The end of each year brings with it a flurry of predictions and prognostications for the next year. They come from genuine and self-appointed pundits in every area imaginable and from every corner of the globe. So why should brand marketing be any different?

This year, the pundits are seeing one word in their crystal balls:convergence. It's obvious to most marketers that "traditional" marketing has already converged with digital marketing, but In 2013, "convergence" will take on new meaning in the brand marketing world. 

For example, we'll see convergence in data analytics, according to Andrew Edwards, founder of Technology Leaders: "2013 will be the year convergence analytics comes of age. Big Data, cloud computing and dashboarding are going to merge into an array of offerings that answer the marketers' need for a single view of multi-channel touchpoints." 

We'll also see convergence in online media: "As the lines continue to blur between what's paid, owned, and earned in digital (and soon, traditional) media, this will be the trend that governs nearly all other major changes in the digital marketing and media landscape," writes Rebecca Lieb, digital/advertising media analyst for Altimeter Group.Continue reading...

The urban Chinese consumer has greater confidence that green products are better for the environment than their North American counterparts, according to the a new study from DuPont — its China Green Living Survey: Consumer Awareness and Adoption of Biobased Products.

Seventy percent were either very or somewhat confident that green products are better for the environment, while of North American consumers, 65% of Canadians and 60% of Americans held similar beliefs.

The findings have exponential potential for greening-up in the world’s largest consumer market with growing demands for China to meet its sustainability targets. “Greater adoption of biobased products in China could help the country reduce its energy intensity and carbon emissions and advance a new era of green manufacturing,” stated Jeremy Xu, VP, Global Sales and Applications, DuPont Industrial Biosciences.  

A majority of Chinese consumers are likely to purchase apparel, personal care, hygiene and household products made from biobased ingredients that offer environmental benefits. More than three quarters of respondents would definitely or likely buy such products in a range of categories including: Detergents 82%, Personal hygiene 81%, Clothing 78%, Personal Care Products 77%.Continue reading...

After a strong finish to 2011, global ad spending continued to rise in the first quarter of 2012: up 3.1 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Nielsen.

The ad-tracker's quarterly Global AdView Pulse reports double-digit increases in the Middle East and Africa — the red bar on the chart above — while North America and Asia Pacific saw modest gains of 2.1 and 1.7% respectively.

The overall global ad spend in Q1 2012 was $128 billion USD, up 4.5 percent over the year-ago quarter. Ad spending in the Middle East and Africa increased by 23.3% as advertisers leveraged stabilizing economies and new markets such as Egypt, which saw a 67% increase in Q1 in the wake of last year's Arab Spring.

Europe was the sole region to see a decrease in ad spend, with only 1.4% growth in markets like Greece and Spain, due to the continent's economic crisis, but France, Germany and Switzerland attracted more ad dollars than last year.

One way those marketers who are investing in campaigns can make their efforts stand out? James Russo, Nielsen's VP of Global Consumer Insights, says that in tough times, funny beats frugal.Continue reading...

In an historic and formidable alliance formed by America's Cable Advertising Bureau, a consortium of TV networks, print, radio, digital and media brands and individuals are joining forces to educate marketers about the buying power and "the new realities" of the Black consumer market.

The CAB has pulled together a who's who of black media for its 23 charter members: BET Networks, HuffPost BlackVoices, Black Enterprise, Burrell Communications, Essence Communications, GlobalHue, Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, KJLH Radio, Johnson Publishing Company, National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, Nielsen, North Star Group, National Newspaper Publishers Association, One Solution, Radio One, TV One, Interactive One, Reach Media, Steve Harvey Radio, TheGrio, The Root, The Africa Channel, UniWorld Group, Vibe Media plus Walton Isaacson to create America's first black media and marketing consortium, #INTHEBLACK.

Using a Twitter hashtag as its name is a catchier hook than the group's more SEO-friendly alternative name (Reaching Black Consumers). The initiative launched Monday with a microsite and an ad in the business section of the New York Times and trade magazines such as Adweek and Broadcasting & Cable, as well as ads across of the consortium's media member outlets. The goal, they stated, is "to encourage increased investments in the African American consumer marketplace while helping companies reach the African American audience more effectively."Continue reading...

As social check-ins and chat are now driving TV tune-in and engagement, the long-anticipated disintermediation of the entertainment-to-home ecosystem has arrived.

A new study by Frank N. Magid Associates, reveals that one of every five consumers are using video game consoles, Blu-ray players or other devices to bring the Web into their living rooms on their television screens. The seachange has led to a flood of social TV partnerships in what Ad Age calls the "Exploding Social-TV Ecosystem."

"Connected TVs will bring the Internet to the large screen, in contrast to how the smartphone has brought the Internet to the small screen. Consumers will be able to watch and browse what they want, when they want, on a big screen through connected TVs," commented Mike Vorhaus, President of Magid Advisors, a unit of Frank N. Magid Associates, to the Los Angeles Times.

The research, part of the Magid Media Futures 2012 study, found that:Continue reading...

Take a look at the number of new products launched at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show — more than 20,000 — and you can see the magnitude of the effort required by marketers to break through to consumers in the world of technology brands.

While most of the manufacturers of those products touted technological bells and whistles in promoting their wares, it seems what consumers REALLY want to know is how technology will simplify their life, according to a new global study of 6,000 consumers, the "Ketchum Digital Living Index," conducted by global communications firm Ketchum.Continue reading...

JiWire, the location-based mobile advertising company has just released its Q1 Mobile Audience Insights Report examining trends in location and mobile shopping, connected-device adoption and public Wi-Fi usage.

This interactive map gives a national snapshot of JiWire’s reach with nearly 33 million monthly users in 5700 cities:

Key highlights of the report include:

Connected Device Trends – Almost half of the ‘on-the-go’ audience is connecting to public Wi-Fi from smartphones (31%) or tablets (14%). By contrast, connection from laptops has decreased from 70% last year to 55% currently. Nine out of 10 consumers report the following advantages of public Wi-Fi instead over 3G/4G on smartphones: increased connection speed, avoiding data plan charges (37%), streaming content (17%) or for laptop tethering (7%).Continue reading...

The latest intelligence from the Pew Internet Project, the 2012 "Digital Differences" report, finds that one in five American adults surveyed don’t use the Internet, with almost 50% citing irrelevance as the main reason.

The survey, which polled of 2,260 adults aged 18 and older conducted in July-August, 2011, further reveals that 10% of respondents who don't use the Internet have no interest in doing so in the future, although 20% say they have enough technological know-how to do so.

The self-identified Luddites flagged by Pew included, primarily, senior citizens, Spanish-speaking respondents, adults with less than a high school education, and those with under $30,000 annual income. At the same time, the rise of mobile has narrowed the digital divide between white Americans and minorities.Continue reading...