Promotional Products Face Changes, Challenges

Promotional products suppliers and distributors have been able to ride corporate buyers’ profits to an average 1.3% annual growth rate in the last five years through 2019, reaching $17 billion in U.S. revenues this year, per IBISWorld market research. But a number of challenges, requiring innovative solutions, lie ahead. Continuation of the tariffs imposed in the U.S.-China trade war are likely to have a direct impact on the promotional products market, where the vast majority of products come from China, creating rising product prices and uncertainty. One of the options that some companies are already taking is a shift to sourcing from countries outside of China, such as Vietnam, per the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI). Meanwhile, the promotional products market is facing competitive challenges from the entry of big online competitors such as Amazon. Market execs have told ASI that they believe the e-commerce power threatens to potentially cut out suppliers and distributors by positioning itself as the lowest-cost provider from a product and freight perspective. Their worries include Amazon opting to partner with only select suppliers and distributors; selling direct through its platform; and/or using its search presence for rankings that create winners and losers, and force up advertising expenses for all. Finally, the potential of an economic slowdown or even recession has some nervous. ASI recently interviewed 10 leading suppliers and distributors in the promotional products market for their visions on handling such challenges over the next 5-10 years. The good news is that all foresaw continued growth, albeit with increasing consolidation and online dominance. Among their predictions is that technology will be a key driver of every aspect of how buyers select and purchase products, of fulfillment and delivery, and of customer service through the order life cycle. Second, e-commerce will be the standard, benefiting big online players that provide fast, accessible solutions and inexpensive drop-shipping for some clients, as well as a suite of features to meet the complex needs of other more sophisticated clients. In that expanded digital environment, data management and analytics will loom large, tracking orders in production, materials used, items ordered, customer profiles and contacts, etc. Up against Amazon, personalized customer experience will be key to making an e-commerce presence into a true online buying experience. Competition will also drive the growth of creative promotional agencies that are not price-focused but seek to help clients build brand name. For more on leadership predictions, see our website blog post at https://www.acculist.com/promotional-products-market-faces-new-challenges/

Companies Retain Embrace of Recognition Products

Recognition and incentive products marketers will be happy to know that the market is strong and stable, per the most recent data. A 2019 survey of employee recognition programs, conducted by rewards association WorldatWork and underwritten by Maritz Motivation, found the programs overwhelmingly common (87%) among organizations surveyed, typically companywide (88%), and almost all in place for more than five years. But there are details and shifts worth noting. While most companies surveyed are seeing the same level of use for recognition and incentive products as last year, one in three are seeing an uptick. In fact, the study found growth at both ends of the corporate commitment spectrum, with an increase in deeply-embedded recognition programs (17% in 2019 compared to 10% in 2015) but also an increase in companies who say they have no employee recognition policy, strategy or philosophy (19% in 2019 compared to 12% in 2015). Survey respondents agreed that their programs are meeting goals for the most part (48%) or somewhat (31%), but there is room for improvement and change since only 18% said they are definitely meeting goals. Program administrators may come from the Human Resources (50%), Compensation (25%) and Benefits (8%) departments, but the key to growth is likely to be more senior executive support, increasing the 52% of senior executives who now support recognition programs as an investment. Indeed, companies without recognition programs cite cost and lack of leadership support as the main impediments. The average organization uses eight separate recognition programs. The most typical programs reward length of service (72%) and above-and-beyond performance (62%). Programs to motivate specific behaviors or outputs such as customer service (34%), productivity (27%) and quality (27%) are lower on the list. Meanwhile, biometric/wellness programs are the ones that impact the highest proportion of the workforce today (40% of workers in the last 12 months). What recognition and incentive products top the survey? Gift cards lead (62%), followed by cash (50%), clocks/watches (49%), plaques/trophies/certificates (47%), apparel/accessories (46%), jewelry (46%), sporting/recreational goods (44%), electronics (42%) and luggage/leather goods (41%). Popular goals of recognition programs include motivating high performance, creating/maintaining a positive work environment and increasing engagement, with 24% using recognition to support a culture of change. But the study found that organizations tend to measure the success of those programs and goals by employee satisfaction/engagement surveys (65%) or employee involvement (47% use number of nominations and 37% count employee usage or participation rates). There is a lot lower use of external performance data such as customer surveys (24%), employee turnover (23%), productivity (12%) or profit (12%). Unsurprisingly, recognition programs that could lead to higher, measurable ROI (error reduction, safety, waste minimization, etc.) remain relatively rare. For details, see our website blog at https://www.acculist.com/employee-recognition-programs-remain-organizational-mainstays/

Arts Fundraising Study: Invest to Reap More

Any of AccuList’s performing arts marketing and museum/zoo marketing clients that fret over investing in fundraising efforts in 2019 should take a look at the recently released "DataArts Fundraising Report" from Southern Methodist University. Basically, the report concludes, arts and cultural organizations that make smart investments in fundraising reap more dollars, with individual donors a “vital source” of contributions. Looking at fundraising by 2,421 organizations across 11 different arts and cultural sectors between 2014 and 2017, the study found good news for many marketers even though the overall ROI on every dollar spent on fundraising declined from $8.80 in 2014 to $8.56 in 2017. This reflected issues in select sectors. Seven sectors—including performing arts companies, orchestras and operas—actually saw an increase in return on fundraising over the period. The biggest ROI gain, adjusting for inflation, was a 28.8% bump for community-based organizations. But gaining sectors were offset by ROI declines for art museums, dance companies and theaters. Another encouraging sign was an increase in the average individual donor contribution over the four-year period. For arts and cultural fundraising, size matters, but in an inverse fashion, the report found. Small- and medium-sized organizations increased the returns on their investments in fundraising over the four years, while larger organizations had steadily declining ROI. Individual donors are important for success, per the report, especially outside of the big metro areas where government support, foundations and corporate donors help foot expenses. But locations vary widely in terms of revenue successfully tapped. For example, New York organizations had the highest average number of corporate donors at 12 and also had the highest percentage of expenses covered by government support (9%). On the other hand, Chicago reaped the most from foundations, with 7% of expenses picked up by foundation support. For more report detail, go to https://www.acculistusa.com/arts-fundraising-study-invest-to-reap-more/

AI, Data, Culture Impact Incentive Products Trends

Incentive and recognition products marketers should take a look at The Incentive Research Foundation’s “IRF 2019 Trends Study” for tips on where the market is headed this year. With economic growth and optimism strong, companies are continuing investment in incentive and recognition rewards, with considerable room for market expansion for product suppliers: 84% of businesses are now using non-cash rewards, but past studies show close to 60% of merchandise and gift card rewards are still sourced through retail versus specialized agencies or providers. One factor pushing the recognition market is the trend to “talent culture” creation by C-suite executives, with “The Incentive Marketplace Estimate Research Study” finding more employers than ever offering non-cash rewards aimed directly at building relationships, encouraging inclusion and knowledge-sharing, and promoting engagement. Why? IRF’s studies as well as academic research are finding that when executives combine economic incentives with recognition and well-designed non-cash rewards, they promote “corporate citizenship” behaviors and work environments that attract and retain top talent. So overall use of merchandise rewards is expected to increase, per IRF, particularly among corporate audiences, with a net increase of 33% compared to a net 20% of suppliers and third-party providers. The use of logo’d brand-name merchandise dominates, with 75% of corporate programs using these items as rewards. Other popular rewards are electronics (63%) and clothing/apparel (59%). Meanwhile, gift cards continue to be a popular option within reward and recognition programs, with open loop cards (that can be used anywhere) and brand-specific cards both enjoying high utilization, and e-gift cards gaining momentum. Of particular note, IRF's most recent study urges reward program designers and suppliers to understand how predictive analytics and AI are changing the market: "In the incentives field, predictive analytics and machine learning are helping program designers understand who is drawn to which types of rewards, and how those rewards should be shaped and presented to produce the best outcomes on an individual basis." For more, see https://www.acculistusa.com/ai-data-talent-culture-boost-incentive-recognition-impacts/

Business Trends Drive Recognition & Incentive Sales

AccuList USA recently completed proprietary research on hundreds of top performing lists of employee recognition and incentive product buyers to support clients in a business-to-business marketplace that now encompasses close to 90% of companies. In fact, the 2017 "Trends in Employee Recognition" report from WorldatWork, a nonprofit human resources association, found 89% of surveyed organizations committed to recognition programs, with 65% offering between three and six different programs, from companywide (81%) to individual (69%) to department/team (67%). Certificates and/or plaques remain the most awarded recognition item, at 80% of respondents, followed by cash (55%), gift certificates/cards (45%), company-logo merchandise (40%), and food, such as a lunch or pizza party (39%). For incentive and recognition marketers, targeting can mainly focus on two departments responsible for administering programs: human resources (59%) and compensation (22%). Now, the Incentive Research Foundation's "IRF 2018 Trends Study" offers recognition and incentive marketers more guidance on changing demand trends. For one, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and augmented reality capabilities will be a "fundamental requirement" for vendors and suppliers looking to partner with incentive professionals in 2018, per IRF. Marketers also will want to push wellness messaging, since more incentive professionals are adding health and wellness components focused on fitness, food, and comfort to their incentive programs this year compared with other features, says the report. And when it comes to merchandise products, incentive buyers in 2018 don't want more choice as much as more "impactful products," such as products with local sourcing or organic roots and products that can be easily personalized and customized. The desire to build a brand-asset culture around intangibles, such as innovation, as well as traditional assets is one factor pushing these non-cash awards in 2018, notes the report. On the other hand, gift cards will continue to gain momentum this year, according to the IRF, which says mid-size firms spend an average of nearly $500,000 annually on gift cards across all programs, while large ones spend over $1 million annually. Finally, although incentive travel makes up a small part of the recognition pie, the incentive travel industry's net optimism score for the economy is up almost 20 points from 2017 in the IRF report, leading to budget increases despite rising costs. For more on top incentive trends, see our website blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/2018-recognition-market-tech-partnering-wellness-non-cash-awards/

Market Trends Bolster Food Gifting Growth

One of AccuList USA's areas of specialization is the food and wine gift market, so we keep an eye on emerging trends. In fact, food gift sales will approach $20 billion in 2018, up 4% over last year, per the “Food Gifting in the U.S.: Consumer and Corporate” report for 2018-2020 by research firm Packaged Facts. Marketing dollars will naturally focus on year-end sales, since, while consumers and businesses are giving food baskets across a wider variety of occasions today, Christmas is still the food and wine gifting mainstay. More than half of the 130 million consumer food gifters purchasing in the last 12 months bought during the winter holiday season. So how can food gift marketers keep overall sales growth going strong? One key factor will be continued innovation that creates exclusivity and artisanship, avoiding the commoditization that drains profit with discounting, notes the report. To support that kind of brand power, marketing efforts will need to embrace the kind of story telling that creates a sense of authenticity and uniqueness and builds a gourmet brand image. Food gift marketers also need to continue expanding gifting occasions beyond holidays, not only for consumers but also for the lucrative corporate market, by pushing work anniversary and thank-you gestures as examples. Finally, while the food gifting market is heavily dependent on older, high-income consumers, tapping into millennials will require a more omnichannel approach that takes into account millennial ordering preferences, stresses the Packaged Facts report. An omnichannel wooing of millennials will combine direct mail/catalogs with e-mail, social media and e-commerce strategies. While traditional direct mail continues as a workhorse, a strong online presence and SEO strategy is especially essential. Luxury biscuit gift company Biscuiteers provides an example of how it matters: The company increased their website traffic from new customers by 90% and SEO revenue by 77% in 6 months by optimizing category landing pages for different types of food gift buyer and season. E-commerce goes hand-in-hand with a good e-mail strategy. For example, the venerable Hickory Farms brand decided to improve the quality of its customer data and create a more agile e-mail campaign process to trigger consumer journeys and automated e-mail sends. E-mail inbox placement this year rose to 94%, almost 10% above industry standard, plus e-mail list growth improved. Hickory Farms CMO Judy Ransford explained to CMO magazine that the smarter list management "helps us deliver e-mails at the frequency customers want, and to make sure the content quality is better. This year we’ve seen a huge improvement and not such high attrition rates as a result." Social media also has become a must-have for food gifting via leading platforms like Facebook and Instagram for consumers and LinkedIn for corporate prospecting. For more, including Top Ten Reviews' ratings of the best gift baskets of 2018, see the full post at http://www.acculistusa.com/new-marketing-trends-bolster-food-gifting-growth/

Magazine Audiences Grow, Increase Mobile Viewing

The good news for publishers is that total audience—across print, Web, mobile and video—grew robustly in 2016, up 6.4% over the prior year, according to the 2016 Magazine Media 360° Brand Audience Report from the Association of Magazine Media (MPA). But there is a challenge for publications within the data: the continued shift to a mobile audience. Although print and digital editions continued to garner the largest audience for magazine media last year, the mobile platform had the most rapid growth rate, per the MPA's trend analysis. Nearly 80% of the brands reporting showed mobile growth, with 79% of those brands up by either double- or triple-digit percentages. More than a quarter of the brands in the report grew their mobile unique visitors by one million or more each. That mobile growth came at the expense of Web (desktop/laptop) users. In fact, the Web audience represented the only magazine media platform to decline as consumers spent more time on portable devices than computers. Meanwhile, though video remained the smallest audience platform in 2016, it also recorded strong growth, per MPA, up by double-digit percentage rates. For more, see our post at  http://www.acculistusa.com/growing-magazine-audiences-continue-shift-toward-mobile/

U.S. E-mail Deliverablity Rates Drop in 2015

About one in four e-mails sent in the U.S. do not reach intended recipients, reflecting a sharp decline in U.S. e-mail deliverability rates for 2015. The overall U.S. e-mail deliverability rate is just 76% for 2015, down from 87% in 2014, according to the latest global research by Return Path. Return Path's "2015 Deliverability Benchmark Report," which analyzed inbox placement statistics by country, industry and e-mail provider, did have some good news for consumer-facing industries; retail, health and beauty, food and beverage, automotive and apparel industries all showed e-mail deliverability rates of 90% or above globally. In reporting the study, MediaPosts's Email Marketing Daily noted that e-mail provider policies and new spam filtering systems could be one factor impeding e-mail marketers' deliverability ratings. For example, Yahoo! Mail inbox placement rates dropped 13%, although Outlook improved by 3% and Gmail stayed consistent (Gmail's new block button has sparked concerns for 2016 deliverability, however). Another factor could be the overwhelming volume of e-mails, according to the Return Path report, noting that e-mail traffic has grown by 16% since 2013. For more on deliverability by country and industry, read http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/260317/email-deliverability-rates-drop-in-2015.html

U.S. Hispanic Market More Likely to Buy Via Mobile

U.S. Hispanic mobile users are more likely to make a mobile purchase than non-Hispanics, according to recent research reported by eMarketer. Nearly half of U.S. Internet users (48%) have never used their mobile device to make a purchase, per a 2014 survey by cloud commerce provider Avangate, but, of the 52% who are comfortable making mobile purchases, U.S. Hispanic consumers are more likely than their non-Hispanic counterparts to buy via smartphone or tablet. According to 2014 data from ThinkNow Research and Zpryme Research & Consulting, approximately half of U.S. Hispanic mobile buyers had purchased clothes, electronics, music or movie tickets within the past month. Non-Hispanic mobile buyers were significantly less likely to have made any of these purchases within the past 30 days. U.S. Hispanic mobile buyers also were more inclined to use their devices to research products; 53% of Hispanic mobile buyers looked for online product reviews on their smartphones and tablets, compared with 44% of non-Hispanics. And expert opinion counted more with Hispanic buyers. Overall, product ratings by experts are the second-most-utilized source when conducting research via smartphones and tablets. Some 36% of U.S. Hispanic mobile buyers searched for experts' advice, compared with 26% of non-Hispanics. For the complete eMarketer story, go to http://www.emarketer.com/Article/US-Hispanic-Mobile-Buyers-More-Inclined-Buy-Research-on-Device/1011528

Are Facebook, Twitter Brand Marketing Wastes?

Facebook and Twitter are wastes of time and money for brand relationship marketing, concludes a report by Forrester Research. As a story in Fast Company magazine highlights, a recent Forrester study found that posts from top brands on Twitter and Facebook reach just 2% of their followers. Engagement was even worse; only 0.07% of followers actually interacted with posts. Fast Company cites this conclusion by Nate Elliott, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester: "It’s clear that Facebook and Twitter don’t offer the relationships that marketing leaders crave. Yet most brands still use these sites as the centerpiece of their social efforts—thereby wasting significant financial, technological, and human resources on social networks that don’t deliver value." So what's a better digital bet for relationship marketers? Try e-mail, which gets delivered more than 90% of the time compared with the 2% delivery of Facebook posts, Elliott advises. "If you have to choose between adding a subscriber to your e-mail list or gaining a new Facebook fan, go for e-mail every time," he writes. For the article, see http://www.fastcompany.com/3038801/brands-are-wasting-time-and-money-on-facebook-and-twitter-report-says

Digital, Mobile Fuel Big 2014 Ad Spend Growth

Mobile advertising is rising with the force of a tidal wave, forecast to reach 67.8% of all U.S. digital ad spending by 2018, according to the latest report from eMarketer. In fact, digital ad growth (including mobile) already is the key factor in doubling total worldwide ad spending this year. Global media ad spending (for print, TV and radio, outdoor and digital) will increase 5.7% in 2014 alone, eMarketer projects, more than double the growth rate of 2.6% from a year ago. The U.S. market takes the lion's share of those ad dollars, with total U.S. ad spending set to surpass $180 billion this year, equal to nearly one-third of the worldwide total. Digital channels are the driving force of advertising growth for 2014 and beyond: eMarketer estimates that global digital ad spending will increase 16.7% this year, totaling $140.15 billion and surpassing 25% of all media ad spending for the first time. And within the digital category, mobile is the catalyst. Advertising on tablets and smartphones will increase 84.7% worldwide in 2014 to reach $32.71 billion this year, or nearly one-quarter of the digital advertising spend globally, eMarketer estimates.Those trends are forecast to continue until digital snags a 32.3% share of global paid ad spending by 2018, with mobile making up over 50% of those worldwide digital ad budgets. For more details of the report, see http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Global-Ad-Spending-Growth-Double-This-Year/1010997

Is Digital Age Changing Consumer Research Rules?

Be cautious about using traditional market research to guide a major consumer product change. That's the warning from the new book Absolute Value by Itamar Simonson and Emanuel Rosen. The authors take a Universal McCann study of consumer interest in the first iPhone as an object lesson in why research can miss the mark in predicting consumer behavior today: That study found that an iPhone-type product would be a hit in countries like India and Mexico but not in the United States, Germany and Japan. What went wrong? Why are consumers unreliable predictors of their own behavior? The problem, note the authors, is that traditional market research looks at prior preferences, beliefs and experiences, while future consumer buying decisions about a new product (one that involves more than tweaking an existing product) are affected by a mass of noisy, ever-changing inputs in today's digital age -- such as online user reviews, friend and expert opinions, price comparison tools, and emerging technologies or sources. If consumers are bad at predicting their own preferences, market "experts" are no better, the authors add, pointing out that many experts failed to predict the success of the telephone, television and Internet. Should marketers abandon market research? No, they should change focus, advise the authors. Instead of trying to predict long-term consumer preferences, researchers can go with the digital flow and track consumer trends and decisions on review sites, user forums and other social media -- so businesses can respond with better solutions. Simonson is a professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Rosen is author of The Anatomy of Buzz. For more on their book Absolute Value, see the news release: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/itamar-simonson-emanuel-rosen-how-digital-age-rewriting-rule-book-consumer-behavior

Nonprofits See Year of Generous Giving Ahead

Seven out of 10 nonprofits expect donations to increase this year, and 13% expect their gains to be substantial—growing by at least 15%, according to a recently released survey of 538 charities by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative. As reported by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, charities in the survey said say they are optimistic because 2013 was stronger than any other year since the recession started. Indeed, Blackbaud's Charitable Giving Report for last year showed overall charitable giving grew 4.9% in 2013, while online giving grew 13.5%. The growing impact of online giving also was reflected in the Nonprofit Research Collaborative survey: Nonprofit respondents attributed much of last year’s growth in donations to special fundraising events and e-mail and online appeals, as well as big gifts from wealthy donors. Nonprofits that raised the most said they targeted a mix of donors for small, medium, and large gifts and diversified how they pursued donations by combining channels such as direct mail, social media, e-mail, and grant proposals. See the report on the Nonprofit Research Collaborative survey at https://philanthropy.com/article/70-of-Charities-Expect-Gains/145437/

Senior Market Increases Use of Internet and Mobile

Seniors are not as tech savvy as millennials yet, but older consumers' Internet and mobile use is climbing. In fact, if higher-income Americans age 65 and up are the target market, be aware that these seniors now use the Internet and broadband at rates approaching or even exceeding the usage rate of the general adult population, according to the latest Pew Research Center study as reported by MarketingProfs. For example, 90% of seniors with an annual household income of $75,000 or more go online and 82% have broadband Internet access at home, compared with rates of 86% and 70% respectively for all adults over age 18. That said, only 59% of seniors overall reported going online in 2013, although that senior rate was still six percentage points ahead of where the 65-plus crowd was in 2012. And, of the seniors who did use the Internet, 71% reported going online every day or almost every day. The Pew study had some senior news for mobile marketers, too: By last year, 77% of U.S. seniors owned a cell phone (up from 69% a year earlier), although only 18% of seniors reported owning a smartphone and 27% had a tablet or e-reader. For more on the Pew data, see the MarketingProfs article at http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/24878/how-older-americans-are-using-technology

Surprise! Consumers Prefer Big, Interruptive Web Ads

The online ad industry might want to rethink its trend toward native ads that fade into the background of Web pages. Consumers, as it turns out, prefer in-your-face ads that take over their computer screens, at least according to a new study on high-impact ads reported in AdWeek. The study, conducted by Ipsos ASI on behalf of Undertone, surveyed more than 3,000 panelists last September, examining a slew of the home-page takeover-type units and comparing their impact with standard banners. The take-over ads became popular a few years ago as Web publishers sought bigger brand budgets. Although these intrusive ad types may be favored by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Online Publishers Association, they are now out of vogue with many advertisers, who are gravitating toward native units that look and feel like Web content. Surprisingly, it was the big, interruptive ads that received likability scores 30% to 49% higher than standard display units in the Undertone study. People were 90% more likely to agree that these full-screen units are "an ad people will talk about" compared to other display ads, and 86% found them to be more entertaining. Similarly, respondents were 79% more likely to find these ads "unique" and 78% more likely to credit these ads with "making me want to learn more about the product or brand." For the full story, go to http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/people-prefer-big-interruptive-web-ads-155165

Under 8% of Social Marketers Happy With Results

Less than 8% of social media marketers are satisfied with their social media results, reports Joseph Carrabis, founder and chief research officer for NextStage Evolution. The finding was based on a 2013 NextStage survey of 1,700 U.S.- and Canada-based businesses ranging from mom and pop shops to Fortune 100 companies. All interviewees were director level and above, and all qualified themselves as knowledgeable social managers with two or more years' experience in social media marketing. A good 21% of those surveyed labeled themselves "dissatisfied with social marketing" and ready to replace it with more traditional buys in 2014. And the biggest chunk, 54.75%, said they are taking a wait and see approach, with many classifying themselves as "social media agnostics." This largest group hasn't made any decisions about next moves in 2014. So, with more than half the businesses interviewed saying that the jury is out on social marketing's value and that they are prepared to sit out 2014 rather than continue to invest, Carrabis unsurprisingly suggests that, at best, "social marketing seems to be losing its pull." For more on the survey, go to http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/35711.asp?imcid=missedarticle#singleview

2013 in Review: Multi-Platform, Content Marketing Rule

A marketing review seems in order as 2013 closes, and MarketingProfs shares a convenient Uberflip infographic of some key trends. One takeaway: Content marketing definitely dominates, with 90% of B2C and 93% of B2B marketers using content marketing this year, which is up from 85% in 2012. Marketers are using an average of 12 content tactics -- such as social media, webinars and newsletters -- but watch for videos to blossom further in 2014, since 59% of brands say they would like to share more videos in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 2013 marked a turning point in terms of multi-platform digital: Now 54% of American consumers use more than one content platform (desktop, smartphone and tablet), up from 10% in 2012. Mobile is clearly a key driver; compare the mobile commerce of $4.7 million in the second quarter of 2013 with the mere $0.6 million in the second quarter of 2010. For more on 2013 marketing landmarks, see
http://www.marketingprofs.com/chirp/2013/12346/marketing-trends-stats-and-events-that-made-the-news-in-2013-infographic

Over Half of Mobile E-mail Sales Come From iPads

E-mail marketers' mobile campaigns rely on iPad owners for success. More than half of mobile online sales originating from an e-mail take place on an iPad, according to Infogroup's Yesmail Interactive. More precisely, 56% of mobile online sales originating from an e-mail take place on a tablet, and 99% of those tablet sales take place on an iPad. Overall, 82% of all e-mail opens and clicks occurred on Apple devices, per the Yesmail report, which was based on data from more than 5 billion marketing e-mails sent by Yesmail in the third quarter of 2013. Only 0.3% of e-mail subscribers made purchases on Android tablets, though 41% of smartphone purchases were made on an Android device. See the btobonline report at http://www.btobonline.com/article/20131112/EMAIL13/311129996/more-than-half-of-mobile-email-sales-made-on-ipad

Celebrity Endorsements Don't Win Fans for Brands

Think a famous name touting your product or service will impress customers? Think again. Brand endorsements by celebrities and athletes are trusted less than all other methods of brand promotion, including digital ads, traditional ads and company-sponsored social media, according to a new global study by The Boston Consulting Group. Consumers put the most store in what family and friends say offline about a brand, followed by product reviews, expert opinions, and information from Google and other search engines. One reason trust matters: Brands that show their customers that they can be trusted are able to gather at least five to 10 times more information about customers to fill the Big Data marketing mill. Still, marketers must tread carefully because consumers are choosy about what info they entrust to companies, and financial and health data definitely rank higher on the privacy scale than brand preferences, age and gender. Millennials, despite a social sharing addiction, are about as concerned with data privacy as their elders. As a result, the data practices of financial institutions, social media, search-engine companies, and government arms garner more than twice the consumer concern than do branded manufacturers, airlines, hotels, cable providers or retailers offering loyalty cards. For more, see MediaPost's Marketing Daily story at http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/212917/endorsements-dont-earn-trust-for-marketers.html

Digital Marketer Survey: Social Ads Underperform

Social media advertising underperforms other digital marketing channels in terms of providing business value to companies, according to a recent report by Forrester Research. In an August online survey of 395 marketers, Forrester found that on-site ratings and reviews were rated No. 1 in providing the greatest business value to companies. Next in the rankings came search; e-mail; branded communities and blogs; and online display advertising. Out of 13 channels, LinkedIn was rated No. 8, and YouTube was No. 10, followed by Google+, Twitter and, in last place, Facebook. Forrester's research shows that less than 15% of Facebook ads leverage social data to target relevant audiences and that Facebook's static-image ad units offer marketers less impact per impression than ads on other websites. See the btobonline.com report: http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131101/SOCIAL06/311019998/1723/rss01