Viewers hunger for Web and TV at same time: study

U.S. television viewers are increasingly turning on the Web, tuning into television and not missing a beat on either, as simultaneous TV and Internet use continues to rise, research firm Nielsen said on Wednesday.

Nielsen said in a report that 57 percent of TV viewers in the U.S. who have Internet access use both mediums at the same time at least once a month. That translates to more than 128 million U.S. consumers.

As the heightened importance of the Web changes the way Americans watch TV, industry executives and marketers are considering ways to adjust their broadcast shows and play into viewers' simultaneous use of the Internet.

"What we're finding is that there's a connection between the two media, and that innovative marketers can take advantage of that," said Gary Holmes, a spokesman for Nielsen.

"One medium can be used to reinforce the other," he said.

Broadcasters can expect some viewers will turn to the Web to learn more about their shows, but they have to be wary of losing the attention of their viewers.

The Nielsen study found the average TV viewer who uses the Internet simultaneously does that for 2 hours and 40 minutes a month, and that 28 percent of the time they are on the Web at home, they are also watching television.

The percentage of time U.S. consumers watch TV and use the Internet simultaneously is about the same as a similar Nielsen study from last year, but the total number of individuals doing that rose because more of them have the Web, Holmes said.

The report also found TV consumption in the United States continues to increase, with the average viewer watching 141 hours per month, a 1.5 percent rise from a year ago.

Holmes said even as viewership of videos on the Internet and on mobile phones increases, Americans still prefer to watch video on their television, as shown by how many more hours they spend in front of the tube.

"The possibility of watching (video) anyplace has really increased dramatically, but really the rule of thumb is that you watch it on the best screen," he said.

RP mobile marketers eye $60M ad pie

Local mobile marketers are targeting a larger piece of the local advertising pie as consumers continue to give more attention to digital media, the president of the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) said Tuesday.

IMMAP president Arthur Policarpio said the trade group's vision is to capture 2%-3% of total ad spend in the Philippines, amounting to $60 million-$90 million, in the next three to five years. The IMMAP is currently composed of 86 member companies, including 37 mobile companies, as well as advertisers, agencies and publishers.

He said that while some companies have spent money on Internet and SMS advertising, a large portion of their budgets still goes to traditional print, TV, radio and outdoor media platforms.

One platform that remains largely untapped by local advertisers is mobile marketing. From less than a million subscribers in 1996, the Philippines now boasts of over 70 million mobile subscribers this year.

Policarpio said one challenge faced by marketers is lack of understanding of mobile's potential and potency as a marketing tool. "The mobile phone is the only device that you have on you almost 24/7. It's a marketing platform just waiting to be tapped," he said at a digital marketing summit at SM Mall of Asia.

He said that beyond SMS, marketers could also look at other mobile marketing initiatives such as bluetooth advertising, mobile Internet advertising and mobile applications.

He noted that Yahoo! Mobile's site receives 1.2 million unique users per month and 128 million page views as of August 2009. He said separate data supplied by Admob showed that local mobile sites logged in 380 million page views a month.

Admob statistics also show a rise in sales of smartphones in the Philippines such as the Nokia N70 and Nokia 3110c, which is fueling the increase in mobile Web browsing.

Policarpio acknowledged though that there are some barriers into increased adoption of mobile marketing including the abuse of consumer privacy and rights, lack of industry-specific research, lack of knowledge on the part of the advertisers and lack of industry-wide metrics and measurement.

"This is the vision of IMMAP - to become the recognized thought leader and center of mobile marketing innovation in the Asia-Pacific region and to leverage global best practices, standards and consumer guidelines," he said.

The IMMAP recently partnered with the Mobile Marketing Association and established the MMA Philippines Local Council. The objective of the partnership between MMA and IMMAP is to foster the mobile advertising and marketing industry in the Philippines.

A shift to digital media

MMA president and CEO Mike Wehrs said advertising companies in many parts of the world have exhibited a shift in brand thinking by seeing mobile as an essential and not just an experimental platform for marketers.

He said that with over 4.8 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, the platform has outpaced the growth of Internet and fixed-line users.

He said he expects spending on mobile messaging to rise to $2.9 billion in 2010. For this year alone, he said advertisers are reallocating $65 billion of their ad budgets from traditional media channels to digital channels including online, mobile, viral and search engine optimization (SEO).

He also noted trends in some countries such as mobile banking, alerts, mobile vouchers and coupons, as well as customer service application, which can be done via mobile phone.

"[Mobile marketing] delivers on the promise of one-to-one marketing. There's a higher level of engagement and interaction controlled by the consumer. Empowering the consumer makes the ad more effective," he said.