Category: In the News

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Europe In the News

New leadership of Europe’s DMAs cite data privacy strategy as 'key to growing European one-to-one marketing industry'

Newly-elected leaders of FEDMA have cited the organisation’s strategic focus on promoting businesses’ awareness and understanding of consumer data protection and privacy as key to fostering continual growth of Europe’s multi-billion-Euro one-to-one marketing industry.

Diana Janssen and Dr Sachiko Scheuing were elected co-chairmen of Brussels-based FEDMA – the Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing Associations – at the organisation’s recent AGM held in FEDMA1Brussels. FEDMA’s membership comprises Europe’s national DMAs, other industry associations and multinational businesses.

Speaking at news of their election, Janssen and Scheuing said as co-chairmen their focus will be to put consumer data protection and privacy at the centre of FEDMA’s public affairs, PR and educations activities to support its mission of driving growth of Europe’s €47-billion (Deloitte, 2013) one-to-one marketing industry.

Janssen, director general of the Dutch DMA, commented that its strategy of focusing on promoting commercial understanding of consumer data protection and privacy will ensure that FEDMA can represent all data-driven marketing channels.

“While acknowledging FEDMA’s traditional stronghold of advertising mail and telemarketing, we embrace the true potential of one-to-one marketing and customer experience across all the data-driven channels such as mobile, social and email, as well as emerging opportunities in television and out-of-home.

“It’s an omni-channel world in which dialogue with customers can take place at anytime, anywhere and through all channels, as preferred by the customers. What an exciting time!”

Consumer data privacy and protection has been high on the European political agenda in the past two years, with the EU currently working on producing a new Data Protection Regulation which is expected to be passed by the European Parliament in 2015. FEDMA has co-ordinated international lobbying efforts to ensure that lawmakers produce a legislation that balances the interests of consumer data privacy without undermining Europe’s one-to-one marketing industry.

Scheuing, European privacy officer at Acxiom and long-standing vice-president of the FEDMA legal affairs committee, added: “It’s vital that we continue to provide our tens of thousands of members, and companies in the wider industry, with the support and guidance they need to understand how to build consumer trust so as to thrive in Europe’s booming data economy. With this strategic focus FEDMA will ensure that Europe remains at the forefront of the world’s one-to-one marketing industry.”

At the AGM, FEDMA members also elected the following members to the board of the organisation:

  • Mr Chris Combemale, executive director of the DMA in the UK
  • Mr Christian Dürig, director European Affairs of Deutsche Post DHL
  • Mr Anton Jenzer, founder and managing director of Anton Jenzer Consulting GmbH and president of the Dialog Marketing Verband Österreich
  • Mr Martin Nitsche, founder and managing partner of Solveta GmbH and president of the Deutscher Dialogmarketing Verband e. V.
  • Ms Marine Pouyat, responsible for legal and environmental affairs at the Fédération Française du E-commerce (FEVAD) and representing the Union Française du Marketing Direct & Digital
  • Mr Alexander Singewald, CEO of Singewald Consultants Group BV

Mr Ivan Vandremeersch, former FEDMA Secretary General, has been asked by the new board members to remain special advisory to the board.

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Europe In the News UK

UK households each set to splash out £4,000 online this year as web takes 20% share of all retail spend

  • Online spending now accounts for a fifth of all UK card spend and is growing 11 per cent a year
  • £107 billion is expected to be spent online in the UK this year – an average of £4,000 by each household
  • A third of UK online sales are made on a mobile device, with men most likely to buy on their phone or tablet

As online shopping celebrated its 30th anniversary last month, new figures show that online transactions now account for 20 per cent of all credit and debit card spending in the UK.

According to Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of all the UK’s debit and credit card payments, more consumers using online shopping than ever before is helping push up spending on the web by 11 per cent a year.Digital shopping

This reported growth is supported by figures from IMRG, the UK’s industry association for e-retail, which expects the UK to spend £107 billion online this year, breaking the £100 billion per annum mark for the first time. This equates to an average of £4,000 spent online by every UK household.

Barclaycard’s data shows that music downloads have become the fastest growing category of online spending – last year alone it grew by 124 per cent and 79 per cent of all music is now bought online.

Airline spending occupies the top spot for online spend share at 80 per cent, propelled by the boom in low cost airlines and the move to e-ticketing by carriers. Already this year the number of online airline transactions is up 5.6 per cent and total spend is up 4.2 per cent on an inflation-adjusted basis.

As more concert and entertainment tickets are sold and advertised on the web, online spending on these events almost doubled last year.  Just under half (49 per cent) of all spending now takes place online; as does 59 per cent of cinema and theatre spending as consumers research events and book online before heading to the venue.

Although spending online in DIY and Garden Centres is still comparatively low, the booming housing market is leading to huge increases with 37 per cent online spend growth this year.

Chris Wood, Barclaycard managing director, said: “Online shopping has come a long way since it first emerged in 1984 and now accounts for one in every five pounds spent on credit and debit cards in the UK. More and more of us are turning to the web to research, compare prices and buy everything from cinema trips and electronics to the latest fashions, making it an inextricable part of modern retail.

“The music and airline industries are prime examples of where businesses have fully embraced the potential of the internet and have made it their main source of business. These sectors show it is vital for retailers to move quickly to keep pace with their customers’ desire to shop online, where they can build deeper relationships and engage with customers, or they risk being left behind.”

The proliferation of mobile devices has clearly driven online spend, as IMRG data shows that nearly half (45 per cent) of visits to online retailers and a third of all online sales now come from mobile devices – smartphones and tablets.

This has in turn led to the morning commute becoming one of our favourite times to browse, with online sales also spiking at lunchtime on laptops and in the evenings on tablets whilst we sofa surf for deals whilst watching TV.

And according to IMRG, men are more likely to buy through a mobile device, at 64 per cent, compared to women at 59 per cent.

Andrew McClelland, chief operations & policy officer at IMRG, said: “Today’s consumers are just getting to grips with the opportunities that technology brings to their everyday lives. Everything from booking a taxi through to buying a car can be done through digital channels.

“Over the next few years, internet shopping will increasingly become the norm as more of us become accustomed to researching and buying products through online stores. The devices we purchase from are also likely to change in the next few years, whether it’s through shopping online using our smart watch, or programming our smart fridges to order groceries online as soon as they’ve run out.”

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Americas Europe In the News UK USA

‘Consumer trust in new domain names is growing’

 New data from Afilias reveals that consumers increasingly welcome dotBrand domain names 

New research has highlighted that consumers in the US and UK are increasingly open to the world of new, generic top-level domains (gTLDs), as the Brand Loyalty On Laptop Showing Successful Branding And Satisfaction Expertisenumber that would trust addresses at the new extensions has increased since last year.  Conversely, the number stating they would only trust heritage domains like .com and .co.uk is decreasing.

The new findings, commissioned by global registry services provider Afilias, are based on a large sample of 3,469 internet using consumers in the UK and US. The study revealed a significant decrease in the number of people stating that they would only put faith in heritage domain names, dropping from 54% in 2013 to 39% in 2014! The findings also showed that 25% of consumers would trust new domain name extensions just as much as the heritage domains – this is an increase of 4 percentage points in the past 12 months.

Roland LaPlante, senior vice-president and CMO, Afilias, said: “Major global brands are now preparing to launch their own “dotBRAND” domains in order to capitalize on the branding, security and customer experience advantages they will now have over competitors.  Brands without these advantages must prepare quickly for ICANN to open the next window, as consumers are showing an increasing willingness to accept and even trust these new addresses.”

The release of the figures coincides with the upcoming arrival of new gTLDs from major global brands such as Google, Microsoft and Nike, who are all set to create their own ‘dotBrand’ domain names at the top level (eg. running.NIKE instead of nike.com/running).

Further, people are now more willing to purchase from a branded gTLD than they were a year ago. In 2013, 13% stated that they would prefer to buy from ‘shop.adidas’ over ‘adidas.com/shop;’ this year, that preference has increased to 18%.

In 2014, nearly one third of people (32%) said that they would be more likely to trust that legitimate goods and services are being sold on a site that uses a dotBrand extension (with only 10% being less likely to trust a dotBrand site).

Importantly, the data show that 13% of people would feel that brands are ‘behind the times’ if they were not using branded domain name extensions.

LaPlante added: “The arrival of new domain names is an historic chapter in Internet history.  Even before they have all fully launched, consumers are warming to the notion of new domains. The research reinforces our belief that within 5 years most global brands will be operating from dotBrand Internet addresses.”

 

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In the News UK

UK consumers like coupons, more so than ever before: survey

coupon41In the battle for consumer spend, discounts win.

  • 84 per cent of supermarket shoppers use coupons
  • Consumers saving £3 billion a year through coupons
  • Coupons are used widely across all demographics.
  • Rise of the discounter – 30% of all shoppers are frequenting these stores more than a year ago.

Shoppers’ savings are increasing with over a third of consumers saving at least £5 a month by using coupons – up 10 per cent on 2013 figures, according to coupon experts Valassis. This adds up to benefits of around £3 billion a year for coupon-hungry consumers.

The recent survey of 1,000 UK adults by Valassis found that shoppers’ coupon cravings show no signs of diminishing with 84 per cent of supermarket shoppers using them. Promotional seeking behaviour is becoming increasingly ingrained among consumers with almost a third of people stating they are looking for promotional offers more than they were a year ago. This is coupled with a large decline in consumers stating that they never use coupons. Now, just 16 per cent of shoppers state they never use this promotional mechanic versus 26 per cent a year ago.
 
Although consumers are seeking out and benefitting from savings when they shop, supermarkets are not reaping the rewards. Almost all consumers – 93 per cent – claim they will ‘shop away’ from their regular outlet if other retailers are advertising better offers. This behaviour is surprising given the increasing investment by many supermarkets to attract and retain customers.

The supermarkets who stand to benefit the most from savings savvy shoppers are the discounters and Valassis’ survey confirms their popularity. Nearly two thirds (64 per cent)  shoppers use these stores and this is a growing trend –  30 per cent of consumers visit discounters more than they did a year ago. Britain’s ‘big four’ supermarkets Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons all face a growing challenge from cheaper retailers with recent industry data showing sales at Aldi surging 33.5 per cent and Lidl up 16.6 per cent.

This bargain-driven behaviour among consumers remains prevalent despite many shoppers feeling more confident about their personal finance situation. Almost a fifth of people claim to now feel better off, a marked increase from 2013.

Charles D’Oyly, managing director at Valassis, said: “The supermarket wars continue to be white hot with the battle for consumer spend as fierce as ever. Consumers have grown accustomed to discounts, with coupon usage now forming an integral part of the shopping trip, so it’s no surprise that we are witnessing record volume redemption rates across a variety of products. Retailers appear to be tapping this trend by creating their own uniquely issued coupons to drive more traffic into their stores.”

The survey also revealed that coupons are used widely across all demographics, with a quarter of ABs saving at least £10 a month, up from 15 per cent last year. This compares with just eight per cent of DEs who save the same amount, finally busting the myth that coupons are for people who are less well off.

The survey of 1,000 nationally representative adults was conducted by Gfk NOP on behalf of Valassis between 11 – 13 April 2014.


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In the News UK

A fifth of businesses are yet to develop a Social Media strategy

New research suggests that a fifth of businesses in the UK are yet to develop a social media strategy, with only a third actively using it as a medium to Social Media Computer Key Showing Online Communitypromote their products or brand.

A further third of businesses have made initial attempts to utilise social media before giving up on the process.

According to a new report just released by a catalogue and direct marketing specialist, 20% of UK businesses are yet to put a social media strategy in place, with only 31% actively using social media as a marketing platform. Comparative statistics from a similar report last year, suggested that 67% of businesses used social as a marketing tool, implying that the use of social media has dropped by a third in the space of 12 months.

The report, put together by direct marketing, design and print specialists Catalogues 4 Business (C4B), questioned more than 300 UK organisations as part of research into corporate marketing strategies. Respondents to the study were drawn from a diverse mix of businesses, both B2B and B2C, which spanned multiple industry sectors.

According to the findings, social media (31%) is widely used by companies as part of their marketing approach. However when compared to a C4B study from 2013, there has been a 36% drop in usage, suggesting that many businesses attempt to adopt social media, before giving up.

Ian Simpson, managing director of C4B said: “I find it a real eye-opener that social media was a more popular tool for businesses in 2013 than it is this year. I would’ve assumed that this figure would have risen, not fallen so dramatically! Does it imply that many businesses have made an attempt before giving up? You would expect all companies to have social media included in their marketing mix. It’s a fantastic method of customer interaction – for both existing and potential customers. Perhaps an insufficient social media strategy failed to see initial attempts get off the ground.”

The report revealed that, despite its drop in popularity, social media is still the fifth most effective marketing tool for businesses. According to the study, 14% of respondents stated that their social media strategy successfully delivers sales, whilst networking was cited as the number one driver at 24%.

The study also found that social media was often used in conjunction with a catalogue as part of a wider marketing plan, with 33% of socially active businesses also implementing a catalogue in their strategy. In addition, the results suggested that 46% of companies that used email marketing utilised a catalogue alongside this approach.

Simpson added: “Companies that don’t have a social media strategy are missing out on a key method of communication with their customer base. If you use catalogue marketing, social media helps to provide a bridge between you and the consumer. Some people are reluctant to pick up the telephone for a minor query, and this is something that social media can help with. A simple question from a customer, followed by an accurate and timely response, will help to form a bond and demonstrate that you value their feedback and interaction.”

The study also looked at the most popular platforms that businesses opted to use when executing their social media strategy. The results revealed that Facebook was number one at 40%, followed by LinkedIn (35%) and Twitter (33%). Google Plus, which didn’t even feature as a relevant marketing tool in last year’s report findings, is now used by 17% of businesses that have invested time on social media. “The significance of Google Plus’ entry this year can’t be ignored. Whilst Facebook and Twitter, with their widespread consumer appeal, and LinkedIn with its B2B benefits are obvious players, Google Plus is definitely on the rise. The positive SEO effects of using the platform means that businesses really should be considering Google Plus as a serious marketing channel if they want to improve their position in Google search rankings”, Ian added.

To download a copy of the full report – ‘Channel Vision – Version 3.0’ – click here or phone: 0845 2300 258.

 

 

 

 

 

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Europe In the News UK

Majority of under-45s now own a tablet: report

Newly released data from Kantar Media’s syndicated study, futurePROOF, shows that tablets have become mainstream consumer Usando-tableta-facebook-apple-iosdevices, with more than half of 16-44s now having access to them.

45% of all GB adults now have a tablet compared to 32% a year ago, and 36% at the end of 2013. The highest penetration is among 35-44s where 58% of adults now have at least one tablet in their home. Presence of children is the strongest driver of this, with 69% of parents of school age children having a tablet at home.

In terms of device operating systems within the home, 37% of users now have an Android based tablet, up 10 percentage points in six months, and 15% own Kindle Fire or Fire HD tablets.  Apple remains the market leader with 56% of tablet users having an iPad, although this is down from 63% in the last six months. The shift towards Android devices is linked with their relative affordability compared with Apple’s iPad.

The increasing ubiquity of tablets is also changing their role. More than four out of ten users now live in a home with more than one tablet (up six percentage points in the last six months). Consequently, tablets are moving from being a shared device to an increasingly personal one, opening up new content and advertising opportunities for targeting and engaging specific users much more effectively.

As consumers become more comfortable with tablets, they are gaining a clearly defined role in households with multiple devices. Tablets are more likely than smartphones to be used for watching or catching up on TV programmes or film, YouTube, or gaming; anything where a larger, better screen will enhance the experience.

Tablets are also playing a growing role in the purchase process with 53% of tablet users researching information on a product or service using their device, up from 44% six months ago.

Fewer users are taking their tablets out of their homes with just 8% using their tablet out-of-home every day, and 44% never taking their tablet out the front door, up from 36% six months ago. Rather than indicating that people have stopped taking tablets out with them, this reflects the different usage patterns of new tablet owners, who are driving the rapid growth.

Trevor Vagg, director, Kantar Media Custom, said: “Tablets have rapidly become part of our digital lives, with Christmas sales and cheaper, Android powered devices all contributing to make tablets a ‘need to have’ rather than just a ‘nice to have’. The arrival of cheaper Android based tablets such as Tesco’s Hudl and the Kindle Fire has turned what was a premium device into something that’s much more ubiquitous but also increasingly as personal as the smartphone we use when we are on the go. These shifts open new doors for advertisers in terms of targeted messaging opportunities.”

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Europe In the News Ireland UK

Air Business: parent company announces strong performance – and lottery win!

An Post, the Irish post office and parent company of Air Business, has announced strong group results for 2013. It has also highlighted its success in winning a 20-year licence to run the Irish National Lottery, as part of the Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI) Consortium.

In assembling PLI, An Post partnered with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), the 100 per cent owner of the Camelot Group which includes UK national operator Camelot UK Lotteries Ltd and Camelot Global, which provide consultancy and management services to lotteries worldwide.

Both An Post and the Camelot Group have proven track records of growing lottery sales in Ireland and the UK respectively, as well as having demonstrated global leadership in responsible gaming and corporate social responsibility.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of An Post, Air Business sees this long term investment as a positive commitment to An Post Group Companies. Adam Sherman, Air Business group managing director, said: “An Post gives us the freedom to operate independently while supporting us as part of their strategic growth strategy. The 20-year commitment to the Irish National Lottery is an encouraging investment supported by the strong group performance.”

An Post Group turnover for 2013 was €811.7m, an increase on the 2012 figure of €807.3m as a result of the company’s focus on growing revenue across the group’s activities.

An Post chief executive, Donal Connell (pictured on the left with An Post chairman Christoph Mueller) said: “This positive progress has strengthened the company as it faces the challenges ahead. Donal Connell and Christoph Mueller An Post

“We continued to focus on cost containment, productivity and efficiency improvement alongside strategic investment in revenue-generating mails and retail business streams and our strongly performing Group Companies including Air Business.”

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Americas Europe France Germany In the News UK USA

New domain names set to revolutionise the way consumers search and shop online: report

A new report from NetNames – a major online brand protection and domain name management specialist – reveals how the web is set to transformDomains On Smartphone Shows Internet Websites And Information Addresses over the next five years. This follows the launch of thousands of new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) such as .london, .shop and .sport. The inaugural Internet 2020 report comprises a survey of 6,000 consumers and 400 business leaders across four countries (UK, Germany, France and the US) and expert input from ICANN and other industry leaders.

In its research, NetNames found that 80% of internet users think the new domain names will make them more likely to enter a company’s web address into their internet browser rather than use a search engine. The simplicity and specificity of the new web address endings will make internet navigation less reliant on search, as users will be able to use direct navigation much more frequently. Businesses agree with consumers on this point, with almost half (42%) of corporate respondents identifying the biggest benefit of the new domain names as better search and recognition on the internet.

Further to this, the survey revealed that over half (59%) of daily internet users think the new web address endings will make it easier for them to find things on the internet. This view was even stronger amongst businesses, with 89% stating they believed that new web address endings will help consumers find their website. The type of endings thought most likely to support this change were those related to relevant communities (e.g. .bank, .sport and .art), which were highlighted by 44% of consumers.

Search engines will need to evolve their algorithms to reflect the relevance of the new gTLDs and the web traffic they will generate, and offer direct search within the URL bar.  Some are already taking proactive steps in this area, with Google having set up a dedicated gTLD business unit to run the infrastructure of 100 new gTLDs.

Gary McIlraith, CEO at NetNames, explained why the new domain names are likely to impact search traffic: “The internet is vast and we need search engines in order to find the content we are looking for. In some ways, that is even truer with so much new internet real estate being created by the new gTLDs. However, in cases where they have a specific website destination in mind, the descriptive nature of new gTLDs will help internet users to memorise naming structures and facilitate browser-based navigation to the specific areas of the websites they are interested in, bypassing home pages. Consumers will therefore become less reliant on using a search engine to find a website.”

“The new domain names effectively represent the resetting of the internet. Brands need to consider which of the new domain names will provide the most business value and be most relevant to their customer base in order to strengthen their internet presence and remain relevant in the changing nature of the internet. By doing this, brands will be able to secure continued success in the internet of tomorrow.”

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In the News UK

Facebook and Twitter experience year of declining popularity (but FB is still king of Social Media)

Image Caption

 YouTube is the most popular site among 8-15 year-olds, UK research shows.

The popularity of Facebook and Twitter is continuing to decline among social media users, new YouGov research suggests.social-network_110002633-012814-int

The “Social Media 2014” report shows that one in ten (10%) social media users stopped using Twitter and around the same proportion (9%) stopped using Facebook in the past year.

The main reason for social media users stopping using services was a loss of interest (55%), followed by increasing concerns about privacy (26%). One in five (21%) say they were fed up with advertising and marketing strategies (21%) and one in six didn’t like third parties having access to personal content (17%).

The survey was based on 494 UK adults aged 16+ who stopped using a social media service in the 12 months to February 2014.

Yet despite its relative decline, Facebook is still the dominant force, with 86% of active social media users using the service. This is almost double the proportion of its nearest competitor, YouTube, which is used by 46% of active social media users. Twitter, the third most popular, is used by around a third (32%) of active social media users, while Instagram and Pinterest are used by 9% and 6%, respectively.

Although Instagram and Pinterest have relatively low rates of penetration, they have experienced marked growth in the past year. Three in ten (30%) Pinterest users joined the service during the six months leading up to the survey, with almost half of these (14%) signing-up in the month before the research took place. Similarly, more than one in five (22%) Instagram users joined the service in the half year leading up to the survey, with a third of these (7%) joining in the month prior to the research being carried out.

James McCoy said: “It could be argued that the relative decline of Facebook and Twitter is a direct result of social media being such an intrinsic part of people’s everyday lives. For example, Facebook has been available to the mass market for seven years and in that time it has gone from being a fresh, new and innovative start-up to a familiar colossus – a business empire with money to make and shareholders to satisfy. However, it should be noted that Facebook’s decline is relative – it is still the king of social media with impressively high levels of usage.”

Children and social media

YouGov’s “Social Media 2014” report also explored children’s use of social media. It found that YouTube is the most popular social media site among 8-15 year-olds, with more than four in ten (41%) logging into it most days. Facebook is second most popular (36%), far ahead of Instagram (13%) and Snapchat (11%). Just one in ten (10%) children surveyed regularly use Twitter.

(Base study: 508 GB children aged 8-15).

The relative lack of popularity for Facebook and Twitter among 8-15 year olds is driven by a belief that certain social media services are more suited to adults. Almost a third (32%) of children believe that Facebook is for a grown-up audience, while almost as many (30%) feel the same about Twitter. All other social media services came in at less than 15%.

Young people are also alert to potential problems on Facebook, with the vast majority believing that it is necessary to restrict access their profiles. More than four in five (84%) believe it is important to restrict access to profiles, with just 14% believing it is not important. Those believing it is important are significantly more likely than average to be girls, and their strength of opinion lies firmly in the “very important” camp.

 

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Europe In the News UK

Loyal customers left frustrated as brands look to new business

A survey of more than 2,500 UK consumers has found that nine out of ten (89 per cent) believe most brands put more effort into attracting new Customer Service Showing Help Or Assistance For Consumercustomers than looking after existing ones.

The research, which was carried out by The Grass Roots Group, revealed this leaves customers feeling frustrated, with just under half (49 per cent) even considering switching loyalties if a provider’s special offers are only available to new customers.

In today’s highly competitive market, it is imperative brands do not lose sight of the importance of retaining existing customers, especially when they opt to attract new business with exclusive special offers. More than half (55 per cent) cited loyalty rewards as an important factor when staying with a provider, demonstrating it is an area that must not be ignored to keep customers happy.

Ian Horsham, divisional director, promotions and incentives at The Grass Roots Group, said: “It’s hard to go online or watch TV without being served up special offers for new subscribers or shoppers, making it all too easy for consumers to become fickle when it comes to loyalty to just one brand.

“Our research has shown that customer loyalty is being compromised and people will switch brands if they feel they are being forgotten or not given the same treatment as new customers.

“Brands are becoming complacent when it comes to customer retention. They concentrate too much on securing new customers, leaving others to feel undervalued. With the cost of customer acquisition five times greater than keeping existing customers happy, this strategy could have a huge impact on revenues and future business success.

“A loyalty scheme should go hand in hand with a new customer programme, as a key part of retaining them once they have made the decision to switch.”

The research was carried out this month and surveyed 2,610 UK consumers about their relationships and loyalty towards the following suppliers: phone and broadband; utilities; insurance; banks; supermarkets; and car manufacturers.