2008 Marketing Facts from AMA, MarketingPower.com, did you know?

Top 10 U.S. Sponsors for 2007:

1. Anheuser-Busch (#1 in 2006, too) – wonder what will happen with the InBev purchase?

2. PepsiCo (#2 in 2006, too)

3. Coca-Cola (up from #4 in 2006)

4. Nike (up from #4 in 2006)

5. GM (dropped from #3 in 2006) – and surely will drop even more?

6. Miller Brewing (same position as in 2006)

7. AT&T (didn’t even make the list in 2006)

8. Sprint Nextel (up from #9 in 2006)

9. Toyota-USA (didn’t even make the list in 2006)

10. Ford (dropped from #8 in 2006) – and surely will drop even more?

Extrapolating from 2007’s global online population brings us estimates through 2012 (that’s only 4 years away from now!) of well over 2 Billion. Yes, that’s with a B. Asia and the Pacific Rim are now and will continue to dominate with close to 45% of users on the world-wide web. North America trails with less than 15% of users. The biggest growth % seen will be in the Middle East/Africa by doubling their population of users.

What is the most local of all advertising media? Radio. Nearly 71% of the $21Billion spent in radio in 2007 was for local spots.

And how did all media ad spending fair? Comparing the same time period from 2006 to 2007, all ad spending was relatively flat. The biggest losers? TV and newspapers. Their losses were felt as gains in ad expenditures in magazines, radio, outdoor and the internet.

Newspapers overall have lost big numbers (nearly 8% overall) within national and retail ad spending; the biggest of all in classifieds (16.5% over 2006 numbers). Online newspaper ad spending helped make up some of the loss by growing 18.8%.

Who were the media spending winners over the last 5 years (2002-2007)? Alternative marketing with gains of 17.5% overall. Online and mobile (+31.4%) includes search and lead generation, online classified/display ads, e-media, online video and rich media, internet yellow pages, consumer-generated ads. Interactive marketing (+28.6% includes e-direct marketing, WOM (word of mouth) marketing and e-custom publishing. Entertainment and digital out-of-home advertising (+15%) includes local pay TV, VOD (video on demand), interactive TV (ITV) and digital video recorder (DVR) ads, videogame and home advertising and satellite radio advertising. Branded entertainment marketing (+13.4%) includes event sponsorship and marketing, paid product placement, advergaming and webisodes.

Where is the biggest advertising spending growth in format? Video and rich media (including sponsorships, lead generations/referrals and email embedded ads.

Online social network spending is the most explosive category by far logging a +163% gain over 2006, projected to “taper off”, and I use that term loosely) in the next 5 years to approximately $2.6Billion (again, with a B). Currently, MySpace leads the way with over ½ of all social network ad spending. Rival Facebook enjoys approx 18% of the ad market.

OUtdorr advertising increased 7% from 2006 to 2007 with eh biggest gains felt in catergories of Comunications (+35.7%), automotive “other” (+11.8%) and insurance/real estate (+9.2%).

Overall TV ad revenue dropped in the same time period at a rate of 4.4%, the biggest loss felt in local broadcast TV of 9.5%.

And, our good friends at Technorati tracked the staggering growth of the blogosphere over the last 5 years. Blogs have exploded from a modest 300,000 in Apr 03 to nearly 113 Million in Apr 08.

Consumer-facing companies in the webspace have connected with millions of consumers: social network Facebook, micro-blog communications tool Twitter, media voting site Digg and free community provider Ning. Not one can compare to the consumer interface created by Google, though.

Marketing in a "down" economy

A downturn in the economy turns marketer's knees to rubber. Retail sales? Down. Home sales? Down. "Second Life" sales? Down. Even "Second Life"?

While most businesses, for profit and non profit, as well as governments will tighten belts and slash, slash, slash their budgets. One place they should NOT slash and, if at ALL possible, should be INCREASED is their Marketing Budget.

High profile hstorical studies prove that cutting marketing during recessions and "down" economies will cause problems when the economy bounces back. Those who increased marketing spending during the bad times increase their sales exponentially when the bad times ended.

Think of it in these simple terms: staying "top of mind" is paramount in success. If you stop marketing yourself, you will not be "top of mind". And, "top of mind" means staying in your customers/prospects' frame of reference at all times, so when they're ready to buy/sell/talk, you will be there.

And, everybody's talking now about surviving, excelling and prepping for the upturn. Click on the link above to learn what information the Hampton Roads American Marketing Association is offering for best results.

"Global Alert: Economies Under Pressure", egads!

The title of the program was definitely not a turn-on, but the invitation to visit the AMA Chapter in Richmond VA was tempting. What an outstanding chapter!

The program featured Christopher Keating, VP, Consumer Strategist, Financial Services for Iconoculture. Iconoculture, based in Minnesota, helps marketers make decisions in corporations and agencies to enable growth and innovation. They keep up with consumer culture (via some pretty extensive and comprehensive research) helping clients align their businesses with the needs, wants, desires and passions that drive lifestyle and lifestage buying behaviors. It's all about knowing your customer to Iconoculture.

Christopher's presentation helped us understand the volatile global marketplace. Doom and gloom, unfortunately.

Over 50% of the U.S. Treasury debt (our debt, yours and mine) is in foreign ownership, mainly China. Personal debt (which is only yours and mine) is growing exponentially.

There was a time that foreign ownership of the debt would have been little cause for concern. The U.S. is the most consumer-riddled economy in the world; almost 30% of the world's economy. However, there's a fast-growing middle class in China, India, and now Russia. That means, foreign investors have new customers.

Do they still need us? We seem to serve as the standing military for the world, but who's going to help pay for it?

Current debt is unsustainable. None of us is saving enough. Less than 16% of U.S. households have a "rainy day fund", or 3 months of household expenses, in savings.

The deficit must be controlled. Cut spending. Increase taxes (ugh!). Correct entitlement programs.

Martin Wolf of the Financial Times forecasted that in 10 years, our debt and liabilities will exceed 100% of GDP... and that was on 17 AUG 2004 ... and nothing has changed, it's only getting worse.

Are we headed for Economic Armageddon?

“Is Newspaper a Dying Medium?”, the program

VP/GM of South Hampton Roads’ The Virginian-Pilot, Maurice Jones, spoke at HRAMA’s January ‘08 luncheon event. Due to overwhelming, positive response to the subject matter, the venue was changed at the 11th hour to accommodate the approximately 125 participants. (I was there, and here are my notes.)

The topical timing turn-out yielded a sell-out crowd as Landmark Communications (the Pilot’s owner) announced last week their intention to potentially sell all or part of the company.

Maurice quoted media research source, the Scarborough Report, to tell us that the answer is “NO, Newspaper is NOT a dying medium”. A historical timeline review revealed that new media is ADDITIVE, not substitutive. Radio did NOT replace newspaper, TV did NOT replace radio, the Internet did NOT replace TV, and so on, but each successive new media launched ADDED to the prior one. (The Pilot has been in existence since 1865!)

Changes today ARE applying pressure to all traditional advertising models, used to financially support media, though. Not just newspapers are affected. Pressures are from demand for greater ROI, media fragmentation, changing consumers (wanting more control, but having less time) and disruptive technologies.

What are these “disruptive technologies” facing traditional media? Cell phones, iPods, the web, PDAs, Tivo/DVRs, video games, VOIP, VOD, XM/satellite radio, etc.

Hampton Roads is a tech savvy community as evidenced by our extremely high U.S. rankings in such measurements as growth in usage of these so-called “disruptive technologies”.

Media fragmentation has been a direct result. Just think: in the last 10-20 years, the U.S. has grown from 3 TV channels (NOTE: 4, counting PBS) to include cable TV and 250+ channels, 0 web sites to 100M+. There’s also the explosion in numbers of radio stations (even more when including HD and internet radio) and the preponderance of niche print publications available (some represented by V-P’s Targeted Publications + Media). Locally, we still have only 2 daily newspapers, Southside’s Virginian-Pilot and the Peninsula’s Daily Press.

The consumer audience has changed dramatically, too.

Newspapers as well as network and local TV/radio has lost reader/viewership. Cable primetime news has declined substantially since 2003 despite a 150+% gain in the five years prior. And, of course, internet growth continues to spiral upward.

According to Maurice, the question should be NOT “Is Newspaper a Dying Medium?”, but “What is a Newspaper?”

The definition is broad among adults (18+). Some circulation stats for the Virginian-Pilot: 47% read daily, 60% read Sunday, 72% read the paper at some point over the past week. Add 10% to any of these numbers for PilotOnline.com viewership.

In contrast, the 2007 Super Bowl reached an audience of only 42%, which is the biggest ad day on TV. Hmmm….

Every day at the Virginian-Pilot offers better reach than Super Bowl Sunday.

Recently, the Virginian-Pilot has accomplished a major redesign in print and online to meet and exceed the change in consumer wants and needs. The Pilot’s online offerings serve 1M unique visitors every month, representing the largest usage in all of Hampton Roads, not just Southside.

PilotOnline.com was ranked 6th best access in the country. That means there are only 6 other metro regions’ newspapers in the U.S. ranked better for online news access.

The Virginian-Pilot is not just a newspaper company. It’s news, information and advertising, too.

The definition of a newspaper has truly changed. Newspapers fuel consumer power, giving information to do what you want to do.

The Virginian-Pilot has been voted the best newspaper in Virginia 21 of the last 22 years by the Virginia Press Association (VPA) and won 3 Pulitzer Prizes. PilotOnline.com was one of the first newspaper websites in the country, and LINK (providing condensed news and entertainment) was one of the first free dailies.

The Pilot is journalistic excellence with a local impact, an impact which means something personally to each and every individual in Hampton Roads.

A few more stats regarding the Virginian-Pilot: most used ad medium, most valuable in planning shopping, best for bringing sales to consumer’s attention.

Newspaper is becoming agnostic. There are more geographically zoned products and more targeted publications such as the ethnically-focused MIX Magazine, launched August ’07.

The Virginian-Pilot is also the largest publisher of military newspapers in the country. Pilot Direct, V-P’s direct marketing business, is the fastest growing segment of the company. Following closely are V-P’s online products, such as HamptonRoads.tv, which is typically a difficult segment to monetize. And, they’re moving into mobile products as well.

The Virginian-Pilot, as an aggregated audience solution, reaches 93% of South Hampton Roads adults every week.

Newspapers are Alive, Well . . . and Changing

It’s still the most powerful media product in the market.

Questions? and, Answers

Yes. One day (in Maurice’s opinion) the core Virginian-Pilot product will be free versus the current paid subscription model. The ability to obtain free content is enormous, and the move in media is to “free”.

Yes. The production plants are undertaking green initiatives and building on these.

Yes. The Pilot is working on integrated “multimedia” sales and marketing packages for its diverse products versus the “silo” of sales teams by product used now. This is a historical and cultural shift.

Why are you selling? Publishing is only 15% of Landmark’s holdings. The Weather Channel is driving Landmark Communications’ decision involving the sale of the Virginian-Pilot. Think of it as “beach front property”; sell when the selling is good.

People Aren't What They Seem: Using Market Research To Figure Out What Really Makes People Tick.

American Marketing Association, Hampton Roads Chapter

People aren't what they seem.

Using Market Research can help you figure out what really makes them tick.

Which can come in pretty handy when you're trying to understand people, and why they do the things they do. Understanding how and why people buy stuff – their stuff, or somebody else’s stuff, will make you a marketing genius. Knowing that, and more importantly, using it, will help you or your clients sell more stuff.

Join the Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Marketing Association as we listen and learn what makes people tick.

Frank C. Martin, III, CEO of Martin Research, Inc., the company founded by his father in 1970, and Martin Focus Group Services will share his insights and expertise. Martin Research, Inc. is a full service marketing research company specializing in qualitative research, such as focus groups, small group interviews, and IDI’s (one-on-one interviews), also telephone surveys, intercept interviews, and Internet surveys, but those are nowhere near as much fun.

Want Native Americans in Montana?
Vietnamese Cognac drinkers in DC?
Deep Sea fishermen who are gear intensive?

Come to HRAMA’a Marketing Research Event on Thursday, November 8, 2007 to learn how and where to find them.

Thursday, November 8, 2007
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Founders Inn and Spa
Madison Room
5641 Indian River RD
Virginia Beach VA 23464
__________________________________________
MEMBERS: $25 STUDENTS: $20
NON-MEMBERS: $35 DAY of the EVENT: $40
__________________________________________

RSVP by Monday, November 5th
Register on-line at http://www.hrama.org/ . And, please bring a friend!

HRAMA Program = What's Your Advertising IQ?

"10 Ways to Screw Up an Ad Campaign"...oh, I bet there are more than 10!!!

Barry Cohen of AdLab Media Communications in Clifton NJ spoke at our Hampton Roads Chapter of the America Marketing Association (HRAMA) last week. His presentation was passionate and his voice resonant with that of an experienced "ad man". Click on the title of his book to order via Amazon: "10 Ways to Screw Up an Ad Campaign"

A few take-aways (and some that are not very intuitive, either):

Curiosity-arousing ads work best. FALSE Express "benefit" 1st and "newsworthiness" 2nd, curiosity is 3rd.

A picture is worth a thousand words. FALSE A word is worth a thousand pictures.

The most important thing in an ad is the headline, followed by the caption under the photo or illustration. TRUE

People remember what they see better than what they hear. TRUE Think about all of those jingles you hear that just won't get out of your head!

To the consumer, perception is reality. TRUE Perception is culturally determined, too!

Celebrity spokespeople create better brand identities. FALSE

Companies that stopped advertising during recessions fared better than their competitors. FALSE

Price is more important to consumers than anything else. FALSE

Everyone who reads the newspaper will see your ad. FALSE Not everyone reads all parts of a newspaper; place ads in sections reads by your target market.

Outdoor advertising has the lowest cost-reach ratio of all major media. TRUE And, make certain your message can be conveyed in 9 words or less.

PR (Public Relations) doesn't drive sales. TRUE But, it does reinforce your expertise and raises your credibility quotient.

"Fish when the fish are biting." TRUE Every business has peaks and valleys. Increase promotion (fish) during those peaks (when the fish are biting) not during the valleys. Better peaks will get you through the valleys. Work smarter, not harder.


And, in my humble opinion....there is an exception for every rule!

AMA Marketing on a Shoestring

Marketing on a Shoestring...a subject near and dear to my heart. Why?

(1) I wear multiple hats in my current position, that of Sales and Marketing and
(2) I work for a not-for-profit where, despite commercial successes, marketing cannot be too glitzy for the sake of the donor development side of the organization and
(3) Every penny counts no matter where I work.

I attended the AMA Central Virginia Chapter's program tonight on this subject. Good attendance. Good presenters.

Although, I would challenge the marketers of Central Virginia to move into more out-of-the-box directions than traditional medium (i.e. TV, radio, newspaper), especially where shoestring budgets are concerned.

And, move into the world of blogging and podcasting, for instance, where developing word-of-mouth followings cannot be measured in normal metrics, where customer and brand loyalty can become unfathomable.

The Chapter President took a bold step in videotaping the program in the hopes of developing a podcast. And, I say "three cheers" for superior out-of-the-box thinking on his part!


As an AMA Member, you can search the AMA Website for lots of information and articles on Blogging. AMA is a little behind the iCurve with podcasting, though. I've learned everything I know about podcasting (a guilty pleasure) from Apple and iTunes.


And, check out my favorite business blogger at http://www.debbieweil.com/ whom I know through DMAW. Be sure to download your RSS Reader (if you haven't already) and subscribe to her blog as well as my AMA Chapter's blog http://cville-ama.blogspot.com .

Downloading an RSS Reader and subscribing to my blog is as easy as seeing the links in the Right-Hand column. Happy Blogging!