B2B media industry revenues grew by 3.9% year-over-year during the first half of 2015 to surpass $14 billion, according to the latest ABM Business Information Network (BIN) report, exceeding 2014’s growth rate. Events continue to capture the largest share of B2B media and information industry spending, up by 4.5% to almost $6.3 billion (or about 45% of the total). Print advertising declined by 5.6% (to $3.2 billion), while digital advertising continued its strong growth (+14.7% to $3.1 billion), surpassing print for the first time during Q2.
Data and Business Information continues to be a stronger category for the industry, with its $1.5 billion in revenues representing a 7.7% year-over-year increase.
The BIN report combines data from several sources. Event revenue is supplied by CEIR; print advertising data is provided by publishing service bureau IMS. Data on B2B digital advertising is estimated by ABM based on information provided by the IAB, and the data component of the BIN report is provided by Outsell, supplemented by publicly available data and ABM estimates.
The following is a brief list of other intriguing data points culled from recently-released research.
- Turning to retail, a Nielsen report [download page] looks at Millennials (ages 21-38) in retail, noting that Wal-Mart, Target and Amazon are the top retailers shopped in the past 3 months by Millennials overall and by upscale Millennials (those with at least $75k in household income), although upscale Millennials are more likely than the overall average to shop at Target and Amazon and less likely to frequent Wal-Mart. Kohl’s, Best Buy, Macy’s and JCPenney also appear on both lists; Dollar General (#6) and Family Dollar (#8) are top-10 retailers for Millennials overall, while Dollar Tree (#7) gets the nod among upscale Millennials.
- Sticking with retail, a recent survey from Sitecore indicates that when comparing brick-and-mortar and online experiences, Baby Boomers are almost 80% more likely than Millennials to believe that brick-and-mortar retailers treat their customers the best. Interestingly, Baby Boomers are 73% more likely than Millennials to prefer interaction with a brand via direct mail; MarketingCharts’ own research has found that direct mail is the top purchase influencer among Baby Boomers.
- Switching to social media, Facebook reported its Q3 earnings this week, revealing that it exceeded 1.5 billion monthly active users and 1 billion daily active users during the quarter. Mobile ad revenue grew 73% year-over-year and now comprises 78% share of all advertising revenues, up from 76% during the preceding quarter.
- Moving on to app engagement, a study from AppBoy indicates that consistent initial engagement from app users is a strong indicator of future loyalty. While only 55% of those who use an app in the first week post-download show further activity in the ensuing 3 months, 82% of those who engage for a second week will be retained. The research found that retention patterns are consistent across verticals and operating systems.
- In a separate new study, Kahuna’s Mobile Marketing Index [download page] for Q3 shows that 30-day retention is more than twice as high for those receiving push notifications (51.4%) as those who do not (23.1%), with the gap widening to almost a factor of 3 for 90-day retention (32.3% vs. 11.3%). Previous research – from Urban Airship – supports the greater retention rate among push messaging recipients. Kahuna’s index indicates that there’s a wide variety in opt-in rates across industries, ranging from a low of 16.8% (music) to a high of 80.4% (travel and transportation).
- In its latest quarterly mobile advertising report, Opera Mediaworks reveals that Apple regains the top spot in advertising revenue worldwide from Android, which had first claimed the top spot in Q1. Consistent with prior reports, iOS remained firmly in the lead in monetization (revenue per impression); monetization potential continued to be far higher (more than twice as large) on tablets as compared to mobile phones. Indeed, tablets and video were the driving forces behind Apple’s retaking of the top spot in revenue generation.
- Turning to financial services, an Ipsos survey of more than 500 octogenarians shows that financial well-being (68%) was a greater factor than health (53%) or age (42%) in their retirement decisions. On the opposite end of the age spectrum, an Experian survey of Millennials (19-34) reveals that their top future financial concerns are supporting a family (30%), retirement savings (28%) and financial independence (25%).
- Moving on to video, a word-of-mouth study from Keller Fay finds that TV ads that cause conversations and online sharing are more likely to drive sales than those that do not generate those levels of conversation. In a separate analysis, the firm determined that Papa John’s led all brands in having the most talked about TV commercials, followed by Little Caesars and Applebee’s.
- Budgets for those TV ads are coming under fire, claims AOL in its latest annual US State of the Video Industry Report, in which half of buyers shifting budget to digital video are reallocating those funds from TV. Of course, that’s a big pot to borrow from…
Have a great weekend!
