Food

Americans might be listening to more radio, but radio's advertising revenues aren't going anywhere, at least for the time being. In Q1, total expenditures were flat, at $3.5 billion, according to [pdf] the latest revenue report from the Radio Advertising Bureau, which excludes network radio data due to incomplete information. Healthy growth in digital (9%) and off-air (5%) helped offset a sluggish quarter for spot, which was down 2% from Q1 2012. While remaining the smallest segment, at $179 million in revenues, digital's growth means that it now exceeds 5% share of total radio revenues. Read more »

PointRoll has released data [pdf] from its upcoming 2012 Benchmark Report, revealing that in-stream video ads achieved an average click-through rate (CTR) of 0.62% last year, far outpacing mobile (0.15%), rich media (0.14%) and standard banner (0.1%) ads. The findings support a similar conclusion reached earlier this year by DG MediaMind, which also found in-stream video ads to outperform those other formats, though with vastly different benchmark figures. (The DG MediaMind report put the US benchmark CTR for in-stream video at 1.11%, and mobile at 0.88%). Read more »

58% of national brand advertising campaigns employed geo-precise targeting (including geo-fencing and geo-behavioral targeting) in Q1, according to a new report from xAd. That's more than double the 27% from a year earlier, as the proportion using standard geo-targeting dropped from 64% to 40%. Still, fewer advertisers used geo-precise targeting in Q1 than in Q4 2012. That's because some campaigns benefit more than others from such targeting, and Q4 saw more campaigns seeking to leverage the benefits of geo-targeting to promote their holiday and Black Friday promotions. Read more »

Mother's Day spending outlooks are mixed, but generally positive, according to recent reports from the NRF, IBISWorld, and Brand Keys. The NRF forecast predicts that the average consumer will spend 11% more on Mother's Day (Sunday, May 12), for an average of $169, with total spending expected to reach $20.7 billion. Brand Key's survey results [pdf] are similar, with celebrants planning to spend an average of $171, for a total of $18.6 billion, which would be a 5% increase from last year. IBISWorld, though, sees total spending reaching a smaller total of $17.1 billion, just 0.2% higher than last year. Read more »

42% of consumers are loyal to their favorite restaurants and will go to them regardless of whether or not they have a promotion, details The NPD Group in a new report. Even so, about one-quarter describe themselves as switching around based on promotions, while another 9% go where it's cheapest. The findings come soon after separate results from the researchers showing that restaurant visits are becoming less deal-driven. That study suggested that restaurants introduce new deals, but also focus on customer loyalty. Read more »

In 2011-2012, only about 1 in every 10 new CPG brands - of which there were almost 1,900 - managed to to meet the "stringent, industry-recognized benchmarks of exceptional first-year sales success required to achieve 2012 New Product Pacesetter status," reveals Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) in a recent study. Those 200 top-selling launches each achieved more than $13 million in first-year sales, with an individual average of $39.5 million. Among food and beverage brands, Dannon Oikos topped the list with almost $284 million in total year-one multi-outlet dollar sales. Read more »

94% of Americans say they will remain cautious and keep their food, beverage and household goods spending at current levels even if the economy improves, according to results from Deloitte's "2013 American Pantry Study." The survey results indicate that consumers' recession-sparked frugality has endured, as 70% agree that even though they're spending less on products now, it doesn't feel like they're sacrificing much. Those attitudes translate to their brand loyalty, too: just 27% of respondents interviewed last year said they intend to purchase more national brands instead of store brands as the economy improves. Read more »

A survey of 1,497 smartphone owners, conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB) and SinglePlatform at Constant Contact, reveals that respondents are more likely to search for restaurants than any other industry. The results align with prior research from YP showing that restaurants are the most queried, clicked, and called mobile local search category. Overall, the CMB and SinglePlatform study found that in the previous 6 months, 81% of respondents had searched for a restaurant via a mobile application, and 92% through a web browser. Read more »

More than 3 in 4 teens shop online, reports Piper Jaffray in new survey results [pdf], but they prefer to shop in-store. Asked to indicate their preference, 78% of female teens responding to the survey indicated that they prefer to shop in-store, while only 17% prefer shopping online. Male respondents followed a similar pattern, with 75% choosing in-store shopping, compared to 19% saying they prefer shopping online. Last year, survey results from Ipsos indicated that 6 in 10 Americans prefer shopping in-store, but that younger generations showed a greater inclination than other generations to prefer shopping online. Read more »

Ace Metrix has released its list of most effective TV ads during Q1 2013, with a surprising finding: only 2 Super Bowl spots cracked the top 10, with Budweiser's "Brotherhood" coming in at number 5. In another noteworthy result, no Oscar ads made it into the top 10. The list was headed by Cool Whip, with its "Mistreated and Hurt" ad achieving an Ace Score of 680, followed by Longhorn Steakhouse's "Great Steak" at 676, and Buick's "Be Ready" at 675. Read more »