Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Marketers continue to shift advertising money from traditional media into online display. But click-through rates (CTR), the standard method to measure effectiveness, remains frustratingly low. A new study issued by AdKeeper and 24/7 Real Media explains why consumers aren’t clicking and what marketers can do to improve their returns on display advertising.

Search engine marketing, one of the older forms of new media, shows no signs of slowing down. The sector is poised for another growth year. But marketers are changing the way they use search as they look for the best way to incorporate it into social media, local marketing and mobile marketing.

Few media formats are as hot as the daily deal sites this year. Recession-weary consumers are looking for a way to enjoy an outing or a restaurant experience at a discount. And marketers are turning to this channel in an attempt to drum up business from new customers. Now that the deal format has a track record, marketers can benefit by understanding which consumers are drawn to daily deals and which products and services sell best.

Mobitrove, a division of Borrell Associates, reports that U.S. businesses spent over $9.3 billion on mobile promotions and advertising last year. But the real story is found in the projected mobile spending for 2015. In just 4 years, Mobitrove analysts are expecting to see mobile marketing expenditures reach $56.5 billion or a 6-fold increase.

Women might be the ones who control more of the household spending. But they are also more likely than men to steer away from a dinner out when prices of essentials rise. A new survey issued by CityGrid, and carried out by HarrisInteractive, shows high gas prices influence spending behavior for more women than men. But, there may be a way for local vendors to reach younger women and convince them to keep spending: The Like button on Facebook.

Consumers have more ways than ever to purchase goods and service online. The rapid adoption of both smart phones and tablets is translating into higher mobile commerce sales. As a result, vendors are quickly launching mobile commerce channels to make sure they’re not losing sales to the competition.