Lots of Segments to Target in Communications

As part of an exercise to compare bundles of services purchased by consumers in various countries, Ofcom, the U.K. communications regulator, identified a number of distinct segments in the communications market.

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Ofcom then compared bundles of services that correspond to each segment. The interesting notion here is that, looking at nothing other than types of services and amount of usage, Ofcom identified a number of different segments in the consumer market.

These charts show how just a single service--mobility--maps to the basic segments.

If one were to consider age, lifestyle and attitudes, one could conceivably come up with a far-larger number of niches and segments in the market. In practice, smaller competitors normally are required to identify such customer segments if they are to compete with larger contestants. That's why some companies emphasize prepaid wireless, Hispanic customers, immigrant communities, videogame players, teenagers, multi-location businesses or small businesses.

U.S. Internet Advertising Now Bigger than Outdoor, Radio, Magazines

Structural changes in advertising have led to a considerable redistribution of advertising spend between media and channels, a new study by Ofcom, the U.K. communications regulator, suggests.

Internet advertising now represented just under 15 percent of total advertising expenditure in 2009, compared to just over four percent in 2004.

In the United States, Internet advertising already had climbed to 17 percent of total by 2009, while in the United Kingdom, Internet advertising represented about 27 percent of total.

One way of looking at it is that U.S. Internet advertising already has surpassed outdoor, radio and magazine advertising. Internet advertising relatively soon will pass newspaper advertising to take the number-two spot, behind only television advertising in revenue.

By contrast, print advertising has been hit particularly hard, with spend on newspaper and magazine advertising experiencing the greatest proportional declines over the period, collectively accounting for a third of total expenditure in 2009 compared to 44 percent in 2004.

Are Skippable Ads Better?

Google is giving video viewers on YouTube the opportunity to skip pre-roll advertising. After a video viewer has been shown five seconds of an pre-roll advertisement, they will be given the option of skipping past it, at least in the U.S. and Canadian markets, for the time being.

While this format may seem counterintuitive to decades of advertising practice, view-through rates (where users watch the entire ad) are still between 20 percent and 70 percent.

A significant benefit of the new "TrueView Ads" format is that it is a cost-per-view model, so advertisers are only charged if an ad is viewed in full, or for at least 30 seconds.

read more here

Google in Talks to Buy Groupon

In a big move that would make Google a significant player local advertising, Google is in talks to buy local deals site Groupon, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Groupon's board of directors reportedly will meet by conference call Wednesday to decide how to proceed. The possible offer price 'is a big number,'' the Wall Street Journal reports.

Groupon specializes in coupon and other deals that are intended to drive consumers to local merchants. With Groupon, Google would also pick up contact information for about 12 million consumers. Groupon collects credit card information from users, as well as data it uses to personalize its offers, such as their neighborhoods and the kinds of businesses they have bought web coupons from in the past.

Google in Talks to Buy Groupon - WSJ.com (subscription required)

Women Prefer iPhones, Men Androids

Women planning to get a smartphone are more likely to want an iPhone as their next device, with slightly more males preferring Android.

U.S. Smartphone Battle Heats Up: Which is the “Most Desired” Operating System? | Nielsen Wire

Don’t Just Build An App. Build A Mobile Business

App developers need to understand that there’s more to a successful app than just a good product and a launch. Having a solid product is a great starting point but it’s precisely that — a starting point.

To cultivate success, you need to develop a business plan, think through marketing, distribution, monetization, and plan for the evolution of the product itself months down the road. If you want to succeed, you need to understand that you aren’t just building an app; you’re building a business on mobile.

Don’t Just Build An App. Build A Mobile Business

Is Social Media Over-Hyped?