Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Marketers have made significant changes to their media mix in the past decade. For the most part, the shift to Internet/online has been significant and has come largely at the expense of the traditional print market. Through last year, the Internet/online channel has jumped to the number 2 spot for ad spending focus by many marketers, according to surveyed agencies. Industry watchers might have expected the digital channel to be the primary focus but survey results from Strata show why marketers still make spot TV their top concern.

The study also reveals the best time for marketers to release e-mails which target mobile devices. Early morning is a peak time for consumers to read e-mail on mobile devices. The second highest day part for this activity is late evening when consumers are done watching TV or completing other tasks before turning in. Consumers also show a tendency to check e-mail via mobile phones at the end of the work day.

Now that more consumers are migrating from their hard copy glossy magazines to a digital format on a device such as an iPad, marketers want to know – are consumers engaged by advertisements that appear on digital devices? A new study funded by Adobe and carried out by an independent researcher finds that the interactive ads have a positive effect on consumers.

Consumers are communicating with each other at higher rates than ever before – perhaps because they have new channels available to them. These new methods of communicating, especially mobile email, are changing the ways consumers stay in touch. This means marketers will need to adjust their tactics to stay top of mind with consumers.

Mobile ads are still considered a relatively new ad format. Currently, only about half the U.S. population has a smart phone so the mobile ads that many consumers see resemble text messages. But marketers on the leading edge are using more sophisticated ad formats to reach mobile consumers. And their efforts are making a bigger impression on specific demographic groups.

As smartphone adoption continues to soar in the U.S., with approximately 60 million users, more marketers are developing and producing apps. The app market is evolving as it grows. Consumers are showing preferences for some apps over others. And while the amount consumers are willing to pay for an app is falling, marketers are finding other ways to make money from their development efforts. These changes will impact the way marketers promote their apps as well.