Entertainment

Samsung mobile devices on the whole sported higher click-through rates than the iPhone in the US and UK during Q1, reversing a long-standing trend and marking a "highly significant" moment, per new data [pdf] from Adfonic. With a CTR index of 1.06 and an effective earnings for thousand impressions (eCPM) index of 1.08, Samsung passed Apple (1.01 and 0.98, respectively) in performance for the quarter. Apple retained its lead as the top manufacturer by share of ad impressions, though, with Samsung trailing. Read more »

A new study from ShareThis examines the social sharing behaviors of 200,000 mothers aged 25-54 with children in the household. The analysis of their behavior across the 2.4 million sites in the ShareThis network over a 1-month period, which amounted to more than 1 million social signals, reveals that 30% of mothers shared content on the network during the period, compared to 10% of the network's overall average. Mothers were most likely to share content about parenting (18%) and movies & TV (15%), with those 2 categories alone combining to represent one-third of shares. Read more »

Among Millennials (ages 18-35), men and women display different priorities when it comes to their preferred pastimes, according to [pdf] survey results from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Lachman Associates. Presented with a list of uses of free time and asked to select up to 5 favorite activities, a leading 58% of men said they watch TV, with about 4 in 10 saying they listen to or play music (43%), play computer games (42%), spend time with friends (41%) and spend time with family (38%). Among women, spending time with family (57%) is most popular, closely followed by watching TV (54%), with reading (47%), spending time with friends (43%), and listening to or playing music (39%) rounding out the top 5 most frequent activities. Read more »

Americans aged 18-34 are more likely than their older counterparts to prefer a range of entertainment types on-demand, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Stitcher. For example, among music listeners, 18-34-year-olds are twice as likely as 35-54-year-olds to prefer to listen always or mostly on demand (46% vs. 23%). And among TV viewers, 41% of those aged 18-34 prefer to watch always or mostly on demand, versus 21% of those aged 55 and older. Indeed, the desire to watch on one's own schedule has become a key driver of online video consumption. Read more »

Music fans not only appreciate artists, but also the brands that sponsor their events, according to [download page] a report from Nielsen. The "US Entertainment Consumer Report" reveals that 43% of music fans notice when a brand or product sponsors an artist or brand. Reaching these fans is an important endeavor: while they represent only 40% of music consumers overall, they account for 75% of spending on music. Separate results suggest that some of these fans will be persuaded to try a product by the brands' promotional activities. Read more »

Companies can stand to reap rewards from creating emotional connections with consumers, and it seems that radio benefits in its own way from emotional triggers. According to a Jacobs Media survey of more than 78,000 radio listeners in the US and Canada, 40% said a main reason for listening to AM/FM radio is to get in a better mood, with another 40% citing this as an important reason. Additionally, about 7 in 10 say that wanting to escape from the pressures of an everyday life is an important or main reason to listen, and about 8 in 10 listen because radio keeps them company. Read more »

North Americans are becoming more confident in spending, according to [download page] results from a Nielsen survey of consumer confidence and spending intentions. In Q1, 42% of respondents (all surveyed online) said they plan to spend on discretionary items this year, up from 36% the previous quarter. Within the US, 23% said they will spend on home improvement and decorating projects, a significant jump from 17% who responded that way in Q4 2012. Additionally, 22% are planning to take a vacation, up 2% quarter-over-quarter, with the same figures applying to out-of-home entertainment spending. Read more »

Global ad spending grew by 3.2% last year, but some sectors fared better than others, details Nielsen in further results released publicly from its Global AdView Pulse report. At the forefront of spending growth were the telecom and FMCG sectors, boosting expenditures by 7% and 6.8%, respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, spending by durables brands declined by 2.1%, while healthcare companies cut back slightly, by 0.7%. Read more »

Smartphone and tablet owners just can't seem to let go of their devices. Young smartphone owners seem particularly addicted: 3 in 4 check them when they wake up in the morning, while up to 40% check them every 10 minutes. As it turns out, even a vacation won't pry smart devices out of their owners' hands. When they go on vacation, 8 in 10 owners say they take their devices along and use them all the time, compared to slightly more than 1 in 10 who take them but rarely use them. Read more »

Among mobile platforms, Apple's iOS leads in monetization performance on the Opera Advertising mobile platform, reports Opera [pdf] in a study covering platform activity in Q1. The iPhone regained the lead in mobile impression share after dropping behind Android in Q4, but its share of revenues fell by about 3% points, to 34.2%. The iPhone's share of revenues stayed ahead of Android, which also skidded by 3% points, to 26.7%. Read more »