Posted by Steve Goldberg on Thu, Oct 27, 2011 @ 08:27 AM
Below are some recent digital stats that came accross my inbox that I thought I would share.
AdWeek revealed its list of six significant trends in digital advertising. They are as follows:
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The end of the click-through rate as an effective measurement of an ad's success is nigh.
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The thin line between mobile and desktop is getting even thinner as Apple has begun to incorporate iOS features into OSX, while ad servers like Google's DoubleClick begin to integrate their desktop and mobile offerings.
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"Supercookie," a file that allows websites to track users even after they delete it in their browsers. Hulu and MSN have come under fire for their use, but AdWeek does not expect the file's use, which is legal, to stop.
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Ad-tech consolidation becoming a real thing.
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The emergence of HTML5 as the heir apparent to Adobe's Flash.
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According a report from ad intelligence company SQAD, specialized content can still be valuable and make money.
2. Apparently, it's good to be Apple right now. The company announced this week that it has sold 11.1+ million iPads during its fiscal fourth quarter; an increase of 166% over the same time period last year, according to a report from Mobile Marketer. In fact, the iPhone also saw a spike as sales increased 21% to 17.07 million in the same time frame. And finally, it also said 92% of Fortune 400 companies are either testing or deploying the iPad.
3. Moms are becoming a sizeable portion of Facebook users, and will account for 17.9% of all U.S. social network users and 17.4% of all Facebook users as of 2011, estimates eMarketer, which defines a mom is a woman with a child under 18 years of age in the house who visits the site at least once a month. However, while social channel penetration is currently high, it also means the moms' share on social sites is expected taper off as growth rates slow down. By 2013, eMarketer predicts 16.1% of all U.S. Facebook users and 17.1% of all U.S. social network users will be moms with children in the household.
A few comments:
Though AdWeek predicts the end of the click-through rates, we all know this won’t happen soon, if ever. In fact, according to this article, mouse-over time will be a significant form of ad success, according to startup Moat’s “Kill the Click” campaign. Though figuring out a better way to measure the level of success of a digital ad is important as we continue to grow on the net, I do not think mouse-over time is it.
Supercookie… Can anyone say violation of privacy? Honestly, whoever created this file must not be paying attention to the current, and long winded movement in the government for anti-tracking. If a user deletes a cookie, it’s for a good reason; they don’t want to be tracked. We’ll see how long this lasts before lawsuits start.
Mom’s on Facebook, well yeah. They are the super power behind blogs, and it only makes sense that there would be some kind of cross-over, especially with those power bloggers that use other social media tools to bolster their readership. Though I do think the estimate of 17.1% of users will be mothers and their children (under the age of 18) is rather low. Though women only account for 5% of bloggers, according to an article by Social Media Today, 92% of mommy bloggers use Facebook to promote their blog.
-Steve
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About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).
Posted by Steve Goldberg on Sat, Oct 08, 2011 @ 09:01 AM
Innovation abounds in digital media, including the ways in which advertising is sold. Are you a brand that wants to advertise using video across a broad spectrum of websites? SAY Media can show you how. Want to reach Facebook gamers watering their vegetables in Farmville? Companies like Selectable Media can offer you solutions. Looking to turn a digital photograph into an ad unit? Luminate can provide this technology. And there are mobile applications for all of the above, and a multitude of other innovations.
Market leaders like Google, Facebook and Apple are a given. They pride themselves on being leaders in innovation as well. But who are the leaders of tomorrow, and will their technological leadership translate into a culture of leadership within their sales organization and organization at large?
Certainly in a digital ad sales organization, leadership is shown through hiring sellers, retaining your talent, and managing results to expectations.
“At most companies, people spend 2 percent of their time recruiting and 75 percent managing their recruiting mistakes.” — Richard Fairbank, CEO, Capital One
Media Recruiting Group is a leader in digital media sales recruitment, and we pride ourselves in the quality of our placements. Placing talent within digital media companies is our business. But the responsibility of providing leadership for your team and organization is yours.
Leaders are people with the responsibility of taking business to a new level. A leader is innovative, astute and an out-of-the-box thinker. Digital Media Sales leadership certainly is revealed in the quality of the hires, in the training provided, and the sales results of the team. Thomas Edison said that “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”. Well, sales leadership is 100% inspiration and 100% perspiration.
So, how can you empower yourself as a leader when your team is in place? One important facet of sales management and leadership is in the positioning of your staff. A leader has to stay alert to the changes taking place with their staff, and the effect the dynamic environment has on their staff.
I offer this article by author Dr. John C. Maxwell, where he reviews the repositioning of people for success within an organization:
REPOSITIONING PEOPLE
One of the traits of outstanding leaders is that they properly place people within a team. Good leaders have the ability to see their people, sense where they are and put them in the right place. So why do so many leaders place so many people in so many wrong places? I've identified five reasons.
1. Failure to know the requirements needed to make a job successful.
I'm not talking about the job description, and I'm not talking about how you do a job. I'm talking about what a particular person has to do to be successful. Make a list those qualities. It could be two or three things; it could be 10. Whatever those things are, you have to go out and find people who have a giftedness to match those qualities so that you put the right people in the right place.
2. Failure to know the skills and the giftedness of the person.
Sometimes we know what gifts and skills are required for success in a particular job, but we do a poor job evaluating the giftedness of the person we place in that position. Maybe we know a particular job needs someone who is detail-oriented, but we fail to recognize that the person we're putting in that position breaks out in hives when overwhelmed with details.
3. Failure to move people when either the job or the person is changing.
While it's common for people to get promoted out of a job that really fits their skills, it's also possible for them to stay in a position so long that they no longer do it well.
As a leader, you might place someone in a position that is a great match with that person's uniqueness and giftedness, only to look up later and realize that the person's productivity has fallen sharply.
What happened?
Something changed. Maybe the job changed. Maybe the organization changed. Maybe the person changed. Maybe you changed. Maybe everything changed.
I have found many people end up in the wrong place only because they stayed in the right place too long. They were in the right place in the beginning, but the right place becomes the wrong place if the job changes or if the person changes. So the right place can become the wrong place over a matter of time.
4. Failure to be patient.
Sometimes the person is in the right place, but they have to grow into it. And not only do they have to grow into it, but they also have to be trained and developed into it. You know they have the giftedness, they have the ability, they have the passion; but they need time and someone to help them. Smaller organizations often can't afford to hire the best, so they have to hire young people with great potential and then train them.
In "The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork" I write about the 'Law of Dividends', which is, "Investing in the team compounds overtime." As you invest in your team, especially if you have them in the right place, the team is going to compound in a very positive way for you. Of course, if you don't have the right players in the right place, time isn't going to do it.
5. Failure to prepare.
Many times we haven't done enough front-end homework as leaders, so we aren't prepared to place people where they can grow and can blossom.
When we consistently fail to place people in the right place within the team, several things inevitably infect our team like an angry parasite. Morale suffers, people lose their willingness to play as a team and confidence erodes. As a result, potential goes unrealized, progress is hindered and our competitors benefit.
On the other hand, organizations do best when the people within them are carefully put in the right places. People are encouraged and fulfilled, growth is ensured, teamwork is increased and victories are secured. And, for leaders, there is a huge reward in seeing your players in the right place, doing the right thing for the right reasons.
-Steve
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About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).
Posted by Steve Goldberg on Fri, Aug 26, 2011 @ 09:21 AM
Thought I would share this emarketer report with you all. I find it very interesting, though a bit predictable, but see for yourself if you agree.
Users continue shift from content creation to distribution
The number of Facebook users in the US will increase 13.4% this year, eMarketer estimates, after 38.6% growth in 2010 and a whopping 90.3% rise the year before. The rate of adult Twitter user adoption has similarly begun to plateau, dropping from 293.1% growth in 2009 to 26.3% this year and still slowing. In many developing countries, these and other networks are seeing their audience growth taper off as most new users come from other countries such as the BRIC nations and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, users in more advanced countries have been shifting their behaviors after spending years on the sites. According to the GlobalWebIndex “Wave 5 Trends” report, social network usage growth has all but stopped among 16- to 24-year-olds in the US, and in a few countries usage within this already-saturated group is actually declining.
Among those who remain on Facebook, GlobalWebIndex reports, there were declines in participation in activities like messaging with friends, sending digital gifts, installing applications and joining groups between July 2009 and June 2011. The activities on the wane are decreasing faster in the US than worldwide, and are often decreasing even further among college-educated US users under the age of 30.
Meanwhile, on microblogs like Twitter, the heaviest users are focused on disseminating content. Links to other microblogs, personal photos, and links to videos and news stories were the top subjects of status updates on these real-time oriented social sites among frequent users. Other than personal photos, these all relate to content created by others, while most content creation activities scored lower.
The report also noted the high demand for professional content. Traditional sources of news were dominant, including among microbloggers and heavy social network users. And when asked what they want from brands, consumers ask for knowledge and, among younger adults, entertainment. Brands have an opportunity to use the transmission-oriented social media landscape to disseminate valuable content to followers—who in turn are hungry for interesting and entertaining content to transmit.
I think these insights are quite surprising, especially when you consider how marketing and advertising dollars are still being funneled heavily, not only into social media, but specifically targeting the 16-24 years old market. It seems that social media consumption is plateauing in the U.S., with less and less social activities occurring between the 16-24 age group.
The U.S. has been at the forefront of social media evolution since early 2000, so I suppose it could make sense, in the essence of a cyclical life span of a product, or in this case lifestyle tools, that there would be a dip in usage, especially once the reached a critical mass in the marketplace (which happened two plus years ago). The U.S. population, especially the younger consumers are all about the newest and shiniest toy, so it makes sense that there would be a point of boredom.
I don't necessarily think social media marketing initiatives should scale back, but I do think marketers and advertisers should reevaluate their efforts, and start pushing more money into a different demographic. As we move along in the natural progression of social media marketing and what it really means, and how it affects a brand, it'll be more clear how and why certain age groups lose interest, spark interest, and what it takes to engage them. For now, it's really just a highly educated guessing game.
-Steve
Visit MRG Site
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About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).
Posted by Steve Goldberg on Mon, Aug 15, 2011 @ 09:55 AM
Nielsen has identified a new trend that bucks the idea that new platform viewing is additive with traditional TV viewing. Until last fall, Nielsen data consistently indicated that the heaviest media consumers display such habits across all platforms. A subset of consumers from television and internet homes emerged over the first 3 months of the year that defies this notion, with the lightest traditional television users streaming significantly more internet video and the heaviest streamers, particularly 18-34 year olds, under-indexing for traditional TV viewership. Overall, TV viewing increased by 0.2% from a year ago to 158 hours and 47 minutes/month, while internet video viewing jumped 35% to 4 hours and 33 minutes/month. Watching on mobile devices such as smartphones rose 20% to 4 hours and 20 minutes a month. The company did not make a correlation between increased online viewing and "cord cutting."
Reporting online video viewing for the month of May, Nielsen said Americans set another record by streaming over 15 billion videos for the month. Total online viewers also increased by nearly 3% from April to top 145 million unique viewers. MSN, Hulu, AOL and Fox Interactive Media all grew their audiences by over 10% for the month. MSN/WindowsLive/Bing and AOL also increased the amount of streams they delivered by over 25% month-over-month. Hulu was second only to YouTube in total streams (852 million). The ave. Hulu user spent 4 hours, 43 minutes viewing Hulu videos in May. Hulu was followed by Ustream.tv and Justin.tv (both of which replayed their Royal Wedding coverage in May) in this category, with their time spent increasing a heady 61% and 55% month-to-month, respectively.
Top Online Video Destinations by Total Streams (May 2011, U.S.)
Video Brand Total Streams (000) MOM % Change in Streams
YouTube 8,860,520 1.3%
Hulu 852,173 12.1%
VEVO 414,615 0.3%
MSN/WindowsLive/Bing 266,712 26.9%
Yahoo! 193,344 -5.9%
Dailymotion 150,340 -4.6%
Turner-SI Digital Network 149,102 4.5%
AOL Media Network 148,727 25.2%
Facebook 135,168 -8.3%
CBS Entertainment Websites 120,707 12.8%
Source: Nielsen
Top Online Video Destinations by Time per Viewer (May 2011, U.S.)
250K Unique Viewer Minimum
Video Brand Time per Viewer (hh:mm) MOM % Change in Time
Hulu 4:43 -8.8%
Ustream.tv 3:40 61.4%
Justin.tv 2:35 55.3%
YouTube 2:31 -3.3%
Megavideo 2:29 -14.8%
Cwtv.com 2:17 11.5%
ABC Family 2:04 28.4%
Lifetime Digital 1:57 12.4%
CBS Entertain. 1:12 -8.7%
MTV Networks 1:11 6.7%
Entertain. & Games
Source: Nielsen
I am surprised that Netflix is not included in this data. Recently reported, Netflix accounted for nearly a quarter of online video traffic. Though this information does make me question, out of these online video properties, which have the highest ad sales? And do they correlate with time spent on the site? In otherwords, though YouTube has the highest rank in video streams, they are ranked fourth in terms of time spent by viewers, but as one of the top online video destinations, do they have higher digital ad sales? I will be keeping an eye out for this information.
-Steve
Visit MRG Site
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About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).
Posted by Steve Goldberg on Tue, Jun 07, 2011 @ 08:58 AM
There's not much denying that streaming premium video is contributing to a huge increase in traffic being generated online. (Netflix now accounts for nearly a quarter of it in the U.S.) A new forecast from Cisco Systems predicts that traffic will just about double by 2015 to reach 200 exabytes; that's 39 times what it was in 2005. The impact of web-enabled TVs is palpable - by 2015, TVs will account for over 15% of global consumer internet traffic (up from 3% in 2010), and 28% of internet video traffic (up from 7% in 2010). More users and the proliferation of tablets, mobile phones, connected appliances and other smart machines are also driving up the demand for connectivity. By 2015, there will be nearly 15 billion network connections via devices and more than two connections for each person on earth. Globally, mobile data traffic will increase 26 times between 2010 and 2015.
So I wonder how the digital advertising landscape will change for TV. If consumers are shifting to online viewing, where there are less commercials/advertisements, will online TV be a viable spot for ads for optimal ROI? I'd love to hear any thoughts/speculations on this.
-Steve
Visit MRG Site
Follow Me:
About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).
Posted by Steve Goldberg on Sat, May 14, 2011 @ 09:09 AM
Apple has superseded Google to become the most valuable consumer-facing global brand, according to the 6th annual BrandZ Global Brands study conducted by WPP's Millward Brown Optimor. Technology and telecom brands dominated the ranking this year, making up one-third of the Top 100 brands.
Apple led with brand value of $153 billion (up 84% from last year from spot #3,) followed by Google, with a brand value of $111.5 billion, and IBM in third place with a brand value of $100.9 billion. Facebook made its debut in the Top 100 at No. 35 with the highest increase in brand value, 246%, making it worth $19.1 billion. Online retailer Amazon also edged past Walmart to become the No. 1 retail brand and 14th overall, with a 37% rise in brand value to $37.6 billion.
The success of Apple is no suprise. Apple saw an opportunity (a hole if you will) in the computer technology market and they filled that hole with the iPad, attributing to their 2 place jump. But, now that Apple has released their shiny toys, how will they continue to be number one? The market is becoming saturated with different brands of tablet computers, a market that I believe will quickly weed out the tablets that just can't compete, leaving only the strong. The strong being the iPad, Android tablet, and possibly Samsung.
I think that Google has the opportunity to take back the number one position once the Google Music platform debuts, beating Apple to the cloud. It'll be interesting to see the results by next year (and the reason's behind it).
The Most Valuable Global Brands 2011
Rank Brand Value in $ millions % change from 2010
1 Apple 153,285 +84%
2 Google 111,498 -2%
3 IBM 100,849 +17%
4 McDonald's 81,016 +23%
5 Microsoft 78,243 +2%
6 Coca-Cola *73,752 +8%
7 AT&T 69,916 -
8 Marlboro 67,522 +18%
9 China Mobile 57,326 +9%
10 GE 50,318 +12%
Source: BrandZ, *The Brand Value of Coca-Cola includes Lites, Diets and Zero
Other Apple Statistics:
Apple iOS remains the platform of choice for app developers with 91% of developers saying they are 'very interested' in iPhone development and 86% very interested in developing for the hot-selling iPad, according to a new joint Appcelerator/IDC survey querying more than 2,700 developers. Google witnessed a plateau in its earlier momentum gains. Reported interest in Android phones fell two points to 85% and Android tablets fell three points to 71% after increasing twelve points during Q1. Developers complain about fragmentation of devices for the platform, and worry that weak demand for Andriod tablets and app stores will weigh it down.
- While 71% of developers are very interested in Android as a tablet OS, only 52% are very interested in one of the leading Android tablet devices today - the Samsung Galaxy Tab. That number drops to 44% for the Motorola Xoom and 31% for the upcoming HTC Flyer
- Microsoft fell seven points, with only 29% of developers saying they are 'very interested' in the Windows Phone 7, while BlackBerry phones dropped eleven points to 27%
- #3 player Microsoft's biggest problem with developers may simply be available time, as 46% of respondents indicated, "I have my hands full with iOS and/or Android."
AOL also announced a precipitous drop in Q1 profits as it absorbed its $315 million purchase of the Huffington Post in March. Profits fell to $4.7 million from $34.7 million a year ago and revenue also fell by 17% to $551.4 million for the quarter. Continually dropping Internet subscription revenue dropped 24% to $215.4 million while overall ad revenue fell 11% to $313.7 million. One bright spot was a boost global revenue from display ads - up some 4% y/y.
The mobile gaming arena continues to explode as digital game downloads for mobile devices now represent close to half of all video game full game downloads according to NPD Group's latest Online Gaming 2011 report (excluding micro-transactions and add-on content to be used with previously purchased or acquired full games). Due to lower price points for mobile games, however, consumer spending remains stronger for console games - among those who purchased a mobile game in the past three months, 60% indicated that they are still spending the same or more on console and portable games since they started purchasing for their mobile devices, while 40% reported spending less.
-Steve
Visit MRG Site
Follow Me:
About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).
Posted by Steve Goldberg on Sat, May 07, 2011 @ 05:01 AM
When Digital Media Job Opportunities Begin on the Phone
As the growth of digital media continues at its meteoric rate, hiring managers, recruiters and human resources professionals are streamlining many first meetings by starting with phone interviews. Some are using Skype as well, but this article is geared toward those of you who will not have the benefit of being seen when you speak.
How a phone interview is conducted varies based on who is conducting the interview and the type of job in question. Human Resources’ interviews will likely explore basic qualifications, job transitions, how you handled certain situations and if you are a cultural fit (ref: the importance of corporate culture: http://su.pr/2oJd0o).
Hiring managers, on the other hand, will delve deeper into results, performance, more demanding situational questions, and challenges faced.
Are you going after a digital media sales position? Business Development? Digital Marketing? Client Services? How do you think you should come across during the call, given the job for which you’re interviewing?
You will most definitely want to leave an impression that you are smart, strategic, a team player, energized about the company and job, no matter the opportunity. But you’ll also want to leave “job specific” impressions consistent with the position. For instance, if you’re interviewing for a sales position, you should treat the phone interview like a sales call. If you are interviewing for an analytical position, pose questions or make statements that highlight your analytical abilities.
Now, down to specifics, here are the top 15 tips on how to be successful with a phone interview:
1. Phone interviews are no different than in-person interviews when it comes to research. Definitely research the company as much as possible prior to the call.
2. Make sure the call is scheduled. Set a specific date and time, and ask for a copy of the job description if you don’t already have it. If there is no written job description, ask for a few bullet points on the job’s responsibilities and qualifications.
You do not want to get caught off guard by a spontaneous call. At the time of the call, have all your paperwork handy – your resume, cover letter, the job description, name and title of important company personnel (especially the person you’re speaking with), your research on the company, etc. Have a pen and paper handy for note taking.
3. Know your audience – know who is doing the interviewing. Is it Human Resources? The hiring manager? Whoever it is, look them up on the web, especially:
Use the information gathered to get a sense of the interviewer’s background, what they have written, their successes, their prior experience, and to find common ground. Follow them on Twitter, “like” their Facebook page, comment on their blog, Link-in with them.
4. Practice makes perfect. Ask a friend or colleague to conduct a mock interview and record it so you can see how you sound over the phone. You'll be able to hear your pauses, "ums", "uhs" and "okays". Also practice answers to those typical questions you'll be asked.
5. Some professionals have been known to think less of the interview if it is with Human Resources versus the hiring manager. That is a big mistake. The company has their HR professionals performing the phone interview as a screen, and they will advance candidates they think are appropriate. Your demeanor towards them reaches through the phone. Be in your top form.
6. Stand up during the call. Standing increases your level of alertness and promotes a stronger engagement level. Also, consider dressing up a bit as well, to create more of the feeling you'd have if you were being interviewed in person. Don’t do the phone interviews in your PJ’s.
7. Conduct the phone interview in a quiet place with no chance of distraction or interruption, with the door closed. Have it be an office, or as close to an office as possible to simulate the experience that you are “at work”. If you must have the phone interview take place at home, make sure the kids are not home, and pets are out of earshot.
8. Unless you're sure your cell phone service is going to be perfect, consider using a landline rather than your cell phone to avoid a dropped call or static on the line. Turn call-waiting off so your call isn't interrupted.
9. Be prepared with examples of situations where you made a big difference with a sale, marketing campaign or strategy. You don’t want to be caught off guard if a question is asked that seeks to measure your ability. For each such example, write and be prepared to discuss a) the situation/problem, b) the action steps you took to solve it, and c) the outcome.
10. Be prepared with 3 positive characteristics that describe you (be prepared for the strengths and weaknesses question).
11. Be prepared with intelligent questions to ask your interviewer. Use current events pertaining to the company, their competitors or their industry. Remember, that the purpose of asking questions at this stage of the process is to further sell yourself. Some of the more challenging/probing questions can come later, after the company knows they want you. Other suggestions include:
- What qualities are you looking for in the person you hire to join this company? (Use their answer to sell yourself.)
- I like being challenged. What do you view as the most challenging parts of this job?
- How would you describe the company culture?
- Is there anything else can I tell you about my qualifications?
- Could I schedule an in-person interview at your convenience?
- Would you like a list of references?
- When can I expect to hear from you?
- Are there any other questions I can answer for you?
12. Review MRG’s advice specific for digital media salespeople. This article is written from the hiring manager’s perspective, and is easily to interpret from the candidate’s perspective (http://su.pr/4OmF4p).
13. During the phone interview, clearly show your excitement about both the company and the job. You may have to notch it up a bit on a phone interview, because they cannot see you and you can’t use eye contact and body language (ref: body language tips for in-person interviews: http://su.pr/A3lFLS) to show your interest. Also:
- Don't smoke, chew gum, or eat.
- Try not to drink but keep a glass of water handy in case your mouth gets dry (don’t let them hear the ‘gulp’).
- Smile. Smiling will project a positive image to the listener and will change the tone of your voice.
- Speak slowly and enunciate clearly.
- Take your time - it's perfectly acceptable to take a moment or two to collect your thoughts.
- Brevity - give relatively short answers. You want to say enough to sell yourself, but also come across as a good listener and someone who does not talk too much. Don't interrupt the interviewer.
14. After the call, before getting off the phone, thank the interviewer. Once complete, jot down notes pertaining to how you answered certain questions, any new information you learned about the job or the company, any insights that will help you in the next round of interviewing.
15. Email a “thank you” note, asking to meet in person and reinforcing your strong interest in the job (ref: Thank You note tips: http://su.pr/1F04An). Use your notes to refer to something that was discussed during the call.
Preparation will allow you to enjoy the call, be yourself, and accomplish what you set out to do – get an in-person meeting.
About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to online and mobile Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).
Posted by Steve Goldberg on Thu, May 05, 2011 @ 07:03 AM
I've read a great deal of reports on the Mommy Blogger and what they are about, their consumption habbits, how some digital advertising efforts work, and others don't, etc. But I've become more curious with how women as a whole consume online, and so I found these studies that I thought shed some interesting light on the subject.
Online, women are more engaged than men, spending more time on fewer sites during a single sitting, according to a new Nielsen analysis:
- Nielsen data shows that women talk 28% more and text 14% more than men every month; they are also heavier users of social features of phones (SMS, MMS, social networking) compared to men who tend to use features like GPS, email & internet more
- Women also visit more social and community sites, which is especially important given the popularity of immediate online/social discussion during major TV events like awards shows and reality programming
- For television advertisers, women tend to watch specials and awards shows live so they can engage in immediate "community viewing" discussions. And they use DVRs to time-shift recurring series programming as they fit television into their schedules when it is most convenient and relevant to them
- DVR penetration may not be as high across all ethnic female groups but it has more than tripled among African American and Hispanic women in the past 3+ years to reach 37.4% and 32% respectively, according to Nielsen
A study conducted by Bizo indicates that women click, and men act:
- Women deliver a 23 percent higher click-through rate than men, but after clicking, men follow through with an action (e.g., download a whitepaper, start a free trial, make a purchase) 53 percent more than women.
- Men are night owls – 3:00 am ET is the hour when men are most likely to click; women are morning people – 5:00 am ET is when they are most likely to click.
- A study by BlogFrog found that more than 90% of women bloggers are eager to partner with advertisers, but 60% have never been approached by any brand or agency.
- Yahoo! researchers uncovered that content sites focused on women’s lifestyles (iVillage, Yahoo! Shine, SheKnows), special interests (CafeMom, BabyCenter, DoItYourself) and reviews (Yelp!, Trip Advisor, Amazon) had the greatest impact on purchase decisions. Approximately 44% of women say they get information about products and brands on women’s lifestyle sites. In fact, the study found that women’s lifestyle sites and special interest sites fulfill the most needs for women online.
Key Takeaways:
- Advertising to women mobily has a higher chance of success than with men.
- Women need options. Although men have higher action rates than women, that does not mean women do not commit to the ads they click, it just means women might be savvier shoppers that need to know all their options. So Progressive Insurance-type tactics work well with women.
- Social Media Marketing is more effective on women than men.
- Women are highly engaged in the blogosphere, so utilize them to spread your brand's message.
- Focus your advertising budget on special interest sites for maximum ROI.
If you have any other statistics that are interesting I'd love to hear them!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
-Steve
Visit MRG Site
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About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).
Posted by Steve Goldberg on Thu, Apr 28, 2011 @ 06:47 AM
These reports came out recently, and I thought they were a great follow up to a past post, Trend Report: Online Video Consumption and Advertising Sales. Though as you can see below there hasn't much of a shift in the numbers from the last report, by views alone YouTube, VEVO, and Facebook are holding ground. Interestingly enough though, Hulu is the number one online video property based on number of ads viewed (over double from the second spot), which is a good indication of a higher quality of traffic.
*Apologies in advance for the uneven charts.
Major label-backed music video site Vevo dropped from second to fifth in ComScore's monthly video view rankings, surpassed by traditional portals AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft during March. A rising tide lifted all boats, however as total viewing session were up from 5 billion to 5.7 billion and avg. video content consumed increased from 13.6 to 14.8 hours/viewer. Hulu continued to dominate in the minutes per viewer metric, with Hulu users watching an average 215 minutes on the site for the month.
Top U.S. Online Video Properties by Video Content Views
Ranked by Unique Video Viewers - March 2011
Property Total UV # of Sessions Minutes/Viewer
Total net aud. 174,315 5,726,413 889.1
Google Sites 143,191 1,971,939 275.6
AOL, Inc. 57,006 284,688 39.2
Yahoo! Sites 56,361 267,688 42.1
Microsoft Sites 53,090 331,282 47.2
VEVO 52,585 241,154 79.6
Facebook.com 48,792 185,817 19.2
Viacom Digital 48,696 180,638 73.2
Turner Digital 41,718 154,163 37.5
NBC Universal 31,052 65,973 17.3
Hulu 27,537 143,673 215.5
Source: comScore Video Metrix
Hulu continues to dominate video ad views, delivering over 1.1 billion views February - that's nearly 30% of the total video ads delivered in North America, according to ComScore. Tremor Media Video Network ranked second overall (highest among video ad networks) with 548.3 million ad views, followed by ADAP.TV (396 million) and SpotXchange Video Ad Network (343 million). Video ads accounted for 12.4% of all videos viewed and 1.2% of all minutes spent viewing video online.
Top U.S. Online Video Properties by Ads Viewed - ranked by Video Ads Viewed
February 2011
Property Video Ads Total Min Frequency % Reach Total Pop.
Hulu 1,131,047 454 48.1 7.8%
Tremor Media * 548,323 336 9.0 20.1%
ADAP.TV* 395,864 236 8.2 16.1%
SpotXchange * 342,878 217 9.7 11.7%
Viacom Digital 284,767 131 11.7 8.0%
BrightRoll * † 273,190 157 5.1 17.8%
CBS Interactive 227,808 74 10.1 7.4%
Microsoft Sites 208,799 92 9.2 7.5%
ABC Television 171,359 71 20.9 2.7%
Undertone* 154,191 88 8.1 6.3%
Total Int: Total Aud.3,829,869 1,661 30.2 42.0%
Source: comScore Video Metrix, * = Video Network, †BrightRoll Video Network reported an internal tagging error that led to a potential undercounting of their videos
Netflix Still on the Rise
Accusations that Netflix is dominating web traffic don't seem exaggerated after all. The company's 20 million subscribers account for some 61% of all digital movies streamed online, according to a new NPD report, far ahead of its nearest competitors Comcast (8%) and DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Apple (each tied at 4%.) The report noted that consumers are now well aware of and comfortable with the "four modes of digital-video acquisition," which brings the latest releases to sell through services and VOD, while making subscription services such as Netflix wait. Digital video now makes up one quarter of all home video volume.
Netflix, which is monitored by Nielsen's video tracking service, continues to grow rapidly, ranking 6th in total streams and easily lead in the time per viewer category in March. For the second month in a row, VEVO was the #2 video brand in the U.S. with 33.3 million unique video viewers, trailing only YouTube with over 111 million unique video viewers. CNN Digital was new to the top 10 after a phenomenal 128% month-to-month boost in total streams as online viewers turned to the site to stream video covering the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. VEVO (+21%), Yahoo (+21%) and MTV Networks Music (+25%) also posted heady gains in March.
Top Online Video Brands by Unique Viewers (March 2011, U.S.)
Video Brand Unique Viewers MOM % Change in Viewers
YouTube 111,860 3.6%
VEVO 33,253 3.0%
Facebook 31,885 0.6%
Yahoo! 26,016 11.1%
MSN/Windows
Live/Bing 15,972 7.1%
Hulu 12,315 3.7%
AOL 11,215 13.7%
CollegeHumor 11,199 19.9%
CNN 9,603 60.1%
FIM 9,238 14.6%
Source: The Nielsen Company
Top Online Video Brands by Total Streams (March 2011, U.S.)
Video Brand Total Streams (000) MOM % Change in Streams
YouTube 8,166,713 8.3%
Hulu 810,594 -1.9%
VEVO 383,274 20.6%
MSN/WindowsLive/Bing 259,334 2.4%
Yahoo! 203,292 20.7%
Netflix 201,577 28.0%
Turner-SI Digital Network 171,259 5.8%
Facebook 157,069 7.0%
CNN Digital Network 156,748 127.8%
MTV Networks Music 142,873 24.9%
Source: The Nielsen Company
Top Online Video Brands by Time per Viewer, March 2011, U.S.
(250K Unique Viewer Minimum)
Video Brand Time/Viewer MOM % Change in Time
(hh:mm)______________________
Netflix 9:53 6.6%
Tudou.com 8:30 4.5%
Hulu 5:13 3.3%
Cwtv.com 2:58 -16.4%
Megavideo 2:35 -7.7%
YouTube 2:20 5.2%
Justin.tv 2:17 16.8%
StageVU 2:05 -18.2%
Veoh 1:35 -12.6%
Nick Family 1:32 -31.3%
& Parents
Source: The Nielsen Company
-Steve
Visit MRG Site
Follow Me:
About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).
Posted by Steve Goldberg on Thu, Apr 21, 2011 @ 06:29 AM
"You had me at hello," according to Renee Zellweger in 1996 hit movie, Jerry Maguire. It's important to keep that feeling for your prospective employer throughout the entire interview. Last week I pointed out the
don'ts of body language during an interview. Now it's time to get to the positive. Below find the successful do's of body language during an interview.
Here is what to do when it comes to body language:
1. Do mirror work and film yourself answering interview questions. Buy a flip video recorder so you can see yourself on video (this is also great for practicing sales calls). You want to be honest with yourself and know what habits surface when you're nervous, and practice to eliminate them.
2. Dress well. Ideally wear clothes that show you in your best light and make you feel terrific. But at the same time, be sure to wear clothes appropriate to the expectations of the interviewer and the business setting. An interview with an Internet start-up requires different attire than an interview with an investment bank.
3. Limit your application of colognes/perfumes. Strong aromas can be distracting or stimulate allergies.
4. Visit the rest room before your meeting. You want to pull yourself together before you stand up to greet the hiring manager or enter their office. Don't walk in pulling up your pantyhose, readjusting your tie, etc.
5. Be aware of the fact that you are being evaluated from the first second. Project confidence by keeping your head up and shoulders back.
6. When introduced, offer a firm handshake and look people directly in the eye when saying hello.
7. When you sit down, keep both feet on the floor and sit up straight. Crossing your legs is okay for part of the time. Sit in a relaxed manner, but don't slouch. Everyone knows what's on the line during an interview, and a relaxed manner suggests confidence. But don't relax so much that you appear casual. This will negate your power and make you seem disinterested at best and disrespectful at worst.
8. Always maintain eye contact when speaking. This says you're confident, prepared and engaged in the conversation. If you're speaking to more than one person, glance quickly around the room and return to the person who asked the question.
9. Show your enthusiasm by keeping an interested expression when listening. Nod and make positive gestures (both not to be overdone).
10. Face the interviewer directly and point your knees and feet in his/her direction - align your body's position to that of the interviwer's. This suggests that you're alert, focused and interested in what's being said. Create a comfortable amount of personal space between you and the interviewer. Really knowing that boundary is important. For example, don't stretch your hands or body over the interviewer's desk.
11. Sit still for the most part. Nervous energy isn't good to display during interviews. Keep your hands on knees. If you are making a point, by all means use your hands- but don't constantly use your hands (i.e., "speak with your hands). Employ an "engaging gesture", like pressing your fingers together to form a steeple. This suggests attentiveness and thought; but be careful not to overdo it or to "steeple" your fingers at an inappropriate time.
12. Sit a little bit forward. You don't want to sit back. Leaning backwards can leave the impression that you are overly relaxed or overconfident, and can convey a lack of respect. Ideally, sit up straight and lean forward at key points of the interview to show that you're eager and engaged.
13. Have attention on your body language, but also have attention on how the interviewer perceives your body language throughout the interview so you can self correct.
14. Deal with interruptions with grace. If your interviewer is interrupted, don't stare at them to try to make them rush. You should gesture whether or not you should leave the room and give them privacy. Be patient.
15. For phone interviews, stand up. Standing increases your level of alertness and promotes a stronger engagement level. Consider dressing up as well to create more of the feeling you'd have if you were being interviewed in person.
16. "Have them at goodbye" too. Make sure your goodbye handshake is just as confident as it was going in. Maintain a positive attitude and a confident walking stride while you walk through the office building, into the elevator and onto the street. Once safely in your car, a cab or some other measurable safe distance from the scene of your interview, it's safe to let go.
So now that you've got your fidgeting under control, it's time to use some of these tools to nail your interview. Some of these things may sound weird, but they work!
-Steve
Visit MRG Site
Follow Me:
About me: I am the Managing Partner of Media Recruiting Group, the leading executive search firm for digital media sales positions across the country. We serve markets in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and all major metropolitan areas. In addition to Ad Sales and Advertising Sales Management, our expertise also includes placement for Client Services, Account Management, Sales Development, Marketing, Business Development, and Acquisition positions (SEO, SEM, Email, and Social Media).