AdDude's Insights

As media companies and publishers continue to recover from the recession and adapt business models for an ongoing digital shift, overall ad spending is on the rise, particularly in online and mobile, according to ZenithOptimedia.

ZenithOptimedia has upgraded its forecast for global ad spending growth from April’s forecast of 2.2% to 3.5%.

This is the company’s third upgrade in a row after six consecutive downgrades. North America is the region with the biggest upgrade of 2.8%. In the last forecast, the market was expected to shrink 1.5% this year, but is now pegged for 1.3% growth. Based on a strong Super Bowl and Vancouver Olympics in the first half of 2010, ZenithOptimedia’s report expects television to maintain its strong showing, while the continued decline of newspaper and spot radio ad revenue has slowed. 

The report said Canada has bounced back from the recession much more quickly than its southern neighbour and is expected to grow ad spending by 5.4% this year, compared to 1.1% in U.S.

“Advertisers are spending again, now that consumers are opening their wallets,” states the Canadian summary. “Automotive is back; retail, finance, telecom, food, are all ratchetting up the demand.”

In 2008, total advertising expenditures in Canada reached a high-water mark of nearly $10.2 billion. By the next year, when the recession had its strongest hold on the economy, total spending was down 8.4% to $9.3 billion. ZenithOptimedia now projects total spending to hit $9.84 billion this year, rising to $10.2 billion in 2011 and $10.6 billion in 2012.

Ad spending on the Internet continues its climb, increasing its global market share from 10.5% in 2008 to 12.7% in 2009. In Canada, ZenithOptimedia predicts spending on Internet advertising to rise 13% this year and 12.7% next year when it will pass newspapers advertising ($2.2 billion online to $2 billion for newspapers) as the second most popular medium in the country behind only TV.

By 2012, ZenithOptimedia expects Internet spending to make up 17% of total ad expenditure worldwide, still two percentage points below newspapers. Since 1987 when they accounted for 40.6% of expenditure, newspapers have been losing share every year to reach 23% by 2009, and the report expects that number to fall further to 19.2% in 2012.

Paid search made up 50.2% of all Internet spending in 2009 and expectations are that it will get to 52.6% by 2012. Display’s contribution to total internet spend fell from 32.9% in 2008 to 31.9% in 2009. New formats such as web video, mobile and social media are expected to help display stabilize this year and increase its share of internet spend to 32% in 2012. In 2009, about $18 million was spent on mobile advertising, rising to $30 million this year, $55 million in 2011 and $92 million the year after that.

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Advertising, Digital, Finance, Media, Newspapers, Television. | #

So, a big name brand located some cajones and is tapping into a non-traditional advertising media. I have previously blogged about the emerging trendy Chat Roulette. This website links you to randoms across the world through your webcam. Chat Roulette, the online chat platform developed by Russian student Andrey Ternovskiy, has spurred a number of high profile ‘virals’, all equally hilarious. However, the platform is also widely seen to be bursting with sex and nudity. So in a fun advertising campaign Calvin Klein now offers a small program that scans for nudity on Chatroulette and then hides it with Calvin Klein underwear. This is simply brilliant! Good on Calvin Klein to take a risk and be a pioneer for such an untapped medium.

3 Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Advertainment, Advertising, Calvin Klein, Chat Roullette, Chatroullette, Digital, Innovation. | #

DDB Stockholm created this clever and simple interactive billboard game for McDonald’s. Menu items bounce and fly through the screen. If you’re quick enough to capture one in a cell-phone pic, it’s yours free at a nearby McDonald’s.

This is a great usage of digital OOH and speaks to its potential to implement regional and local offers and promotions. This also taps into the potential of mobile based campaigns interacting with other media. This suits McDonald’s as it is a transactional, spur of the moment craving creating advertiser.

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Advertising, Digital, Innovation, McDonalds, Mobile, Out-of-Home. | #

How about a 3D body scan to help you try on your clothes for a fully immersive online shopping experience?

Too much like the Jetsons, right? Wrong!

Zugara has developed to allow customers to “try” clothes on, online. Essentially by using an Augmented Reality interface between their site and a customer’s computer and webcam, Zugara are providing a service that lets you see an Augmented Reality version of the clothes you’re interested in, projected onto your image on screen.

This of course followed the fantastic use of Augmented Reality by Glasses Direct in which customers can “try on” different glasses before purchasing them online. So here we have two great examples of real-world applications of Augmented Reality.

Recently in Revolution Magazine, it said that a UK fashion company called InnovaClothing has developed software that uses body scanners to capture a 3D image customers to produce perfectly fitting clothes. This is the world’s first online shopping service that features a 3D body scan to fit clothes to each customer’s unique body shape.

According to Digitology, this isn’t quite as far along as you’d hope; the service currently requires customers to undergo a consultation scanning session in Glasgow, where the company is based. Although they do have plans to roll out the service to new locations over the next two years. From that point, customers can log on to InnovaClothing’s site to view their clothing collections and get personalised style advice from the company’s image consultants to choose a style that suits.

It does however beg the question, how far away are we now from having the same service provided directly through a website?

This is a research project by the University of Cambridge called ProFORMA. It’s only in the very early stages of development but already the results speak for themselves. This video shows how easy it is to scan an object with only a standard webcam. Considering that this is a conventional 2D camera it certainly may spell the end of super-expensive 3D scanners and open the doors to a whole new realm of customised clothes shopping online.

My main concern is that women traditionally favour a more tactile approach to shopping. They need to touch and feel fabric. They may not trust an augmented reality vision of themselves. I’m wondering if this will truly make shopping easier and increase sales volumes, or if it is simply a novelty.

3 Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Augmented reality, Digital, Interactive, Shopping, Technology. | #

Saw this last year and thought this was very powerful. It is time to wake up and get digital.

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Digital, Facebook, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter. | #

This is a true instance of the DIY capabilities that technologies has gifted us with. I believe this puts making music into the hands of almost anyone who wants to create something or express themselves creatively. This just goes along with the post I created last week on Chat Roullette. This musical collaboration potential over borders has vast potential and very cool things can happen as a result. It is also incredible what Apple’s branding has created: a legion of Apple branded products fantatics, hence Applegirl. Shout out to my man, Alessandro Würgler for pointing this one out. Great job on leading us to victory!

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Digital, iPhone, Music. | #

Nestled on CTV.ca between online episodes of Degrassi and All My Children is a new tongue-in-cheek Spanish soap opera created by General Mills as a lighthearted break for female consumers.

According to Marketing Week, the show, called Mi Marido, Mi Angel (My Husband, My Angel), was created by Cossette for the Old El Paso brand. Fjord, the agency’s digital division, worked with CTV to have it listed at CTV.ca as a regular show.

Each of the series’ three episodes features the white-suited character Roberto, who has been appearing in Old El Paso ads since August 2009. The cast includes the villainous Alejandro, the bumbling Consuela, vixen Isabella and hunky Felipe.

By enabling Facebook integration, the viewer’s name and picture will be integrated into various scripted sequences.

Regardless of the viewer’s gender, however, the role they play will always be female–part of the execution’s female shopper focus.

The project is being promoted through banner ads on CTV.ca, and 25% of those who click through are watching the content, according to Cossette. The show is also promoted in one of the network’s promotional media “carrousels” and through General Mills’ consumer newsletters.

While Cossette has worked on Old El Paso for almost 10 years, Mi Marido was not the result of a typical client brief. They pitched the idea for one of General Mills’ internal contests last autumn.

“There weren’t any specific metrics that needed to be delivered on, or it wasn’t about increase in trial. It was just a brand engagement,” said Lana Pawziuk, digital strategist at Fjord.

Cossette will likely be shooting a new television ad for the brand in the coming weeks, and if there is enough positive response to Mi Marido, Pawziuk said new episodes could be created.

Check this link now! http://shows.ctv.ca/MyHusbandMyAngel.aspx

4 Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Cossette, Digital, Old El Paso. | #

When it comes to fads, memes, virals and trends, the internet has given us some real crazy stuff over the last decade. In my humble opinion though, this may just be the craziest so far. Chat Roulette is a new internet fad that put you in touch with a random stranger for videochat. You can click “next” any time, or stay with the person that was randomly selected. Be warned, however, this is a realm of completely unfiltered, unmonitored human nature. Anything goes!

This could be as inoffensive as people in masks dancing around, Chinese users giving virtual high fives or a puppet psychotherapist who will sit with you for hours and help you solve all your problems.

Unfortunately you may also find yourself looking at a man holding up a sign that reads “Assroll?”. To immediately become a naked man rolling over backwards. In many ways this is YouTube with a whole heap more nudity and exhibitionism. Props to Digitology for pointing this one out.

There are people out there, however, who are doing some cool things with the service. The most famous is self thought piano player Merton with his awesome improv piano sessions with randomness…

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Chat Roullette, Digital, Social Media, Trends. | #

This is easily one of the best campaigns I have ever seen, and when you break it down, incredibly simple. What’s more is the rate of return is absolutely mind blowing considering what was done. You need to watch this, and all agencies need to wake up and start doing stuff like this. Thanks to Eric Vieira for pointing this out.

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Digital, Heineken, Stunt Marketing. | #

This is where media is heading.

No Comments | In: Uncategorized | tags: Apple, Digital, iPad, Technology, Wired Magazine. | #