Nielsen released a new report! Here’s a part of the management summary:
Discussing the trajectory of the online medium in the midst of
an historic economic downturn is a perilous business. Assaulted
every day with downward-facing red arrows, many of the
indicators concerning all things digital veer to the negative:
• Online media’s “favorite child status” (i.e. a long track record
of outstripping the growth of every other medium by a wide
margin) appears to have diminished over the last few months
• Online advertising by the Financial Services, Retail and
Auto industries has shrunk at a dizzying pace over the last six
months
• Online display advertising’s share of revenue has plateaued
at 20% of total online ad spend in the U.S., and no panacea
appears to be on the horizon
• Despite online video’s persistent positive buzz, actual usage
is averaging around six minutes per day in the U.S.
• The social media trend is today’s industry darling, but a monetization
formula continues to elude the globe’s brightest
marketersBut even the most cynical observer has to be swayed by positive
developments that defi ne the longer-term opportunities for the
online medium and the e-commerce channel:
• Around the globe the online population is looking more
and more like the overall population meaning that in a few
short years, online access has moved from being a luxury or
something cool to an essential, basic requirement
• Packaged goods manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies
and telecommunications fi rms, three of the largest historical
spenders on traditional media, are moving online at a pace
we haven’t seen before, even as the recession continues
to deepen
• The audience growth and engagement quotient of online
video is forcing marketers to positively re-assess the value
of the online experience
• Adoption of social networking capabilities, by both consumers
AND corporations, has crossed the chasm in what appears
to be the blink of an eye. In the age of Twitter, feedback
barriers have all but disappeared, creating a near friction-free
environment for playing back brand experience, campaign
reactions or brand events
• Search continues to be an indispensible tool for all online
denizens and opportunities for additional growth continue
to emerge. Search across social media networks is the likely
next opportunity for search engines
• Access to social networking sites via mobile devices almost
tripled during 2008, largely due to rising smartphone penetration
and improved network speeds. Increasingly consumers
are turning to their phones for a wide range of online content
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