Sponsorships

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 »

Online ad revenues grew by 15% year-over-year in 2012, per the latest revenue report [pdf] from the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), but the rising tide of online ad spending didn't lift all boats. For the year, search remained dominant, at 46.3% share of revenues, but was down ever-so-slightly from 46.5% share in 2011, as revenue growth moderately trailed overall internet ad spend growth (14.5% vs. 15.2%). The researchers attribute that to a shift to mobile search, with those revenues now part of the mobile format. That format showed the most rapid increase, with spending up 111%, as mobile increased its share of online revenues from 6% to 9%. Read more »

Total global corporate spending on sponsorships is slated to increase by 4.2% this year to $53.3 billion, forecasts IEG in a new report. That represents a slowdown from 5.1% year-over-year growth in 2012 and 2011. Still, in North America, the outlook for 2013 is optimistic, with spending predicted to grow by 5.5% to $19.9 billion, after more muted growth (4.4%) last year. In North America, sports will continue to capture the lion's share of spending, at 69% share of all sponsorship dollars. Read more »

Some brands have benefited from sponsoring the Summer Olympic Games in London, according to survey results released September 2012 by Research Now. Those benefits not only manifest themselves in increased purchase likelihood among consumers, but also in a greater understanding of why the brands would sponsor the Olympics in the first place. Read more »

Online ad revenues increased 14% year-over-year in the first half (H1) of this year, according to [pdf] the latest revenue report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). That brought H1 revenues to a record total of $17 billion, from $14.9 billion in H1 2011. Q2's $8.7 billion in revenue makes it the largest quarter on record save for Q4 2011 ($9 billion), and itself represents a 14% year-over-year gain. Looking back to 2003, Q2 revenues have grown at a brisk compound annual rate of 20.2%. Read more »

Viewers of the Olympics may have had some confusion about who actually sponsored the Games, but recent survey results from YouGov indicate that many brands saw notable swings in public perception as a result of their sponsorship. Measured by "Buzz score" - which asks American adults if what they've heard about a brand in the past 2 weeks has been positive or negative - the study shows that 10 of the 13 US-facing brands saw a positive change in score through the first half of the Olympics. Read more »

Among consumers who plan to watch the 2012 London Olympics, more than half wrongly believe that Nike is an official sponsor, according to a survey released in July by Research Now. Respondents from the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany and Australia are confused about which companies are official Olympic sponsors, and view some sponsors as inappropriate. Read more »

Online advertising revenues continue to climb upwards, according to June 2012 figures from the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Revenues in Q1 set a new peak of $8.4 billion, representing a 15% increase from Q1 2011's $7.3 billion. Despite this solid growth rate, it actually represents a slowdown from Q4, which grew at a more rapid 20.4% year-over-year, to $8.94 billion. Read more »

More than 3 in 5 social media marketers plan to increase their search engine optimization (SEO - 68%) and email marketing (61%) efforts in the next year, finds Social Media Examiner in an April 2012 report. These were the top non-social areas for increased activity by social media marketers in 2011 also, though both saw a slight decrease this year. SEO is a more popular area for increased activity among B2B than B2C respondents (67% vs. 62%), while those with 3 or more years of experience (74%) are more likely than the average to indicate increased activities in this channel. Read more »

Client marketers are shifting their budgets from traditional to digital media, although it is rarely a 1-to-1 exchange, according to a report released in February 2012 by the Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA), conducted by Econsultancy. Although traditional media still makes up the majority of marketers' budgets, only 22% are forecasting increases in traditional media spending this year compared to 2011, while half expect to increase their paid digital media spend, and two-thirds their earned digital media spend. Read more »