], conducted by GfK, in conjunction with the 2013-2014 NewFronts event. As part of the study, the researchers reveal that among monthly users, network TV shows online ("TV Online") has the same "wantedness" score as sports on regular TV, and also rivals regular primetime TV, meaning that these viewers attach a similar importance to online and regular TV content. But what motivates viewing of different streaming video types? Read more »

Smartphone and tablets owners are extremely reliant on their devices when researching local products and services, per new data [download page] from xAd and Telmetrics. The second annual US Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study reveals that 46% use their device exclusively as their primary or default tool aiding their local purchase decisions, with the remainder leveraging other media sources such as the PC. Additionally, half use their device at the beginning of the research process, and one-third use their device throughout the purchase process. Read more »

6 in 10 search marketers believe that it will be either much more (27%) or more (36%) important to rank in global search engines this year compared to last, according to results from BrightEdge's "2013 Search Marketer Survey" [download page]. A key aspect of reaching consumers around the world involves getting to the Chinese customer, and 41% of respondents believe it will be more important to rank in Baidu this year, versus about 1 in 10 who see this being less important. A recent report from Covario found that Baidu accounted for 1 in 4 global paid search clicks in Q1. Read more »

There has been a good deal of research lately devoted to TV consumption trends as they relate to increasing adoption of smart devices, and as TV increasingly becomes part of a multi-screen experience. Some signs point to TV multitasking as enhancing the viewing experience: for example, a recent study found that interacting with social media while watching TV drives increased program engagement. But a key question remains: are these viewers watching TV ads or picking up their devices? A new study [pdf] by Symphony Advanced Media sheds some light on this issue. Read more »