How Corporate Marketers Use Event DataData and KPIs gathered from events are not only used to improve the experiences, but also to inform wider marketing strategies and planning.November 16, 2018

Corporate marketers use event data to improve event portfolios and experiences in a variety ways, according to a study from Freeman and Chief Marketer. But as the Freeman Data Benchmark Study [download page] illustrates, event data and KPIs are also being... READ MORE

Programmatic Advertisers Grow More Worried About Fraud, Turn to DSPs With Proven Track RecordsAmazon Advertising Platform has edged Google DoubleClick Bid Manager as the most commonly used demand-side platform (DSP).

Amazon Advertising Platform (AAP) has edged ahead of Google DoubleClick Bid Manager as the most commonly used demand-side platform (DSP) among marketers and advertisers, with 41% using the former as opposed to 35% the latter. That’s according to... READ MORE

Pay-TV Penetration Continues Its Slow Descent From 2010’s PeakThe percentage of adults ages 18-44 with a pay-TV service has dropped by 13% points in just 5 years.November 15, 2018

Pay-TV penetration in the US continues its decline, though it’s by no means a drastic drop. The latest annual survey figures from Leichtman Research Group (LRG) indicate that 78% of TV households in the US subscribe to some type of pay-TV service.... READ MORE

Cash Back is the Most Popular Type of Loyalty Scheme for ConsumersSome 31% of US consumers feel very rewarded by cash back, compared to just 9% for tiered programs.

Consumers value cash for their loyalty over other loyalty schemes, according to a study [report download] from Dosh. Of the 3,000 US consumers surveyed, 83% feel rewarded when receiving cash back (31% of the whole sample feeling very rewarded and 52% a... READ MORE

B2C Marketers Try to Stand Out From the Crowd to Acquire CustomersA heavy reliance on discounts and promotions may not be helping matters.November 14, 2018

Eight in 10 digital marketers are feeling greater pressure this year than last to meet acquisition and revenue goals, and many feel that they’re “running on a never-ending hamster wheel.” So finds SheerID in a survey [download page] fielded... READ MORE

B2B Marketers Focus on Early-Stage ContentAlmost half of demand gen content in 2018 is designed for the early stage of the buying process.

Nearly half (47%) of the content created by B2B marketers in 2018 was created for the early stage of the buyer’s journey, according to a recent study [PDF] from the Content Marketing Institute. Creating content targeted at the top of the funnel aligns... READ MORE

Free Report: Global Email Deliverability BenchmarkReturn Path shares the state of global email deliverability, including inbox placement rates and trends.November 13, 2018

[Sponsored by Return Path] Email marketers have had a busy year. With GDPR coming into effect and mailbox providers like Gmail, AOL, and Yahoo making changes to their platforms and infrastructure, there has been no shortage of challenges. Even with all of... READ MORE

US Consumers’ Attitudes Split on TV Advertising; No Effect Seen on Service ChoiceDislike for TV ads doesn't seem to be directly affecting service subscriptions, but may be starting to have an impact on viewing habits.

Broadband consumers in the US are as likely to not mind advertising on TV (36.7%) as they are to dislike it (36.5%), according to a Q3 2018 survey from Ampere Analysis. The relative acceptance of advertising on TV among consumers in the US (and UK) stands in... READ MORE

B2B Marketers Are Having Difficulties Implementing Analytics TechnologiesData management and analytics technologies are considered the most difficult to implement.

Most marketers today are working on implementing necessary marketing technologies at their organization, according to a new Ascend2 report [download page], which finds that their martech strategies revolve primarily around increasing ROI and improving... READ MORE

85% of Millennials Say They’ve Made A Purchase After Viewing A Marketing VideoMost 18-34-year-olds say they find video more engaging than other forms of marketing content.November 12, 2018

Video marketing has been growing in popularity in recent times, and new statistics from a Brightcove study provide some reasons why that’s the case. Fully three-quarters (76%) of the almost 4,500 adults surveyed in the US, UK and Australia report... READ MORE

Digital Marketers Forecast Increased Spend on Amazon Ads, But Challenges RemainInadequate reporting is a key complaint when it comes to advertising on Amazon.

Amazon is poised to become the third-largest advertising platform in the US this year, and new survey results [download page] from Third Door Media indicate that marketers have plans to dedicate more of their budgets to it in the coming year. Of the 681... READ MORE

Almost Half of Consumers Report Having Abandoned A Customer Feedback Survey. Why?Report recommends making the process simple and concise, with real-time feedback a key feature.November 9, 2018

Some 44% of consumers across the US, UK and Australia say they’ve abandoned a customer feedback survey without completing it, according to a recent study from Medallia [download page]. The report suggests that survey design – and the channels... READ MORE

Google Owns the Three Most Popular Tools For Leading SaaS BusinessesGoogle Tag Manager, Google Analytics and G Suite are each used by more than 7 in 10 leading SaaS businesses.

Beating out the likes of Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft, Google tools are more prevalent in large, high-performing SaaS businesses. Their products, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics and G Suite are the top 3 tools used by SaaS businesses, according to a... READ MORE

C-Suite Execs See Tech Disruption As More Opportunity Than ThreatThe ability to adopt new technologies is both an opportunity and a challenge, though.November 8, 2018

Fully 71% of C-suite executives around the world believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will be a game-changer for economic growth and competitiveness, according to a report from A.T. Kearney [pdf]. That type of optimism surrounding emerging technologies... READ MORE

Mobile App Developers Say Social Media’s Their Primary Marketing ChannelApp developers and marketers count daily active users as their main success metric.

User acquisition is the primary goal of app marketers, although retention is certainly a challenge that also needs to be overcome. So how are app developers and marketers going about encouraging downloads? The 2018 App Marketing Survey from The Manifest... READ MORE

B2B Marketers Increasingly Integrate Traditional Demand Gen and ABM ProcessesABM efforts are only generally meeting expectations, as marketers struggle to prove the ROI of their efforts.November 7, 2018

B2B marketers continue to largely prioritize traditional demand generation over account-based marketing (ABM) efforts, although the trend seems to be towards greater integration of the two, according to a Demand Gen Report (DGR) study [download page]. This... READ MORE

Companies Struggle to Understand the External Costs for Marketing TechnologyCompanies are also having difficulty measuring the impact of the optimized digital experience.

Marketers are prolific adopters of technology, but it appears that the companies they work for do not understand the external costs of connecting it all. This is according to findings from a new study [download page] from Sitecore and Econsultancy. Close to... READ MORE

Parents Are Active Online Shoppers, Subscription Box Service CustomersAlmost half of US online shoppers with kids in the household shop online on at least a weekly basis.November 6, 2018

The frequency with which US consumers make purchases online is growing, says Pitney Bowes in its 2018 Global Ecommerce Study [pdf]. Indeed, 30% of US respondents this year report shopping online at least weekly, a considerable uptick from 19% last year.... READ MORE

National TV Advertising Revenues Remained Flat During the 2017-2018 SeasonCable fared better than broadcast, though both upped their ad loads.

National TV advertising spending stood at $45.5 billion during the 2017-2018 Broadcast Season when excluding the impact of the Winter Olympics and World Cup, with that figure unchanged from the previous year, reveals Standard Media Index (SMI) in... READ MORE

Latest Teen Survey: Instagram Looks Like It’s Gaining Ground on SnapchatFacebook and Twitter are rapidly declining in popularity among US teens.November 5, 2018

Snapchat has reigned supreme as teens’ favorite social platform for a couple of years now, according to Piper Jaffray’s semi-annual teen surveys. But Snapchat’s rise may be cooling off, and Instagram may be seeing renewed interest from... READ MORE

Here’s A Look At the Tech Platforms And Tactics In Use by B2B MarketersB2B marketers are comfortable using web analytics, but not so customer data platforms.

B2B marketers are expressing confidence in their sophisticated use of web analytics but have a ways to go in adopting customer data platforms. So finds Dun & Bradstreet in its 2019 Data-Driven Marketing & Advertising Outlook survey [download page],... READ MORE

Organic Search’s Share of Site Visits StabilizesOrganic search refers about one-quarter of visits to US brand sites, overall and on mobile.November 2, 2018

Under pressure from a greater number of search ads and the rise of social platforms, organic search’s contribution to brand site visits has been falling over the past couple of years. But that appears to have stabilized in recent quarters, according to... READ MORE

B2B Adoption of Programmatic Advertising Levels Off, but Spending to IncreaseMore than 6 in 10 B2B marketers (63%) are involved in buying or selling programmatic advertising, unchanged from last year.

B2B marketers’ use of programmatic advertising may be reaching a plateau, but not so their spending on programmatic, says Dun & Bradstreet in its 2019 Data-Driven Marketing & Advertising Outlook [download page]. The survey of 237 B2B marketers... READ MORE

“Global Business Influencers” Rely on Intuition As Well As LogicSenior executives appear more confident relying on cognitive than intuitive factors, but admit that emotions also play a role.November 1, 2018

Global Business Influencers represent less than 1% of the population, but are an important target for B2B marketers, considering their spending power and control over company budgets. So says Ipsos in a recent report [pdf] on these senior business people in... READ MORE

Agencies’ Snapchat Ad Spend Primarily Directed to SnapAdsSnapchat's ad revenues haven't been rising as quickly as expected.

Snapchat advertising spend by national marketers was projected to have increased by 10% in Q3 and by 8% through the first 9 months of the year, according to recent figures from Standard Media Index, which sources its data directly from the invoices of 5 of... READ MORE

Here Are Some Characteristics of Top-Performing B2B Content MarketersTop-performing content marketers are more likely to enjoy executive buy-in, to use technology proficiently, and to personalize content.October 31, 2018

Some 27% of B2B content marketers in North America rate their organization’s overall level of content marketing success as “extremely” (4%) or “very” (23%) successful, while 22% rate it as “minimally” (20%) or... READ MORE

Cable TV’s in the Rearview Mirror for Teens, as YouTube Gains Greater ProminenceNetflix and YouTube together command an estimated 71% of teens' daily video time, a new high for these platforms.

Teens continue to say they’re gravitating away from cable TV as a part of their daily video diet, according to the latest semi-annual teen survey from Piper Jaffray. The 8,600 teens surveyed estimated spending less than one-sixth (16%) of their daily... READ MORE

MarketingCharts’ 2018 Reader SurveyHelp shape MC's future with your responses.October 30, 2018

Hi readers – we’re running our latest reader survey and would appreciate your input! We know you’re inundated with survey invitations (as we are), but if anyone recognizes the power of research, it should be us – and you! So while it is a... READ MORE

Instagram Stories Picking Up More of the Platform’s Ad SpendingOne-quarter of client advertisers' Instagram spend went to Stories this past quarter, per Marin Software.

Instagram has been getting meaningful ad spend relative to Facebook in recent months, and new data from Marin Software again indicates that it’s becoming a more important part of Facebook’s monetization strategy. In Q3, Marin indicates that its... READ MORE

B2B Salespeople Say They Get the Best Results From ReferralsThe biggest challenge to setting up an initial meeting - which for most takes at least 5 attempts - is getting the prospect to respond.

Word-of-mouth is the most powerful purchase influencer for consumers – and it works in B2B too. A new study [download page] from ValueSelling Associates finds salespeople pointing to referrals as the most effective method for reaching prospects, far... READ MORE

Gen Z’s Preferred Social Apps Vary by Activity; Instagram’s Tops for Following BrandsAlmost half of Gen Z respondents say they follow more than 10 influencers on social media.October 29, 2018

Sure, teens aren’t that into Facebook anymore. But it still serves some purpose to them, according to the State of Gen Z report [download page] from the Center for Generational Kinetics. As is stands, teens prefer different apps for different purposes,... READ MORE

Does Marketing “Own” The Customer? For Most, Yes.Customer data leaders are facing less of a challenge from internal silos.

A majority of marketers and digital professionals agree that the marketing function within their business “owns” the customer, according to an Econsultancy report [download page] sponsored by SAP Customer Experience. The study links assignment of... READ MORE

How Sophisticated Are Digital Content Strategies and Efforts?About 4 in 10 agree that they can personalize content in real-time, and another 4 in 10 somewhat agree.October 26, 2018

Content and digital marketers have buy-in for their efforts, that much can be said. Fully 86% either agree (50%) or somewhat agree (36%) that executive leadership fully supports and invests in using content to achieve business goals, according to... READ MORE

These Are the Insights Marketers Want From Their Media Buying Partners8 in 10 marketers are planning to increase their use of first-party data over the coming year.

Digital advertisers want more control of their own data. Such is the word from new Sizmek research [download page], in which 84% of marketers surveyed are prioritizing being data self-sufficient – or at least working towards that – over the next... READ MORE

Consumers Widen Auto Brand Consideration Set During Purchase Journey, Then Develop “Tunnel Vision”Millennials have the most heightened "tunnel vision" due to greater exposure to targeted digital ads late in the game.October 25, 2018

Rather than narrow, the number of car brands considered by shoppers actually doubles throughout the shopping journey, reveals Nielsen in its Auto Marketing Report 2018 [download page]. Although car shoppers’ path to purchase begins with 2-3 brands... READ MORE

US Adults’ Trust in Mass Media Rises AgainOlder adults maintain higher levels of confidence than younger adults, though.

Almost half (45%) of American adults now trust the mass media, representing an uptick from 41% last year and a low of 32% in 2016, per survey results from Gallup. Although trust in the mass media hasn’t recovered to levels observed in the late 1990s... READ MORE

The Most Successful B2B Content Marketers Are Putting Their Audiences’ Needs FirstInside: several important findings from the latest research into B2B content marketing.October 24, 2018

A majority of B2B content marketers in North America have increased their spending on content creation in the past 12 months, according to the latest annual study of B2B content marketing from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. The survey... READ MORE

More Marketers Are Moving Agency Business In-House. Why?A look at the services most commonly performed by in-house agencies and most apt to be moved from external agencies.

In-house agency penetration is growing “dramatically,” says the ANA in a new report. Some 78% of client-side marketers who are members of the ANA report having an in-house agency this year, almost doubling the rate (42%) from a decade ago. And... READ MORE

Improving Measurability is Proving Difficult for Digital MarketersIt's not a high priority for digital marketing strategies, though, which are more concerned with prospect and customer acquisition.October 23, 2018

Marketers can tend to feel that they have an easier time measuring ROI for digital than offline channels. After all, measurability is one of the key attractions of digital marketing. Yet that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily easy. In a new... READ MORE

1 in 5 Shoppers Think Their Retail Loyalties Are Greater Than Their Parents’Dedication to a brand is built over time, most say.

Recent research has suggested that about 1 in 5 people are loyal to specific brands, and a new study from InMoment [download page] likewise finds 17% of consumers describing themselves as “fiercely loyal” to a handful of brands. But shoppers... READ MORE

B2B Purchase Decision-Makers Say The Brand MattersWhat does it take to get that initial engagement from a buyer? And why might sales and marketing be lacking consistent messaging? New research from LinkedIn offers answers.October 22, 2018

B2B marketers are having trouble getting prospects to engage, according to recent research. So what helps influence decision-makers to make an initial engagement with a vendor? As it turns out, a strong professional brand will do the trick, according to a... READ MORE

Subscription Video-on-Demand Services Get High Marks For Their ContentOnline cable-TV offerings (such as Sling TV) are well matched with ad-supported subscription services in terms of value and content perception.

Ad-free subscription services are rated more highly for their user experience than pay-TV providers, and also get higher marks for their content quality and variety, according to a survey [pdf] commissioned by the IAB. Not surprisingly, pay-TV providers had... READ MORE

Who Do CX Leaders Collaborate With – And Who Are They Missing?9 in 10 organizations see the CMO as the "connective tissue between different lines of business."October 19, 2018

Chief marketing officers (CMOs) are now not only in charge of the desired perception of the organization (branding) but also the actual perception (experience), notes Accenture in a commissioned study [PDF] conducted by Forrester Consulting. The report finds... READ MORE

Biggest Barrier to Personalizing Content and Digital Ad Creative? Time.It takes about 17 hours on average to create a single piece of short-form content, and 27 hours for a piece of long-form content.

More than half of marketers (59%), advertisers (52%) and brand creatives (53%) agree that they find it difficult to personalize content at scale. And while agency creatives are a little more confident, a new survey from Adobe indicates that fewer than half... READ MORE

What Do Emotional Interactions With Brands Mean For Consumers?There's widespread skepticism that AI can approximate the emotional interactions provided by humans.October 18, 2018

Emotions are greater drivers of brand loyalty than rational factors such as price competitiveness or brand values including social responsibility, according to consumer research from Capgemini. A new report from Invoca and Adobe reveals what a high emotional... READ MORE

Which Factors Are Most Important In the Media Mix Decision?Organizations want to follow their audiences to their preferred channels, but also are cognizant that some channels are more appropriate than others.

Some marketing channels are more easily measured than others, but that may not be a strong factor in media mix decisions, according to the latest annual Getting Media Right report [download page] from Kantar Millward Brown. In fact, relatively few... READ MORE

Marketers Think They’re Marrying Short- and Long-Term Goals, but Measurement Is Out of WhackYounger marketers are the least confident that they've found the right mix.October 17, 2018

Some three-quarters of advertisers, agencies and media companies are confident that their organization has achieved the optimal media mix, representing an uptick in confidence from last year, according to Kantar Millward Brown’s 5th Annual Getting... READ MORE

Brands Can Be An Important Expression of Belief Systems, Say 1 in 3 ConsumersA "belief-driven" approach to purchase decisions is now common across markets, generations, and income levels.

Did you choose to buy Nike after it featured Colin Kaepernick in its new campaign? Perhaps you chose to boycott the brand for the same reason. As it stands, almost 1 in 3 consumers have strongly held, passionate beliefs and feel that the brands they buy are... READ MORE

US Internet and Social Media Usage PlateauSome 69% of US adults say they use social media, unchanged from 2016 following years of growth.October 16, 2018

Internet usage, as well as social media adoption and device ownership, have seemingly reached a plateau after several years of growth, reports the Pew Research Center. For example, the percentage of US adults using social media rests at 69% this year,... READ MORE

The Pros and Cons of E-Commerce, According to B2B Decision-MakersE-commerce can help B2B firms reach new buyers, but it also can present issues with competitive pricing.

One in every 5 decision-makers at B2B companies across the world is getting a majority of sales from e-commerce, according to a survey from PROS [download page]. But fast-forward 5 years and triple that number – 3 in 5 – expect to be seeing most... READ MORE