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The Total Media weekly newsletter brought to you by Ashley's Team

PRESS

Rupert Murdoch has taken to social network Twitter to deny a report relating to his company, which claimed the launch of a new Sunday tabloid had been put on hold because of the arrest of four Sun journalists. Murdoch has dismissed as "100% wrong", a report that News International has put on hold the launch of a Sunday newspaper to replace the closed News of the World. Last night he took to Twitter to deny the report, marking the first time that the chief executive and chairman of News Corporation, the parent company of News International, publisher of The Sun, has denied a story relating to his company, on the social network. Murdoch's tweet reads, "FT Financial Times or Fawlty Towers? Sun on Sunday story today 100 per cent wrong." He was reacting to a report that claimed the weekend arrest and suspension of four journalists from The Sun would hamper any possible launch of a Sunday tabloid, called the Sun on Sunday. The four journalists were questioned under suspicion of making illegal payments to police officers. The FT report also played down suggestions in other reports that a launch date for the title had been set in stone for April 29. However, other sources spoken to by Media Week agreed with the report in the FT. Source: Media Week

News International (NI) is trialling a new publishing model with the launch of its first "social media magazine" on Facebook for its Fabulous magazine. On the 1st February NI launched its Fabulous for Facebook app, which will distribute original fashion and beauty content on the social networking site every day. The content will appear in users' timelines and can be shared with their friends on the social network and Twitter. The app enables users to create and share Spotify playlists and a weather app, which recommends clothing and accessories, based on weather conditions. It will also feature a fashion blog, gallery and competitions. While the publisher will not receive any revenue from ads served around the app, it has been devised to build a following for the Fabulous brand on Facebook and drive sales of the weekend print edition of the magazine, which appears inside The Sun every Saturday. News International plans to run sponsored content opportunities with brands in the future, although it currently has none lined up for launch. Source: Brand Republic

TELEVISION

TV viewing in 2011 maintained levels set the previous year, but is expected to plateau over the coming 12 months, according to a report by the UK commercial broadcasters' marketing body, Thinkbox. Figures from BARB showed the average viewer watched four hours and two minutes of linear TV a day, or 28 hours and 14 minutes a week, matching 2010's record levels. Commercial TV accounts for 64% of UK linear TV viewing, up 1.3% year on year, due to successes such as ITV's Downton Abbey. Thinkbox attributed the figures to consumers staying home because of the difficult economic conditions, as well as innovations such as 3D TV. It claims that linear TV, as opposed to time-shifted viewing, still accounts for more than 90% of all TV viewed in the UK. It also claims that the viewing of TV ads is up by 2.6% year-on-year, with the average viewer watching 47 TV ads a day. The body admitted linear viewing is likely to 'stabilise', but expects the daily figure to stay near the four-hour mark. Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox's managing director, said: 'These figures explain why so many tech companies want to join the TV industry. Many companies are flocking to launch new TV services or social media services that feed off people's love affair with TV. 'It is obvious that people want to watch TV programmes on the best screen in the home if they can and 2012 will bring more opportunities to do that with the sale of connected TVs and more catch-up TV services to the TV set.' Source: Brand Republic

RADIO

DAB's long haul to widespread penetration has passed a mini-milestone, with four in 10 adults now claiming to own one at home, although its share of radio listening is only at 19.4%, according to the latest Rajar results. Eight years ago just one in 20 adults owned a DAB radio at home. Penetration doubled in the next year, then again within two years, but it has taken the ensuing five years to get from 20% to 40%. The number of DAB sets (including DAB/IP sets) sold in December rose 8% on the previous December to hit 446,000, according to GfK. Despite DAB's rise, analogue remains entrenched as the platform through which most listening occurs, with a 64.1% share of all listening in Q4 2011. However, the increasing ownership of DAB sets at home, where most listening takes place, does appear to be having an impact on the popularity of listening via the digital platform. DAB took a 19.4% share in Q4 2011, which is up from 15.8% in Q4 2010. DAB's growth helped digital radio (including digital TV and internet) grow its share from 25% to 29.1% over the same period.
Source: Brand Republic

Another Good Quarter for Digital Listening! This Quarter saw an increase in Digital Listening with 300 million listening hours and 23.1 million people tuning into the radio via a digital platform. RAJAR shows 46.7 million adults (15+) in the UK listen to the radio every week. Commercial Radio reaches 32.8 million listeners and achieves a listener share of 42.4% versus the BBC's 55.5%. On a local level commercial radio completely dominates the BBC delivering 26.2 million listeners compared to the BBC's 9.6 million for local and regional services. Source: Radioworks

OUTDOOR

Outdoor advertising sites near the Olympic Park are to be sold to non-sponsors, marking a shift from previous rules. This will allow brands from categories such as film, theatre and tourist boards to advertise near the Games' venues. Originally, only official sponsors of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were allowed to advertise on outdoor media close to the Olympic Park, but this has been expanded to include some other sectors. Outdoor media in the "vicinity" of the Olympic Park can now be sold to film companies, theatres, music labels, book publishers, colleges, tourist boards and other organising committees, such as that for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As part of the bid for London 2012, outdoor media owners agreed to sell their inventory to sponsors only, and an online auction took place last year. At the time, media industry sources suggested that less than half the outdoor sites available during the London 2012 Games were bought by official sponsors. It was estimated that £31m out of £72m worth of inventory had been snapped up. Source: Brand Republic

DIGITAL

The UK pages went live on Twitter on the 1st February. Companies can now post a branded banner and a permanent tweet containing media or a promotion, at the top of pages. Asda has posted a YouTube clip of its latest TV ad in its permanent tweet. Its branded banner includes its "10% cheaper or we will give you your money back" price guarantee. Cadbury's is using its brand page to promote its tier-one sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics, offering Twitter users the chance to win tickets to the event by clicking on its banner. It is also promoting its latest TV ad for the Creme Egg Goo Games with a YouTube clip in its permanent tweet. Electronic Arts has set up a brand page for its Fifa Sports game, while Sky has a page for its Sky HD service, promoting the customer service it offers on Twitter.

Twitter unveiled the first raft of brand pages in December last year, from US advertisers including Coca-Cola and Red Bull as part of a revamp of the service. In the UK brand pages are free, but there is also a minimum media spend required, understood to be in the region of £25,000. Sky was the first brand to roll out UK-targeted Twitter ads, back in September. It was shortly followed by Electronic Arts with a campaign for the Fifa 12 game. The gaming company claimed to have seen an engagement level of 11% for its promoted trend, which is well above Twitter's average "benchmark" for promoted trends, of 3% to 6%. Source: Brand Republic

EDITED BY Ashley's Team

The Total Media weekly newsletter brought to you by Madeleine Ware of the Total Media Marketing Team

PRESS

The National Readership Survey has announced that, from spring, it will produce figures using UK Online Measurement research, which will declare overall readership across paper and online platforms for newspapers and magazines. This will give us a richer sense of how the audience is distributed across platforms, enabling publishers to trade on more robust audience data.

Recently appointed chief executive of the Newspaper Marketing Agency, Rufus Olins, and Chris Amor both believe that 2012 will be a year where newspaper will need to co-operate and present a “united front” as “more data will enable publishers to follow their consumers’ media behaviours more accurately”. (Source: Campaign, Marketing Week)

TELEVISION

2011 was a good year for TV advertising. It maintained its place at the top of the table for return on investment, mainly a result of the cost of TV advertising falling and its effectiveness remaining largely undiminished, returning £1.70 for every £1 invested, and according to ThinkBox a record number of 2.7 billion ads were watched every day.

So what can we expect for 2012? Well it is looks like it is going to be an exciting year for television as not only is there the completion of analogue switch-off which will send the UK 100% digital in April, but TV viewing and advertising is set to get even smarter. The highly criticized, yet eagerly awaited, YouView will transform the way we watch terrestrial TV, greater integration will see an upsurge in second-screen viewing, and even more social media tools will be integrated with TV.

Our very own Leila Gould has given further insight into this, and stated that: "Social media integration is giving television advertising a boost and it's creating enhanced shared-viewing experiences. TV is more affordable now and together, we're getting cleverer at integrating ad-funded programming with social channels on behalf of clients."

However, despite the developments or newly available ad solutions, ITV’s Daglish, along with Channel 5’s Nick Bampton still laud the 30-second spot as integral to the future of commercial broadcasting. Daglish states “In partnership with creative agencies and clients, we need to focus on well-produced content such as the pre-Christmas John Lewis campaign”, and Bampton agrees by saying “Iconic adverts are what TV does best and we should never loose sight of that…The 30-second spot is more powerful than any other medium and when it's done right, audiences are drawn to the messaging through the creativity”. (Source: Media Week)

RADIO

Despite the doom-monger predicting that the rise in on-demand content would accelerate a slow and lingering death for traditional media channels, offline broadcast linear media – radio and TV – continue to be in remarkably good health. Figures for 2011 show radio is still a popular medium in Britain with a record 47 million adults listening every week, and it is unique in that it plays a highly emotional role for the listener lifting their mood when engaged in other tasks, whenever, wherever - a role that it is impossible for other media to fulfil to the same degree.

This incomparable nature of radio also provides a quantifiable advantage for advertisers as the RAB 'Media and the mood of the nation' research study from 2011 revealed how people consuming radio, on average, feel happier and more energetic than those consuming television or online. These mood-enhancing effects are proven to extend into the ad break, generating higher levels of positive engagement with radio advertising, which is further supported by evidence set out in the 'Radio: Online Multiplier' report that demonstrated radio's effectiveness in driving people to interact with brands online. More so than other media, radio stations are avid and active users of social media, wielding high influence over their followers.

In terms of mobile, latest Rajar stats highlight that 16% of adults, and a third of 15- to 24-year-olds, listen to radio via a mobile phone. It is estimated that more than 10m commercial radio station-specific apps have been downloaded. Radio apps on mobile devices offer opportunities for advertisers, such as visuals and content tagging, all of which are being tested currently. So rather than following the path that the doom-mongers predict, radio is allowing advertisers to become smarter and more innovative by exploiting the symbiotic relationship between radio, mobile and social to unlick the full potential of these channels for brands. (Source: Marketing Magazine)

OUTDOOR

One trend that is set to become a more established part of the Out Of Home community is interactivity. High-profile experimental campaigns, such as last year's augmented reality Lynx "angels" installation, are leading to larger-scale use of interactive creative. Ford, IBM, Colgate, Foster's and Heineken are also among a growing number of major brands that are taking digital OOH media into the mainstream. This approach is setting the tone for the industry and there is no doubt that consumers want to interact with brands outside of the home. The strides made by linking campaigns with social media and location-based communications mean OOH has become a relevant and connected communications medium in the context of the rapid growth of digital technology and its impact on people's lives. (Source: Campaign)

DIGITAL

While figures show Facebook is having a “positive effect” on the UK economy, contributing £2.2bn to the UK in 2011, and YouTube stating that it is streaming an incredible four billion videos a day, the story is not so bright for all social media platforms as Myspace’s well documented decline demonstrates. As one of the original social networks to emerge after the dotcom bubble in 2003, it has since been left behind, with Facebook and Twitter dictating this arena. Even Rupert Murdoch admitted, ironically via Twitter, last week that his company, News corporation, had ‘screwed up’ in ‘every way possible’ in its acquisition in which they paid $580m for in 2005, and sold for a mere $35m back in July.

Now, it has unlikely new owners in ad network Specific Media and musician and actor Justin Timberlake. The latest 'new direction' for Myspace, though, has been kept under wraps. However, the industry was given a taster of Myspace's future earlier this month - a social TV venture to bring music channels and, eventually, more content to consumers via a connected TV app. But as site visitor numbers continue to plummet with unique visitors being down by 25%, will this sort of innovation be enough to win back its audience or attract a new crowd? (Source: The Wall, Media Week, Marketing Magazine)

CINEMA

Of all the media channels listed, cinema looks to be the medium that is less inclined to change with ad revenues and admissions all predicted to be static over the course of the year. However, the type of film that’s on the schedule is noteworthy as now that the Harry Potter franchise has finally come to an end, the industry is looking to other blockbuster movies to deliver the box office takings. That's a hole of more than £71 million that needs filling. That said, 2012 will see the release of Skyfall, Daniel Craig's next James Bond outing, and this is predicted to deliver mass audiences and a box office figure of around £50 million, compensating for the lack of Potter.

So, what about 3D and digital? Well the novelty of 3D has been seen to be wearing off. In 2010, of the 3D movies released, 74 per cent of viewers saw the 3D version. So far, for 2011, that has decreased to 58 per cent. This shows that high-quality 3D will result in high box office, but poor quality will no longer be accepted. Quality should improve in 2012 and beyond.

There have been notable positives from digital advances. For the consumer, improved picture clarity means a better experience. For advertisers, the benefit is the reduced production cost. With 90 per cent of screens predicted to be digital by the end of 2012, there will be considerable cost savings, although the full benefit of improved delivery has yet to be realised.

Therefore, although cinema looks to be static in terms of admissions, digital, live events and a host of great movies may mean a positive year for cinema advertising. (Source: Marketing Magazine, Campaign)

EDITED BY MADELEINE WARE

The Total Media Christmas Special Newsletter brought to you by the Insight Team

HOW WILL CHRISTMAS 2011 BE REMEMBERED?

For many retailers and market sectors, Christmas is a critical period for business growth, but with consumer confidence at an all-time low and increased pressure on the cost of living, what will Christmas 2011 bring?

Forty five percent of people plan to buy gifts for fewer people and 37% plan to buy fewer presents.  Women are far more likely to be belt tightening, with half of them planning to buy for fewer people and 41% buying fewer gifts over all.  However, women place far more emotional investment into gifting, with 74% agreeing that it is the effort rather than the price, compared with 58% of men.

Traditionally retailers focus on women and housewives at this time of year, but men are far less likely to modify their spending behaviour as a result of the recession, with 33% saying it has had no effect on their Christmas spending (compared to 23% of women).  Men are far less concerned with minimising waste, with just 36% planning to buy less food and drink this year compared with 46% of women. Men seek convenience and ease when it comes to gifting. They are less price sensitive (77% consider price important vs 85% of women) and they invest far less emotion into gifting - just 62% claim to get a great deal of joy out of the act of giving compared with 78% of women.

They are also more likely to spend as little time as possible (31% vs 19%) and put less effort into thinking about what the recipient would like (68% vs. 84%).  Gifting represents so much more than the exchange of presents. Giving directly benefits the emotional and social wellbeing of the giver and the experience itself is important as 60% of people want to be with the recipient when they open it. 

PRESS

Santa Claus has been banished from the cover of the Radio Times Christmas issue this year, over fears he would be viewed as a "symbol of over-indulgence" as households struggle in a faltering economy.  The two-week festive edition of the magazine, which brings in about £2m in revenue and has a print run of close to 3m, instead features a "flowing festive illustration" that better reflects the sentiment of austerity facing consumers this Christmas.

The Radio Times said that the illustration by artist Kate Forrester – who has handled work for clients including John Lewis and Penguin Books – is "nostalgic and beautiful to lift the spirits in troubled times".

"For many years Santa has been a cheery fixture … but somehow that didn't feel right this year," said the Radio Times editor, Ben Preston. "Would Father Christmas be seen as a bloated, red-faced symbol of over-indulgence? At a time when so many people are hunkering down with friends and family and turning their backs on extravagant gift-giving, we wanted something different."

Despite the magazine's sensitive view towards its cover image, buyers are being asked to swallow a 4.2% cover price rise.  The publisher has developed something of a tradition of dropping Santa when times have been tough.  Following the infamous Black Wednesday in 1992 he was replaced with a snowman. He also disappeared from the Christmas cover when the dotcom bubble burst in the early 2000s; in the year of the 1926 general strike; after the 1929 stock market crash; after Britain was bailed out by the IMF in 1976; and during the 1981 recession.

On a lighter note, our congratulations go out to Guardian Media who have won Campaign’s media owner of the year 2011. The Guardian were recognized as a newspaper brand that has not only adapted well to the impact of digital with 20% share of revenue , but also for growing it’s print share and also continues to break the most innovative insightful journalism around.

TELEVISION

Having recovered from the news of Father Christmas being removed from the Radio Times cover, a further perusal will tell you that Christmas day on TV will throw up a particularly interesting dilemma. No it is not the agony of choosing to watch The Queens speech or Aladdin (Aladdin every time).

It is in fact the dilemma of either watching BBC’s usual line up of Christmas specials which this year will be the annual Eastenders episode and 9pm followed by a brand new Absolutely Fabulous at 10pm OR will  you rebel against the BBC and instead tune into the ITV’s 2 hour long special of the hugely popular Downton Abbey?

This is the first time that ITV has gone head to head with the BBC regarding the timing of their Christmas specials, & with the recent shift of the Saturday night Crown to Strictly which received record viewing this year we will be watching this one with some scrutiny. A quick vote around the office indicates ITV may take it with 67%, but the real result will be in the viewing data so watch this space!

Beyond 2011 TV is a hot topic for discussion as we move towards a connected viewing experience and our TV team never short of an opinion have posted their perspective on one emerging aspect of this – addressable advertising. Definitely  worth reading over a mince pie and sherry! http://www.totalmedia.co.uk/insights/blog/153

RADIO

It’s been a great year for commercial radio with listening figures up 2% and 9 in 10 of the UK tuning in at least once a week.  Digital listening hours have also broken through the 300 million mark for first time, with 28.2% of all radio listening now via a digital receiver.

Very much the theme as we move into 2012 is the transition from ‘radio’ to ‘audio’ where the growth in online listening and the flurry of new digital platforms has created a vast array of opportunities to connect with new listeners in different ways.  Next year should see the online radio market heat up as We7; a free to user, ad-funded service who differentiate against paid for subscription models such as Spotify are embarking on a branding and awareness campaign with a TV ad seeking to position the brand as a ‘personal DJ’ . The campaign will also be promoting We7’s library of 10 million tracks and the availability of the service via mobile applications.

To mark this shift Absolute Radio are to host a digital event at the Houses of Parliament on January 12th 2012 in conjunction with Ed Vaizey - Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries. ‘Redefining Radio’ – How the internet is transforming radio will showcase thought-leadership from key players within the digital & audio industry including speakers from the BBC, Radioplayer, Facebook, Absolute Radio and broadcaster, writer and comedian Dave Gorman – with more speakers to be announced.

For the first time ever Radio 5 Live will be teaming up with the commercial Industry to produce a 2 hour Christmas Day special looking back on the highs and lows of 2011 so tune into that if you remember, although in keeping with the Industries digital developments I’m sure there will be plenty of places to catch it after if you can’t escape the sofa!

And finally good to see also radioland or should say ‘audioland’ adding to the Christmas cheer with Christian Radio having signed up nearly 20,000 people to take part in a Carol Singing World Record attempt on 18th Dec! There’s still time if you want to get involved by going to www.christmasstarts.com for more information.

OUTDOOR

Time Out, the listings magazine, is to use the digital screens on the London Underground to broadcast regular recommendations of things to do in the city, through a partnership with CBS Outdoor. The "digital advertorials" will run on 60 digital cross-track projector screens in London Underground station across the city and will serve recommendations including theatre, exhibitions and restaurants.

Every other day, from today, Time Out will provide recommendations for the theatre, exhibition and events on Sunday and Monday, films on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and bars and restaurants from Thursday until Saturday.

Ben Cordle, marketing manager at Time Out, said: "London is one of the most dynamic and constantly evolving cities on the planet, where the option of things to do is ever-changing and almost infinite.  Jason Cotterrell, country director at CBS Outdoor UK, said "Our XTP format and network already stands out as the only full motion digital display in London, now it can offer even more relevant and exciting content.  "This campaign brilliantly utilises the unique dwell time of cross-track advertising, providing these urban consumers something genuinely engaging and useful for them on the busy journeys around the capital."

DIGITAL

Broadcasting regulator Ofcom's International Communications Market Report says people in the UK watch more TV online, use the internet on their mobiles more often and play more games on their phones than people in other countries.

The research found over a quarter (27%) of UK internet users said they watched TV online every week – up 3% from the 2010 survey and higher than any of the other countries surveyed. 8 of 10 UK internet users (79%) said they had ordered goods or services online, higher than any other country, and UK internet users were more likely to visit retail websites online than other countries– 89% had done so in 2011.

The study found the proportion of the population owning smartphones nearly doubled in the UK between February 2010 and August 2011, up from 24% to 46% and higher than the other European countries surveyed.

Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom, said: "Across the globe, people are embracing e-commerce and social media with enthusiasm.

CINEMA

2011 was the year 3D took off in UK cinemas with a raft of blockbusters rolling out the format attracting a higher premium in return for a more immersive experience. Although early days still for 3D advertising, next year could be a turning point for brands in this space as research starts to emerge which supports deeper brand recall and engagement. James Stewart, a leading producer of stereoscopic 3D commercials shared data recently showing that audiences exhibiting 92% total recall of a 3D ad, with 68% of that number showing a higher likelihood of following through with a purchase of the product advertised – a significant increase over the same commercial in 2D.  Whether this turn out to be the case for mainstream brands and advertisers only time will tell.  

EDITED BY THE INSIGHT TEAM