http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/business/media/21papers.html?_r=1&dbk
With 10 days left in the third quarter, analysts, publishers and ad buyers say that ad revenue will be down about 25 percent industrywide from the third quarter last year, possibly a little less. They predict that the decline will be smaller in the fourth quarter. Several of them say the usual back-to-school uptick in newspaper advertising seems to have been a little better than in most years, if only because July and August were so weak.
Ordinarily, such numbers would be seen as catastrophic, but these times are not ordinary. The drop in combined print and digital ad revenue last year, 16.6 percent, according to the Newspaper Association of America, was the worst since the Depression. But it looks rosy next to 2009, when revenue fell 28.3 percent in the first quarter and 29 percent in the second.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Four in Five Clients Measure Agency Performance Annually: ANA Survey
http://promomagazine.com/news/ana-survery-results-0915/
A new survey from the Association of National Advertisers finds a hefty majority of advertisers—more than four out of five-- reporting that they regularly evaluate the performance of the advertising agencies retained on their accounts.
Clients are also much less likely to set up regular re-examinations of their multicultural, digital, PR or direct marketing agencies than of their basic creative agency, according to the survey, conducted with the help of the marketing services group Mktg. The poll found that while about 68% of respondents said they have a formal evaluation process in place for their traditional media agencies, only 47% reported the same in regard to their digital marketing agency, and only about 25% said they regularly examined the performance of their direct, PR and multicultural agencies.
A new survey from the Association of National Advertisers finds a hefty majority of advertisers—more than four out of five-- reporting that they regularly evaluate the performance of the advertising agencies retained on their accounts.
Clients are also much less likely to set up regular re-examinations of their multicultural, digital, PR or direct marketing agencies than of their basic creative agency, according to the survey, conducted with the help of the marketing services group Mktg. The poll found that while about 68% of respondents said they have a formal evaluation process in place for their traditional media agencies, only 47% reported the same in regard to their digital marketing agency, and only about 25% said they regularly examined the performance of their direct, PR and multicultural agencies.
Brands Rushing To Social Partly Out of Fear: Study
http://promomagazine.com/news/brand-rushing-fear-0917/
Retailers and brands that sell online are stampeding into social media, a new survey finds—some for fear of looking less modern than their competitors, and others out of concern that they may be getting bad-mouthed without their knowledge.
According to the survey, fielded by multichannel retail consultant The E-tailing Group and consumer review platform PowerReviews, a surprising number of social media tools have achieved wide adoption by brands and retailers in the relatively short time they’ve been available. Eighty-six percent of the brands and merchants who responded to the “Community and Social media Study” poll said they now use a Facebook fan page.
Fifty-five percent each reported using customer reviews on their Web sites and writing or working with blogs, while 50% of those questioned said they have uploaded video content in the hope of sending it viral.
Retailers and brands that sell online are stampeding into social media, a new survey finds—some for fear of looking less modern than their competitors, and others out of concern that they may be getting bad-mouthed without their knowledge.
According to the survey, fielded by multichannel retail consultant The E-tailing Group and consumer review platform PowerReviews, a surprising number of social media tools have achieved wide adoption by brands and retailers in the relatively short time they’ve been available. Eighty-six percent of the brands and merchants who responded to the “Community and Social media Study” poll said they now use a Facebook fan page.
Fifty-five percent each reported using customer reviews on their Web sites and writing or working with blogs, while 50% of those questioned said they have uploaded video content in the hope of sending it viral.
TNS: Ad Spend Falls 14.3% in First Half 2009
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/media-agencies-research/e3idc28e6611ea5f0a865778565d5c4a9df
Advertising spending fell 14.3 percent to $60.87 billion in the first half of 2009, capping off five consecutive quarters of negative growth, according to data released Wednesday (Sept. 16) from TNS Media Intelligence. The final tally was similar to estimates released two weeks ago by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, which reported total ad spending down 15.4 percent to $56.9 billion. The declines in second quarter differed little from first quarter, leading some to conclude that advertising had hit bottom. But John Swallen, senior vp of research and TNSMI, cautioned that conclusion might be premature.
“While it’s tempting to interpret this as a positive indicator that things aren’t getting worse, the fact remains that the market has been steadily tracking at around 14 percent declines for several consecutive months and this represents billions of lost revenue,” Swallen said.
The numbers could look better next quarter, if only because of easy comparisons to last year when the bottom fell out of the market.
Only two of the 19 media segments measured by TNSMI posted growth in the first half: Internet display advertising, up 6.5 percent; and Free Standing Inserts, up 4.6 percent. Both media benefited from larger budgets allocated by consumer packaged goods marketers. Print media took the biggest budget hits. Spending in magazines dropped nearly 21 percent. Newspaper spending dropped 24.2 percent.
Due to weakness in local markets, particularly auto and retail, radio spending decreased 24.6 percent, with local down 25.5 percent and national spot down 29 percent. Network radio fared better with an 8.7 percent decline.
TV spending was a mixed bag, down 10 percent in total, mostly on a 27 percent drop in Spot TV. Network TV, Cable TV and national syndication had single-digit declines of 5.5 percent, 3.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Spanish Language TV was down 12.7 percent.
Outdoor was down 15.7 percent.
Advertising spending fell 14.3 percent to $60.87 billion in the first half of 2009, capping off five consecutive quarters of negative growth, according to data released Wednesday (Sept. 16) from TNS Media Intelligence. The final tally was similar to estimates released two weeks ago by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, which reported total ad spending down 15.4 percent to $56.9 billion. The declines in second quarter differed little from first quarter, leading some to conclude that advertising had hit bottom. But John Swallen, senior vp of research and TNSMI, cautioned that conclusion might be premature.
“While it’s tempting to interpret this as a positive indicator that things aren’t getting worse, the fact remains that the market has been steadily tracking at around 14 percent declines for several consecutive months and this represents billions of lost revenue,” Swallen said.
The numbers could look better next quarter, if only because of easy comparisons to last year when the bottom fell out of the market.
Only two of the 19 media segments measured by TNSMI posted growth in the first half: Internet display advertising, up 6.5 percent; and Free Standing Inserts, up 4.6 percent. Both media benefited from larger budgets allocated by consumer packaged goods marketers. Print media took the biggest budget hits. Spending in magazines dropped nearly 21 percent. Newspaper spending dropped 24.2 percent.
Due to weakness in local markets, particularly auto and retail, radio spending decreased 24.6 percent, with local down 25.5 percent and national spot down 29 percent. Network radio fared better with an 8.7 percent decline.
TV spending was a mixed bag, down 10 percent in total, mostly on a 27 percent drop in Spot TV. Network TV, Cable TV and national syndication had single-digit declines of 5.5 percent, 3.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Spanish Language TV was down 12.7 percent.
Outdoor was down 15.7 percent.
Adobe to Acquire Omniture
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/technology/companies/16adobe.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
Adobe, based in San Jose, Calif., will pay $21.50 a share in cash, a premium of 24 percent over Omniture’s closing stock price Tuesday. Omniture shares jumped nearly 26 percent in after-hours trading.
From ADAGE
Adobe Systems announced last night that it will acquire web-analytics firm Omniture for $1.8 billion in equity by fourth-quarter fiscal 2009. The deal finds Abobe picking up all outstanding Omniture stock at a 45% premium.
The union foretells a digital-content platform that sees ads through creation to delivery -- and now to optimization. Adobe hopes marrying its creative production tools with Omniture analytics will create what Adobe President-CEO Shantanu Narayen calls an "end-to-end platform." For creatives, that means metrics can't be an afterthought; they'll need to be part of the content-creation process from the beginning. For data analysts and media companies, it means potentially more clarity into what creative formats and media placements are working -- and how.
"Chief digital officers want to understand which video content is performing the best," said Mr. Narayen during the third-quarter earnings call. "They want to produce rich ads, but also understand the click-through rates in real time."
Omniture CEO Josh James said the deal will allow creatives to integrate measurement into the front end of the ad-creation process and that marrying the two companies would improve content engagement, ad effectiveness and the overall user experience that's driving the shift of ad dollars from offline to online.
Adobe, based in San Jose, Calif., will pay $21.50 a share in cash, a premium of 24 percent over Omniture’s closing stock price Tuesday. Omniture shares jumped nearly 26 percent in after-hours trading.
From ADAGE
Adobe Systems announced last night that it will acquire web-analytics firm Omniture for $1.8 billion in equity by fourth-quarter fiscal 2009. The deal finds Abobe picking up all outstanding Omniture stock at a 45% premium.
The union foretells a digital-content platform that sees ads through creation to delivery -- and now to optimization. Adobe hopes marrying its creative production tools with Omniture analytics will create what Adobe President-CEO Shantanu Narayen calls an "end-to-end platform." For creatives, that means metrics can't be an afterthought; they'll need to be part of the content-creation process from the beginning. For data analysts and media companies, it means potentially more clarity into what creative formats and media placements are working -- and how.
"Chief digital officers want to understand which video content is performing the best," said Mr. Narayen during the third-quarter earnings call. "They want to produce rich ads, but also understand the click-through rates in real time."
Omniture CEO Josh James said the deal will allow creatives to integrate measurement into the front end of the ad-creation process and that marrying the two companies would improve content engagement, ad effectiveness and the overall user experience that's driving the shift of ad dollars from offline to online.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Struck Creative and Axiom Design Collaborative are merging
http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_13163035
One Salt Lake City-based agency helps create identities for movies, retail products and athletic teams. Another firm, headquartered just a few blocks away, figures out how to present those identities through a wide range of traditional and high-tech media.
Now the two -- Struck Creative and Axiom Design Collaborative -- are merging; their new moniker: Struck/Axiom.
Struck was organized seven years ago as a hybrid advertising agency that uses a wide variety of media to communicate client messages. It employs about 50, with a satellite office in Portland, Ore.
Axiom, described by Conner as one of the nation's "premier graphic-design studios," employs 16 and has an office in Los Angeles.
Clients include large movie-makers such as DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Fox and Paramount Pictures. Major Utah clients include Deer Valley Resort, Real Salt Lake soccer and the Utah Office of Tourism. Also on the list are major retail brands such as Quaker Oats, Adidas and Rossignol, along with sports teams such as the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns
One Salt Lake City-based agency helps create identities for movies, retail products and athletic teams. Another firm, headquartered just a few blocks away, figures out how to present those identities through a wide range of traditional and high-tech media.
Now the two -- Struck Creative and Axiom Design Collaborative -- are merging; their new moniker: Struck/Axiom.
Struck was organized seven years ago as a hybrid advertising agency that uses a wide variety of media to communicate client messages. It employs about 50, with a satellite office in Portland, Ore.
Axiom, described by Conner as one of the nation's "premier graphic-design studios," employs 16 and has an office in Los Angeles.
Clients include large movie-makers such as DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Fox and Paramount Pictures. Major Utah clients include Deer Valley Resort, Real Salt Lake soccer and the Utah Office of Tourism. Also on the list are major retail brands such as Quaker Oats, Adidas and Rossignol, along with sports teams such as the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns
Campfire acquired The Advance Guard
http://www.theadvanceguard.com/2009/the-advance-guard-acquired-by-campfire/
http://www.campfirenyc.com/SMPR/campfire_acquires_tag/
Financial terms of the acquisition are undisclosed. The Advance Guard’s 2008 billings approximate $1 MM, while Campfire’s annual billings are estimated at $7 MM.
The merging of the two companies will bring Campfire to a total staff of 25.
Since its own inception in 2007, The Advance Guard has collaborated with Campfire on several groundbreaking campaigns including HBO’s ‘True Blood’ viral controversy; Verizon FIOS’s original TV makeover series, ‘My Home 2.0’; Discovery’s ‘Shark Week’ adventure marketing; and Snapple’s latest digital ‘Real Facts’ initiative. Such successful collaborations led to Campfire’s decision to acquire the shop.
http://www.campfirenyc.com/SMPR/campfire_acquires_tag/
Financial terms of the acquisition are undisclosed. The Advance Guard’s 2008 billings approximate $1 MM, while Campfire’s annual billings are estimated at $7 MM.
The merging of the two companies will bring Campfire to a total staff of 25.
Since its own inception in 2007, The Advance Guard has collaborated with Campfire on several groundbreaking campaigns including HBO’s ‘True Blood’ viral controversy; Verizon FIOS’s original TV makeover series, ‘My Home 2.0’; Discovery’s ‘Shark Week’ adventure marketing; and Snapple’s latest digital ‘Real Facts’ initiative. Such successful collaborations led to Campfire’s decision to acquire the shop.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Gartner projects mobile ad spending will grow 74% this year
Mobile ad spending will reach $913.5 million this year, up 74% over last year, according to a new report from Gartner.
The report, “Mobile Advertising Grows Quietly,” projects that mobile ad spending will reach $13 billion by 2013. The Asia Pacific region is expected to lead worldwide mobile growth, followed by North America and Western Europe.
Newspaper slump deepens as 2Q ad sales fall 29 pct
Newspapers' financial woes worsened in the second quarter as advertising sales shrank by 29 percent, leaving publishers with $2.8 billion less revenue than they had at the same time last year.
It's the deepest downturn yet during a three-year free fall in advertising revenue - newspapers' main source of income. The magnitude of the industry's advertising losses have intensified in each of the last 12 quarters.
The latest turbulence left U.S. newspapers with ad sales of $6.8 billion in this year's second quarter compared to $9.6 billion last year.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/08/27/general-us-newspaper-advertising_6824040.html
It's the deepest downturn yet during a three-year free fall in advertising revenue - newspapers' main source of income. The magnitude of the industry's advertising losses have intensified in each of the last 12 quarters.
The latest turbulence left U.S. newspapers with ad sales of $6.8 billion in this year's second quarter compared to $9.6 billion last year.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/08/27/general-us-newspaper-advertising_6824040.html
Social networking sites grab big slice of Web ads
About one of every five Internet display ads in the United States is viewed on a social networking Web site like MySpace and Facebook, according to a new report.
The report by analytics firm comScore underscores the increasing prominence of social media sites in the Internet landscape and broadening acceptance of the sites by brand advertisers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5805QX20090901
The report by analytics firm comScore underscores the increasing prominence of social media sites in the Internet landscape and broadening acceptance of the sites by brand advertisers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5805QX20090901
Nielsen: U.S. Ad Spend Falls 15.4% in First Half
U.S. ad spending fell 15.4 percent in the first half of 2009, according to data released today by the Nielsen Co. A total of $56.9 billion was spent on advertising in the first six months of the year, more than $10.3 billion less than the same period in 2008.
The automotive industry was the top spender ($3.68 billion), despite a 31 percent cut over last year. Local auto dealerships -- also a perennial top-10 spending category -- cut its ad budget 26 percent through June 2009.
It wasn't all bad news for the advertising industry this year. Cable TV was the only media category to see added spending with a 1.5 percent surge overall and a 0.6 percent increase for Spanish-language cable TV. Quick-service Restaurants -- the second highest-spending industry -- spent $2.2 billion in the first half of '09, thanks to a 5 percent increase over the first half of 2008. And spending on multi-function cell phones more than doubled to almost $233 million.
http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i0d1b247e2040d9db7d7ff3ccf67716e0
Publicis Buys Unilever CRM Platform
In an unusual move designed to boost its broader digital strategy, Paris-based holding company Publicis Groupe said it has acquired Pour Tout Vous Dire, the French customer relationship management program of key client Unilever.Unilever's own brands use the platform to reach more than 5 million households, and the packaged-goods giant has signed a five-year licensing deal with Publicis to keep its products represented. The venue was launched 12 years ago as a consumer magazine, but has since morphed into a Web-focused portal designed to help build and strengthen relationships between mainly female consumers and various Unilever brands.
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/hispanic-marketing/e3i76e7bfe15f67e9f1c79baeafddecede0
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/hispanic-marketing/e3i76e7bfe15f67e9f1c79baeafddecede0
Dentsu CEO: On Lookout For Potential Buys
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090901-716600.html "If there is a chance, we are open to acquisitions not just in the U.S., but also in Europe and Asia," President and Chief Executive Tatsuyoshi Takashima told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview Tuesday.
We're not just targeting firms with digital technology, but also firms in other aspects of marketing communications, though we have no specific target yet,"
The firm, which has over 4,500 overseas staff in 101 offices in 28 countries, currently generates 8.7% of its net sales overseas. It aims to boost this to at least 12% by 2013.
Dentsu's clientele include blue chips such as Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Hitachi, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sanyo Electric, Sony, Canon and Sharp.
We're not just targeting firms with digital technology, but also firms in other aspects of marketing communications, though we have no specific target yet,"
The firm, which has over 4,500 overseas staff in 101 offices in 28 countries, currently generates 8.7% of its net sales overseas. It aims to boost this to at least 12% by 2013.
Dentsu's clientele include blue chips such as Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Hitachi, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sanyo Electric, Sony, Canon and Sharp.
Ascend Media sells event media division
TGP Capital Partners and Cameron Bishop have acquired the event and custom media division of Ascend Media
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cameron Bishop, Ascend’s former CEO, will be CEO of the newly acquired property, which will operate under the Ascend Media name and remain based in Overland Park, Kan. He is the founder and former chairman and CEO of Ascend Media, building it into a $120 million company before liquidating his ownership stake about a year ago.
It’s on the cutting edge of blending traditional print properties with digital assets in an integrated package. There are only a few companies around the nation as well positioned to do that as this one. It’s both a content creation and a content management business.”
Clients include The American Heart Association, American Sport Fishing Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, McDonald's and Ace Hardware.
http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090901/FREE/909019988/1078/newsletter011
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/tgp-and-bishop-acquire-ascend-media-division/
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2009/08/31/daily12.html?ana=from_rss
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cameron Bishop, Ascend’s former CEO, will be CEO of the newly acquired property, which will operate under the Ascend Media name and remain based in Overland Park, Kan. He is the founder and former chairman and CEO of Ascend Media, building it into a $120 million company before liquidating his ownership stake about a year ago.
It’s on the cutting edge of blending traditional print properties with digital assets in an integrated package. There are only a few companies around the nation as well positioned to do that as this one. It’s both a content creation and a content management business.”
Clients include The American Heart Association, American Sport Fishing Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, McDonald's and Ace Hardware.
http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090901/FREE/909019988/1078/newsletter011
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/tgp-and-bishop-acquire-ascend-media-division/
http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2009/08/31/daily12.html?ana=from_rss
Interactive Shop Definition 6 Acquires Creative Bubble
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-interactive-shop-definition-6-acquires-creative-bubble-/
Online ad agency Definition 6, fresh from raising roughly $15 million in private equity last month, has bought digital production and marketing firm Creative Bubble. The amount of the deal wasn’t disclosed. The combined entity will have about 100 employees, and will give Atlanta-based Definition 6 a New York office, thanks to Creative Bubble’s location. That will help Definition 6 gain a more national presence, says CEO and founder Michael Kogon in a post on the company’s official blog. Definition 6 also says it plans to “invest in talent,” and to build up its technology and other services, about 8 months after it laid off several staff members.
There’s still money in online marketing, if not the advertising side of it: Definition6, an Atlanta-based online marketing agency, has received about $15 million in new funding, from PE firm Navigation Capital Partners. also based in Atlanta. The 10-year old firm is one of the largest in the southeast, focusing on online marketing, design and e-commerce.
Just six months ago, it did a round of layoffs, and now says it has controlled costs and knows what the future direction is, according to this ClickZ story. With the new money, it plans to acquire two to three digital marketing firms in the next year or so, it says, in the social marketing monitoring and related areas. Clients include VeriFone, Cox, La Quinta Inn & Suites, Carter’s and Wendy’s/Arby’s Group.
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-interative-marketing-firm-definition6-gets-15-million-in-pe-money/
http://www.clickz.com/3634375
Online ad agency Definition 6, fresh from raising roughly $15 million in private equity last month, has bought digital production and marketing firm Creative Bubble. The amount of the deal wasn’t disclosed. The combined entity will have about 100 employees, and will give Atlanta-based Definition 6 a New York office, thanks to Creative Bubble’s location. That will help Definition 6 gain a more national presence, says CEO and founder Michael Kogon in a post on the company’s official blog. Definition 6 also says it plans to “invest in talent,” and to build up its technology and other services, about 8 months after it laid off several staff members.
There’s still money in online marketing, if not the advertising side of it: Definition6, an Atlanta-based online marketing agency, has received about $15 million in new funding, from PE firm Navigation Capital Partners. also based in Atlanta. The 10-year old firm is one of the largest in the southeast, focusing on online marketing, design and e-commerce.
Just six months ago, it did a round of layoffs, and now says it has controlled costs and knows what the future direction is, according to this ClickZ story. With the new money, it plans to acquire two to three digital marketing firms in the next year or so, it says, in the social marketing monitoring and related areas. Clients include VeriFone, Cox, La Quinta Inn & Suites, Carter’s and Wendy’s/Arby’s Group.
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-interative-marketing-firm-definition6-gets-15-million-in-pe-money/
http://www.clickz.com/3634375
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