*Web Ad Spending Swells, Traditional Sputters: A study conducted by WPP Group across 35 nations indicates that the majority of media investment growth in the West is
attributable to Web advertising. As a virtually inevitable consequence, spending in traditional media has begun to decline.
The study also predicts that in 2009, interactive media will account for 15% of the world's total advertising expenditures, potentially doubling what it was in 2004. The
trends, the group claims, were sparked by the increased availability and quality of portable media. Other notable findings include:
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Almost 45% of 2007 interactive ad spending was categorized as display, a figure that is expected to fall slightly. Paid search advertising accounted for 38% and is
expected to grow;
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Google commanded a median 86% share of 2007 search inquiries in the survey's sample of 35 countries, somewhat ahead of other industry samples;
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There is a strong positive correlation between the amount of broadband a country has and the Internet's share of advertising investment;
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Demographics alone will sustain growth in Internet use among consumers for at least another generation, possibly two, as those under 25 years old carry their habits into
middle age and beyond;
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The amount of time consumers spend online is increasing from a mean of 27 minutes daily in 2005 to a projected 46 minutes next year; and,
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The increased time was generally not a result of consumers' spending less time with TV, radio and print, but rather carving out more time to spend online each year, or
possibly multitasking.
Source: WPP/GroupM
*That Logo? So 10 Minutes Ago: As a precursor to the release of its upcoming fourth book on visual branding strategies, LogoLounge has released its list of the 15 most
ubiquitous trends in logo design.
The trends, according to the firm, have been conceived from a range of factors, including depictions of successful ad campaigns in movies, current events and even the releases
of new Photoshop functions.
After categorizing more than 27,000 logos, they also concluded that:
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There is less emphasis on sustainability or general "greenness" in logo design. There's plenty of natural imagery, but being green doesn't seem all that unique anymore;
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Colors are becoming more vivid. Desaturation has drained away, and the chroma factor has been pumped up;
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There's an overall move toward cleanliness--in type, line and color--as if ideas are getting more and more succinct. It may be an indication of the degree of seriousness
with which branding is now regarded;
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Less is more common: less calligraphy, less Photoshop tricks, less artificial highlights; and,
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Found pattern and illustration hang on and on. With a treasure chest of visual history constantly at the ready--through retail collections and over the Internet--it's a
direction that's not likely to run its course soon, if ever.
Source: LogoLounge
*"Corporate Sustainability" No Longer an Oxymoron: A report released by the Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN) shows that more that half of the 100 largest
publicly traded companies in the U.S. now report on their environmental sustainability policies.
Furthermore, the efforts of more than a third of the companies meet conditions of the Global Reporting Initiative's sustainability reporting guidelines.
Other key stats include:
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86 of the S&P 100 companies now have corporate sustainability Web sites, compared to 58 in mid-2005, an increase of 48%;
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49 of the leading U.S. companies produced a sustainability report in 2007, an increase of 26% from 39 in 2005;
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41 now include a reference or references to the GRI standards, up 71% from just 24 in 2005; and,
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34 companies now include a GRI Index in their report, an increase of 70%, up from 20 in 2005.
Source: SIRAN/KLD Research & Analytics PRN