Take Me Outdoors. Media Planners Embrace Digital Out-of-Home.

Newer outdoor ads drive more dollars from traditional to digital media

eMarketer forecasts a fairly rosy outlook for outdoor advertising spending in the US, which is predicted to rise from $6.1 billion in 2010 to $6.4 billion this year and $7.6 billion by 2015. Growth in this area is supported by the continued relevance of outdoor to the daily lives of consumers as well as the growing share of spending devoted to newer forms of outdoor ads that are themselves digital media.

According to research from the Digital Place-based Advertising Association (DPAA), more than three-quarters of US media planners will incorporate digital place-based advertising in their marketing plans this year. That’s up more than 10 percentage points from 2010. By next year, it’s expected that 86.3% of media planners will be using digital out-of-home for marketing. read more here http://bit.ly/DigOOH

The Colors of America. Mosaic Marketing Takes a Fresh Look at Changing Society.

YOU may not need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, as Bob Dylan put it, but it seems that Madison Avenue needed a census taker.

Jeffrey Schifman

Principal members of the OgilvyCulture team are, from left, Willow Gross, Robert Henzi, Aaron Finegold, Sacha Xavier, Enrique Urquiola, Erin Goldson and Jeffrey Bowman.

As results from the 2010 census continue to be released, the changing demographic makeup of the American consumer market is increasingly a topic for discussion — and action — among advertisers and agencies. One trend to emerge is known as cross-cultural marketing, aimed at a general market that may be more of a mosaic than a melting pot.

Cross-cultural marketing is, as the term suggests, aimed across demographic groups to appeal to consumer similarities rather than differences. By contrast, traditional multicultural marketing is directed at specific demographic groups like Hispanics, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, women or gay and lesbian consumers.

One of the largest global agencies, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, has formed a unit, OgilvyCulture, that specializes in cross-cultural marketing. British Airways and Ikea are among the initial clients of the unit, which has also provided consulting services to advertisers like Eastman Kodak, Kimberly-Clark and Unilever. Read more here http://nyti.ms/nLPgza

Faster Than An Airplane! Mobile Auto Sites Drive Traffic Faster Than Web.

Auto brands are often among the first to push into new forms of media and advertising. That appears to be the case where mobile is concerned, too. Traffic to the mobile sites of automotive companies is growing much faster than to their PC-based Web sites, according to new study by comScore commissioned by mobile ad network Jumptap.

While traffic to traditional auto sites is increasing 30% annually, the number of visitors on the mobile side is up 463%, or 15 times the growth rate of online. Given the smaller base of mobile Web users, it’s not too surprising that mobile traffic would be growing faster at this point.

People visiting mobile auto sites were also more likely to own a smartphone or a tablet than the overall mobile population. Seven in 10 (69%) who go to auto sites via mobile have smartphones, compared to 33% of U.S. mobile users overall who use smartphones. Automakers are trying to capitalize on the growing consumer adoption of high-end devices. Read more here http://bit.ly/nHIbDk

Live At Your Living Room. Facebook Proves To Google Live Streaming Concerts Pay.

Google’s YouTube might have pioneered the ability to stream live worldwide events for free online, but one band got viewers to pay for views on Facebook for the first time.

When platform provider Milyoni tallied up the stats from viewers, it found more than 2,300 tuned in across 19 countries. All purchased tickets to attend the first Social Theater concert on the Facebook platform featuring the rock band Widespread Panic.

The two-day concert in mid-June, powered by third-party app provider Milyoni and production company ACL Live, drew more than 1,900 comments from fans — each purchasing a seat to watch the show using Facebook Credits. The average concert attendee was 33, with 75% male and the remainder female. PayPal supported the transactions. A quarter of viewers attended both concert days.

While the heaviest attendance came from Dallas, Atlanta, Denver, Nashville and Seattle, music lovers watched from more than 19 countries, including he United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia, Germany, Brazil, and South Africa. Read more here http://bit.ly/kVLSIc