Entertainment

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 »

27% of Americans' time spent online last year was spent accessing social networking sites and forums, says Experian Marketing Services in newly-released data. That's the equivalent of 16 minutes of every hour spent online, ahead of time spent with entertainment (9 minutes; 15% share) and shopping (~5 minutes; 9% share). But it isn't all rosy news for social networking: that 27% share of time spent in the US is actually down from 30% in 2011. Social media's share of online time also declined in the UK and Australia, by 3% each (to 22% and 24%, respectively). Read more »

Unruly has released its first in a series of quarterly reports examining trends in social video advertising. The report, which looks at video ad shares across verticals and brands in Q1, highlights an encouraging performance by FMCG brands, and a relatively lackluster showing from auto manufacturers. All told, FMCG ad campaigns generated almost 8.7 million shares during the quarter, up 78.2% from Q4 2012, and representing 25.3% of all shares. The vertical was propped up by Budweiser's "Brotherhood" Super Bowl ad, which became the second most-shared Super Bowl ad ever, with 2.4 million shares. 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 »