A recent post on YouTube’s global blog suggests that consumers are dedicating more time and attention to online video viewing than they have in years past. This, along with reports from Nielsen confirming that April 2011 saw the highest number of videos streamed in a month, prompted us to take a look at where video marketing is headed.

YouTube uploads increased by 100 percent in the last year – now up to 48 hours of content are uploaded every minute. Top online video brands like YouTube, Netflix, Hulu and VEVO keep roughly 141 million Americans logged on and engaged for an average of four and a half hours per month. The video site Megavideo reported a 12.7 percent increase in average time spent by viewers this April, capturing consumers’ attention for nearly three hours a month, while Hulu garners an average monthly viewership time of just over five hours per user.

As Americans are increasingly exposed to new and changing online platforms, marketers must find ways to adapt to format revamps, and smartly integrate branding into a mode of entertainment that is valuable among consumers – or risk being forgotten.

Chris Young, CEO of Digital Broadcasting Group (DBG), points out that with the option of easily opting out of viewing online video ads, effective online campaigns will need to carry a level of added value to resonate with consumers.

“You can’t just beat a consumer over the head with your static video ad and expect them to take action. In 2011, advertisers will have to be just as focused on content creation as today’s leading online publishers,” Young said.

ReelSEO.com tapped industry experts Iggy Fanlo of adBrite, Tod Sacerdoti of Brightroll, Andy Tu of Break Media and DBG’s Chris Young to discuss online trends and share predictions for video ads in 2011. These specialists are forecasting online video ads to scale across platforms like iPads, internet- and 3D-enabled TVs, and foresee media buyers beginning to demand video components to online advertising.

Send us a note if you’d like to discuss ways online video marketing will transform as technologies – and consumer expectations – advance.

Cory Dimitrakopoulos

coryd@jsha.com

Download PowerPoint Presentation: click here

The collective community of all blogs is known as the Blogosphere. Since all blogs are on the Internet, by definition they may be seen as interconnected and socially networked. Discussions “in the Blogosphere” frequently have been used by the media as a gauge of public opinion on current issues. A collection of local blogs is sometimes referred to as a bloghood.

In the Blogosphere, everyone has a shared and equal “voice” – kings and commoners, presidential candidates and the electorate, consumers and corporations can all be heard. It is the Tower of Babel where everyone is speaking at once.

Blogs and other consumer generated media (message boards, forums, usenet newsgroup, videos, etc.) have become an influential part of the media with “citizen journalists” reporting from Main Street and Wall Street to express their personal views and share experiences.

Therapeutic Benefits

Scientists have long known the therapeutic benefits of writing about personal experiences. Blogs provide another convenient avenue for personal expression. Research shows that writing improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity and reduces viral load in AIDS patients and even speeds healing after surgery.

Why are blogs important to Corporate America? Consumers put great trust in the opinions and recommendations of friends or people they feel they know. Oprah’s Book Club is the ultimate endorsement. Similarly, a good word from a trusted blog will send consumers shopping while a negative discussion online can create long-lasting brand erosion.

It’s important to view blogs as an opportunity for ongoing dialogue with consumers or a specifically targeted audience. This means listening as well as engaging in the conversation.

There are two critical questions that companies should be asking every day:

• What is being said about my company in the Blogosphere? There’s no doubt a conversation is taking place – good, bad or indifferent. Be aware and participate.
• How can a blog help tell my customers/employees/shareholders what they want to know?

For more insights and tips on leveraging blogs and other elements of consumer generated media, contact JSH&A, read the JSH&A blog and visit the Social Media section of our Web site.

The Blogosphere in Numbers:

• The Blogosphere is doubling about once every 6 ½ months
• About 175,000 new blogs are created each day
• There are more than 2 blogs created each second of each day
• There are about 1.6 million posts per day, or about 18.6 posts per second
  *Stats above provided by Technorati’s State of The Blogosphere Report
• Technorati currently states it is tracking over 112.8 million blogs (source: technorati.com)
• There are approximately 184 million bloggers worldwide (source: Universal McCann)
• 36% of consumers feel more positively about companies that blog, and 34% of bloggers post opinions about brands on their blogs (source: Universal McCann)

Top-Rated Blogs:

• Boing-Boing
• Lifehacker
• Engadget
• Gizmodo

JSH&A’s Favorite Blogs:

• Wall Street Journal – Buzzwatch
• Ragan Communications – PR Junkie
• BusinessWeek – Blogspotting
• BusinessWeek – Brand New Day
• USA Today – On Deadline
• Shel Holtz – A Shel of My Former Self
• Andy Sernovitz – Damn I Wish I Thought of That
• PRWeek – The Cycle

The marketing gurus have long proclaimed the most-desirable target as women and/or men, aged 19-49. In the last few years, the target has been aged to 25-54 year-olds and, as the strength of the graying boomer population (1946 – 1964) hits the cash register, 60-year-olds are sizzling.

Obviously, nutrition, supplements, fitness and cosmetic procedures and products are generating fast action in this Booming arena. The travel industry is on the fast-track to help Boomers find places to spend their expanding leisure time and dollars, while the infant and children’s market knows grandparents are an easy target.

Boomers On The Run

With good health and retirement savings to support them, Boomers (also known as the Flower Children of the ‘60s) are returning to their dreams of making the world a better place. Organizations such as Cross Cultural Solutions and Global Service Corps offer international volunteer/service vacations in Thailand, Nepal, Africa and other third world countries. Universities and community colleges are designing courses in everything from the opera to online trading specifically targeted to Boomers.

Not Your Mother’s Grandmother

Today’s 30-something marketers will make a fatal error if they view Boomers as aging “grandparents.” The JSH&A study, “Defining Women,” categorized women from their 60’s to 80’s as “Sliders” – not “Seniors.” The Boomer Woman will be well into her eighties before she considers the Senior title. For the next 20 years, watch for the early wave of Boomer women to lead the charge with adventure and luxury vacations, hot cars, continuing education, volunteerism, politics and entrepreneurial endeavors. Step aside, the Boomer Woman will reshape the world.

Marketing Milestones

Marketers who have heard the thunder have prospered:

• Dove gained notoriety and sales for its “real women” campaign including two ads specifically targeted to the mature category
• V
  espa sells 25% of its scooters to the 50+ consumer and hopes to increase that to 33%
• Disney’s theme parks urge Boomers to “come back after the kids are gone”

For strategies to reach this incomparable consumer power, call JSH&A. We’ll put our JSH&A LIF™style approach to work and help you break through to the Boomer Buyer.

Baby Boomers in the U.S.

• There are 78.2 million Baby Boomers in the U. S. – or 27.5% of the 2006 population
• African-American Boomers total 9.1 million
• Hispanic Boomers equal 8 million
• Women accounted for 50.8% of Baby Boomers in 2005
• In 2005, half of all Boomers were 50 years old – or older
• The 50+ population will grow by 70% over the next 15 years
• Estimated annual spending power in 2005 – $2.1 trillion
• Of the 57.8 million Baby Boomers projected to be living in 2030, 54.9% will be female

Famous Boomers:

JSH&A’s Favorite Boomer Resources:

• MSN Boomers
• Aging Hipsters
• Café Baby Boomers
• National Association of Baby Boomer Women

Women spend more than $8 trillion a year, the equivalent of the economy of Japan. This covers everything from soup to nuts and bolts – literally. Moms buy for the kids, for dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents and teachers. They drive the decisions for most household purchases including the house and the car. They decide when it’s time to decorate, renovate and invigorate.

• By 2010, women are expected to control $1 trillion, or 60% of the country’s wealth, according to research conducted by BusinessWeek and Gallup
• Women purchase or influence the purchase of 80% of all consumer goods, including stocks, computers and automobiles
• Women earn more than half of all accounting degrees, four out of every 10 law degrees and almost that many medical degrees

Most often, moms are the family’s moral compass guiding religious preferences as well as house rules. They set the course for education, they motivate, inspire and celebrate life’s achievements. The hand that rocks the cradle, literally rules the world…

Teddy bears that make womb sounds? Snuglis with cell phone holders? Pre-wrapped blankets that make swaddling a breeze? Welcome to the world of multi-functional baby products and services, where moms rule and manufacturers are scrambling to meet their every need. The market is more demanding than ever, and only the coolest, most customized and creative products will survive, according to Gallagher. For business, it means a great opportunity to reach a market that is open to anything and everything that can make mom’s life easier.

The 21st Century Mom

While no two moms are the same – they celebrate individuality – there are some common denominators seen in the Mom Community.

• Moms are first of all “women” – They need to be related to as more than “mom.” They often feel a loss of personal identity and will gravitate to brands, companies, people who recognize and address the woman inside the mom. For American and European moms this means maintaining a personal identity – without guilt. In Spain and Latin America, moms want to retain their sexuality
• “Function” is typically more important than “design.” A product must work as expected or better. However, “design” is a much-appreciated bonus generating “envy” appeal
• Work needs to work. Flexible work styles are increasingly demanded and Stay-at-Home Dads are more commonly seen at the playground as moms find their value and the family income in the workplace
• Middle America Moms are hot. One in ten have tattoos. They thrive on “new,” demand infinite choices and are easily bored. Balance is out – self-actualization is in. One-third of the kids on Main Street are born to single moms. Two-thirds of America’s moms live in Middle America

Hi-Tech Moms

Research shows, moms are definitely tech-savy.

• Women spent more on technology than men in 2007, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, accounting for $55 billion of the $96 billion spent on electronics gear
• Women are involved in 89% of all consumer electronics purchase decisions
• 84% of women believe that new technologies can help improve their lives
• More than half of all new Web users are women, according to Jupiter Media Metrix

Women, 25-54

Besides underestimating their financial clout, marketers often see women as just one homogenous group. “Stereotyping lives on,” says Mary Lou Quinlan, chief executive of Just Ask a Woman, a New York consulting firm. “Marketers see a 25-year-old woman as upbeat, on the way in her career, going out at night. The reality is she’s highly stressed, might not have a job, or be home with three kids. Such marketing stereotypes hold true for women ages 25 to 40.”

Even companies focused on women customers, like cosmetics or baby care, seem to view women as a single target group. Yet one recent study of Gen X and Boomer Moms found the mothers very dissimilar when grouped by age, points out Lisa Finn, editor of Marketing to Women, a monthly trade newsletter. The most useful segmentation was by similar parenting styles — and that cut across the generations.

The JSH&A study, “Defining Women,” grouped women in five LIF™stage categories. Rather than chronological age breakouts, LIF™stage provides a sharper profile to help define the marketing message and media.

• Explorers – Women completing their education and beginning to explore new careers, friends, solo-living arrangements, jobs and interests
• Builders – Women building their lives with partners, kids, careers, homes, hobbies and finances
• Boomers – The booming stage of a woman’s life as career and family settle in and life is full
• Sliders – A transitional woman sliding into a new chapter of life from the certainty she has built around family, friends, community and career, to new freedoms and new explorations as the kids leave home and careers are re-examined. (See “Baby Boomers Take A Walk on The Wild Side)
• Seniors – A time for the mature senior facing new limitations and frailties. New approaches become necessary to meet challenges

Overall, women are much better defined by their occupations, interests and identities than by gender. “Focus groups, forums, e-mail customer feedback and other such tools will give you a clear understanding of women’s interests, including their passions, life stages, the problems they need solved, consumer sophistication level within your industry and the role they want your brand to play in their lives,” says Andrea Learned at ReachWomen, a marketing firm in Bellingham, Wash. (Small Business Resources Marketing.)

JSH&A’s Favorite Mom Resources:

• AlphaMom
• New Baby
• Café Mom
• Dooce
• 5 Minutes for Mom
• Club Mom
• Happy Worker
• Mom Bloggers Community
• Marketing 2 Moms