ADOTAS – What makes a brand stand out? What makes a brand resonate with consumers? What makes a brand evoke an emotional connection that is so powerful, it turns consumers into brand ambassadors? It’s when a brand can tell an incredibly influential yet simple story that touches a consumer on a personal level.

Read more of the compelling interview: Brand Storytelling At Its Finest

How many applications are on your phone? Maybe 25? How many of them you use each day? Maybe 5? Most  applications are either deleted or remain unused after a few months. Flurry Analytics showed applications only have a 5% retention rate after 6 months. Another report from localytics showed that 26% of users who download an application use it once and never use it again. Most want their applications to be “sticky”, but to effectively do this, applications need to provide a consumer benefit, be refreshed and a have a consistent advertising presence to ensure success.

Good applications provide a clear benefit to the consumer regardless of the category. For example, Chicago Tribune’s mobile application is only as good as the content that is consistently refreshed. The Chase Banking application is only good if it allows you to login to your checking account. Even a novelty application like Zippo (literally has one function) can still be a benefit to a select group of consumers looking for a new “party trick”.  The bottom line is that many of the best applications often provide a consumer benefit by acting as good time savers (tools) or good time killers (games, experiences).

The advertising required in promoting your application often is related to the type of category your application falls within. Utility applications like the Chase Banking app might have the leverage to advertise the app within an integrated brand strategy (offline, mobile, online, etc.). Other apps that don’t have access to an integrated means of promotion may require more mobile advertising presence to increase downloads.

High adoption rates (85% of iPhone owners have downloaded an app, 84% of Android users) show us that mobile applications definitely meet a specific consumer need. People love their apps!

With the launch of the iPhone 4S and rise of smartphone penetration among consumers, advertisers will increasingly look to incorporate mobile applications as part of their overall strategy. Mobile is quickly moving from the “third screen” to the first screen. When building applications clients often ask, “how much does it cost?” The reality is that there is quite a variety of options when it comes to application functionality, which can make building an application range anywhere from $15K to $100K+. While many advertisers will want to rush into the application space, it’s important to remember that content within applications isn’t searchable (ex. Google). Therefore, having a proper mobile landing page in place is often the best first step when “going mobile”. This can also be a less expensive option.

• The digital landscape is increasingly more complex, which makes it even more important to focus on building strategic, integrated plans that leverage paid media to enhance owned media and elevate earned media. Below is a great article that effectively speaks to focusing on this multi-channel approach vs. focusing on individual devices and channels alone. Along with this integrated approach, effective branding is imperative; it’s the glue that ties it all together. Read More: Balancing Paid, Owned and Earned Media a Must for Multichannel Market
• A recent study conducted among regional ad agencies uncovers a multitude of obstacles around a common theme, digital expertise. The article below includes compelling insights that uncover a need for experts who can manage, understand and interpret the complex landscape. This is a great point to highlight: “Programmatic digital buying and the expertise needed around it are a world apart from the spots and dots of traditional media. These inaccurate expectations combined with the challenges of campaign metrics could certainly lead agency owners and top executives to rethink speeding headfirst into their next digital project.“As regional agencies lean on vendors and other industry experts, we expect to see a hockey-stick-like understanding of digital and how it fits into the entire media picture.”  Read More: Study: More Regional Ad Agencies Budget for Digital Specialists
• There is a need for efficiency in digital media. It’s time to start thinking about how to move faster and think smarter when it comes to digital media. With efficiency, there is growth. Rather than cutting budgets and removing resources, marketers should start thinking about strategic ways to identify and improve operational tasks to extend their capabilities. These capabilities should be leveraged outside of internal teams, so a continued focus remains on creative and strategic work that leads to greater ROI. Can you imagine how efficient digital media would be? Read more: A Need for Efficiency in Digital Media

With nearly 40% of the US population now regularly listening to Streaming Audio, it is clear this medium can no longer be considered ‘optional’ by advertisers who employ broadcast radio in their media mix. Beyond the opportunity for advertisers to reach consumers through an additional touch point, the true value of Streaming Audio comes through the increase in brand awareness, ad recall and – most importantly – ad response! While the reach might not be as large as other channels within the Emerging Media sector, the numbers show this listening audience is truly engaged and committed to the platform. Outside of the increasing consumer adoption, below are four quick points that drive home the value of streaming audio:

1. Consumers are listening so much more than we thought: For years, the working assumption on Streaming Audio has been that it caters to the 9-to-5 crowd who listen in bursts throughout the workday. However, recent studies have shown a very different story in the usage patterns of consumers.

• It may be big at work, but it’s absolutely HUGE at home; 79% stream on home PC compared to 52% at   workplace.
• The listening day is significantly longer than expected; from 10a to 10p consumers are actively streaming audio (important to note that Morning Drive is still owned by Broadcast Radio.
• Consumers listen for hours each day; 80% of all listeners will spend 1-3 hours a day listening, with 25% listening 3+ hours per session.

2. Streaming Audio is not a passive activity: The working assumption has been that Streaming Audio has been a passive medium is just not true – 59% of listeners keep the player up throughout their listening session. Personal taste and content control make this a lean-forward activity for consumers, and with 60% of listeners shopping for or researching a product/service Online, this is a great opportunity to get a message in front of them!

• Consumers constantly curate their personal soundtrack; 73% of listeners change their station multiple times/day, and 50% of their time is spent actively seeking content on other stations
• They are actively exploring for new music; 46% frequently look at the player to see the song title or artist name
• Mood plays a huge role; 61% choose stations based on how they are feeling, and 29% will venture to entirely different sites to match their needs

3. Streaming Audio is a very effective complement to Broadcast Radio buys: Not only does Streaming Audio provide advertisers with an engaged audience, but it also provides a serious lift to campaigns when coupled with either Broadcast Radio or Online display.

• When paired with a complementary Broadcast Radio buy, Streaming Audio provides an incredible 3.5x increase in ad response
• When paired with a complementary Online display campaign, Streaming Audio increased ad response by 2x
• Consumers who listen to both Streaming Audio and Broadcast Radio are up to 8x more likely to respond to ads they hear (both Online and Offline)

4. Premium subscription services get the hype, but not the scale: Even with the ‘popularity’ of sites like Pandora Premium and Spotify, 88% of consumers don’t pay fees for premium access and ad-free content.

ADOTAS – The holiday season is a time of year to bring friends and families together, to enjoy a plethora of calorie-suffused foods and to buy the perfect gifts for your mom, dad, sister, brother, husband, wife, kids, best friends, co-workers, dog walker, neighbors, etc. You get the point. It’s the season of giving.

So, where will consumers be spending all of their holiday dollars? Are retailers expecting consumers to tighten their online wallets? On the contrary, despite the economy, online retailers can continue to sing, “’Tis the season to be jolly.” According to eMarketer, online sales have shown strong growth in the months leading up to the holiday shopping season. Many industry experts are expecting online holiday sales to either be on par with or surpass last year’s results ($32.6 billion, up from $29.1 billion in 2009), which translates into growth of at least 12 percent.

Read more of this compelling piece: Holiday Cheer Forecasted for Online Retailers