By David Alpern
More and more we are seeing in rankers from Ipsos MediaCT’s TV Dailies service, which includes viewing to streaming video, that services like Netflix and YouTube are beating the major broadcast and cable networks among the 18-34 demographic, and beating nearly all the cable (but not broadcast) networks among the 35-49 demographic. TV Dailies is a syndicated service that tracks awareness and interest in upcoming new and returning TV shows weekly among a representative sample of 3,300 TV viewers ages 13-64.
Netflix is having a quantifiable impact on linear television. Alliance Bernstein reported early 2015 18-49 cable and broadcast prime TV ratings are down 10.5% YOY and kids’ cable networks (2-11 total day) are down 17.7% YOY.
How does Pandora’s daily reach compare to AM/FM Radio? AM/FM’s daily reach (74%) dominates Pandora’s daily reach according to Edison Research’s 2015 Share of Ear study.
Why isn’t Pandora having the same impact on radio as Netflix is on television? Pandora does not create the abundance of original content, as Netflix does. Rather, the music service seems to be replacing time spent with consumer’s own recorded music. Netflix has a handful of competitors (Amazon Instant Video and Hulu), but Pandora has a significantly larger collection of competitors (including one’s own music library).]]>
Year: 2015
5 Keys to a High Converting Landing Page
By David Alpern Crafting an effective landing page is not as simple as one might think. There are many elements to address, being mindful of the psychology lurking beneath the surface as it relates to what the prospect ultimately wants and expects, and there is no practical and universal step-by-step guide that is applicable across industries. Keep in mind that at the end of the day your company’s landing page is unique so you need to understand your target audience in the context of the 5 keys presented below. Yet, some things do remain constant across high-converting landing pages: Key #1: Powerful and Compelling Headline The headline is the magnet. That is true in any environment, in print, in an email subject line, as well as on a landing page. It needs to grab the reader’s attention with a short, punchy message that informs the reader what the product or service is all about. If you feel too limited in accomplishing this with just a headline, it is okay to also include a persuasive sub-headline. If the headline makes one look, the sub-headline should be designed to lure them to stay and go into slightly more depth. Key #2: Pictures Not just for the design enhancement of balancing the written content on your landing page, the brain actually processes images 60,000 times faster than text. The reader will be affected by the image(s) immediately. Best practices include using high-quality large pictures, have them be relevant (so using a cute baby, if irrelevant to your product or service is not effective), and making sure the image is not subtle. It needs to drive attention and stimulate. Key #3: Explain the Value Proposition Provide a straightforward explanation about your product or service. Interestingly, the explanation need not be integrated with your headline but should have some relation to your picture. An explanation should be benefit-oriented in a user oriented functional manner. For example, in place of “We make advertisements” go with the more compelling, value-oriented: “Get advertising that makes you money.” This addresses the important “What’s in it for me?” question. Another good way to convey the value proposition is through a list of benefits that are clearly focused on the user, rather than talking about yourself as a company. Ultimately, end with the CTA (call to action) with nearby testimonials, if available. CTA placement is a critical component and is okay to place the CTA in multiple locations on a single landing page, typically positioned at the end of various sections on the landing page. Key #4: Pain & Pleasure The fear of loss is a much more powerful motivator than the prospect of gain. Humans are wired to avoid pain, so if your landing page can cause the user to think about their pain, that can motivate them subconsciously to seek relief and thereby be more likely to convert. Pain can be communicated by discussing what will be lost as opposed to what will be gained. Pain references can appear in the testimonials as well as in the copy. Be sure to explain how your product or service can relieve the pain, as well as how it provides pleasure. Pleasure is often the by-product of what you are selling. For example, software performs tasks more efficiently, so it in effect is offering freedom, relief, and joy. Clothing is selling not just fabric but respect, trendiness, security, vibrancy, and fulfillment. A successful landing page identifies how to inspire and convey a sense of wonder and surprise. Key #5: CTA Lead Generation Form + Contact Information The CTA button is the most significant copy element on your entire landing page. It’s more than a “submit” button, so use a bold color that separates it from the rest of the content on the page. The CTA should be physically big on the page, powerful in value, compelling, and attractive. Yet, some people will want to bypass the CTA and contact you. Make sure you have multiple methods of contacts — phone, address, email, chat feature, as well as that cherished contact form. These help eliminate any friction in the conversion funnel and the physical address and phone help assure that you are a real company.]]>
Radio Continues to Show Strong ROI
By Clint Gearheart, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Radio delivered a stunning 17-to-1 return on investment for four department store chains during the third quarter of 2014, according to new research from Nielsen. The new hot-off-the-presses study, previewed Wednesday at the NAB-RAB Radio Show in Atlanta, also showed the radio campaigns drove a 10% increase in overall store sales for the four retail brands. The study, which compared consumer spending at the department stores in Q3 of 2014 to the same period in 2013, showed exposure to the radio campaigns drove a 10% lift in overall store sales with radio bringing in more shoppers who also spent more often each time they shopped. The study credits the radio campaigns with a 3% increase in the total number of buyers and a 6% increase in dollars spent per buyer. Sizing up the total impact of the campaigns, Carol Edwards, senior VP, Nielsen Media Analytics, said they delivered incremental spending of $356 million from customers exposed to the messaging. Factoring in the $20 million the brands spent on the radio buy results in the 17-to-1 ROI metric, meaning that $17 in incremental store sales was generated for every dollar spent on radio. The latest in a series of radio ROI studies from Nielsen, the research cross-referenced time-stamped PPM listening data with Media Monitors spot tracking data to determine which listeners were exposed to the ads. Nielsen tapped its credit and debit card expenditure data to track the participants’ department store purchases and calculated the brands’ radio ad spend with SQAD data
ng wide, YouTube is mainstream, and podcasting is growing. Below is an article by Brad Hill, published earlier this year, that details the study.
The 2015 edition of The Infinite Dial was unveiled in March 2015 by survey producers Edison Research and Triton Digital. In its 23rd edition, The Infinite Dial is one of the most significant and respected research projects in the streaming audio industry.
A major headline came when John Rosso of Triton said that 53% of American adults listen to online radio at least monthly — an estimated 143-million individuals. (“One of the most significant findings of this year’s study,” said Rosso.) Holding to demographic tendencies of previous Infinite Dial editions, uptake of streaming radio is weighted to youth. The 12-24 demographic shows 77% listening to online radio each month.
Weekly online radio listening continues its upward march in the 2015 results — 44% of Americans listen at least weekly. That is an estimated 119-million people. In the 2000 survey, two percent of Americans made the same claim. (There has not been a year-over-year decrease during that span.) Weekly listening also skews young, with 69% of the 12-24 group listening weekly.
How about time spent? Edison found that the average weekly time spent listening to online radio was 12 hours and 53 minutes — a slight drop from last year (13:19). but with a large year-over-year jump in audience size (from 36% of Americans to 44%), the overall time spent with online radio is much higher.
Where does the listening happen? Mobile dominates, and is growing — 73% use smartphones, increased from 66% last year. Computers are still in frequent use, but declining from 64% in 2014 to 61% this year.
The presentation provided deep dives into several research topics:
By David Alpern
Rick Dees, The Real Don Steele, Don Imus, Cousin Brucie, Kevin & Bean, Scott Shannon….these are all larger than life personalities that busted through the radio over the years and became huge radio sensations and thus ratings monsters. Comparing that to the non-interrupted music flow that comes from Amazon Music, Rhapsody, Spotify, Songza, and others is not truly a fair comparison. One is full of life and the other is full of efficiency. Some services like Slacker try to inject pre-recorded announcers, which is a nice effort, but does not even begin to approach the presence that a “jock” brings to a station.
That is why the re-emergence of cultivated content is a refreshing trend. As Wired Magazine reported last month in “