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â–¶ Does This Mean More PR? Corporate America is questioning the return on its advertising investment, finds a study by Avidian Strategies. The survey of 1,900 business leaders in marketing and media also reveals that 46% think advertising agencies are struggling in transitioning their business model to incorporate a more digital platform. Another 36% observe that ad agencies are making progress acquiring digital assets, but find it difficult integrating them. Other results include:
• Ad agency tenure has been declining steadily as clients continue to consolidate, with 51% declaring that they have been reducing their roster in the past three years, and 44% saying it is still too big and they plan to consolidate further. Asked what type of agencies they plan to cut back on next year, 69% mentioned digital agencies, and 48% creative agencies.
• When asked what recent changes in marketing influenced them the most, 55% of clients point to growing demands for accountability as the main factor, with increased scrutiny of results by the CEO and the board; 71% point to it as the area that ad agencies need to improve most.
• Most marketers would like their ad agencies to lead integration between all brand communication partners, but when asked about agencies’ ability to execute, 72% of marketers report that agencies are “inconsistent and need to improve” and 24% say “ad agencies are falling short and not doing a good job.”
Source: Avidian Strategies
â–¶ In-Person Recommendations Trump Social Media: The mom chatting up other school moms at school drop-off is more influential than the Facebook mom, finds a study by 360PR MomSquad and Mom It Forward. A majority of moms (59%) rate in-person recommendations at the top of the scale for trustworthiness, while just 14% of moms rated recommendations via social media as “most trustworthy.” Study highlights include:
• Close to three-quarters of moms (71%) make recommendations about brands, products and services to other moms at least monthly, with half of moms (50%) making recommendations about brands daily.
• Compared to Gen X moms, Gen Y moms of 0- to 3-year-old children are more comfortable relying on recommendations from moms in their online social networks. They’re the heaviest users of newer social platforms, like Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram (see related story on page 1).
• 93% of moms are influenced by other moms’ recommendations. Moms surveyed said they interact with other moms most often at daycare/school drop-off (58%), at a friend’s house (54%) or other off-line get-togethers, such as meeting for coffee, working out or shopping (48%).
• While special offers continue to be the top motivator of mom recommendations (61%), more than half of moms say they make recommendations because it’s fun (54%) and gives them a sense of pride (51%). PRN
Source: 360PR MomSquad/Mom It Forward