Monday, December 15. 2008
At least the Republicans beat Obama and the Democrats in one way. No-one outside of Alaska had heard of the would-be VP of the US of A this time last year. But that meteoric rise in profile for Sarah Palin, from relative obscurity to wannabe-second-most-important-person-in-the-world meant she topped the league in fastest-rising online searches on Google.
Interesting to see from the 2008 Year-End Google Zeitgeist figures and top ten lists what events and emerging trends landed the most google searches worldwide in 2008. One might put money on Obama or perhaps the credit crunch as most googled, but infact the Top 3 fastest rising global google searches for 2008 were facebook log in, and Beijing 2008, behind Sarah Palin.
From a UK perspective, it is also interesting to see that the top 3 fastest rising UK google searches were for the following media and online based sites – iPlayer, facebook, iPhone, and the top 3 most popular searches – facebook, bbc, YouTube, proving the zeitgeist or ‘spirit of the times’ for the current UK generation is very much toward embracing and finding out more about new media and digital offerings. So it will be interesting to see if this media consumption and interest will continue to grow in 2009, and if so what direction it takes?
With Christmas drawing near, you may also find it useful to know that the most popular product searches worldwide were Nintendo Wii, Wii fit and iPod touch – so perhaps keep that in mind when buying your Christmas presents soon!
Thursday, December 11. 2008
Almost a third of UK adults have listened to online radio
According to yesterday’s RAJAR report – it seems online digital radio services are becoming increasingly popular with almost a third of the UK adult population (31.7%) having listened to the radio via the internet, and 7.2 million downloaded a podcast.
RAJAR released its third report on the measurement of internet delivered audio services (MIDAS) yesterday. This tailored RAJAR report looks at gaining more insight into four main online radio areas including online live listening, online ‘listen again’, personalised online radio, and podcasts.
So who is engaging in internet radio services, and is it for work purposes or personal use?
The recent report conducted by Ipsos MORI during October 2008, found that 16.1 million people (up from 14.5 million in MIDAS 2, May 2008) stated listening to the radio via the internet, including 15 million live listeners and 13.5 million listening later on.
In terms of work or play – the study states ‘the vast majority of internet radio listeners (89%) listen at home; 1 in 5 listen at work (21%) while 6% listen elsewhere’. BBC iPlayer still tops the ratings at 51.4% as the most popular online radio source, with the ‘live’ listeners being the most frequent users with 64% listening at least once a week.
RAJAR research Manager Christel Lacaze said of the findings: “With the increase in broadband internet access rising from 51% of UK households in 2007 to 56% in 2008 and the high profile launch of BBC iPlayer, listening to the radio has never been a more attractive proposition. This third report clearly reveals that internet delivered audio listening, whether it is listening live, via Listen Again services, via Personalised Online Radio or via Podcasts, continues to rise steadily.”
So positive stats for online radio in 2008. With technology improving, and the price coming down, freestanding wifi radios are becoming more popular at home (a colleague swears by his - "looks fantastic, and has 15,000 channels. I can listen to the sport on BBC 5 Live one minute, then flick over to my favourite country station broadcasting live from Florida the next"). No comment on music taste, but it shows that radio as a medium is as relevant in 2009 as it ever was.
Wednesday, November 12. 2008
This time last week we witnessed the finale of one of the most historic elections the world has ever seen. Obama is now getting to work on running the United States of America – soon to be all in a day’s work! "It's been a long time coming, but tonight... change has come to America," Obama declared.
After months of campaigning, Obama finally beat his closest rival, John McCain in a landslide victory. So a fresh start for the US and the world – the first ever black American President, and a time for ‘change’.
Obama achieved this by using ad space wisely, including placing ads on video games and TV. According to adweek.com, Obama’s television ad placement ‘was achieving 98 per cent reach and a frequency rate of 20 to 25 exposures a week to viewers 18-plus with his messages….McCain was reaching the same audience levels but with only about 10 exposures a week.” Adweek went on to say ‘Obama was completely saturating those markets….He got his messages across, about his character, the issues and differences between him and his opponent. And for constituents who want to learn more, he directed them to Web sites…’
Relying on blanket advertising is fine if your target audience is every adult in the population and you have a budget bigger than the turnover of many companies, but Barack Obama is also undoubtedly an excellent communicator with the personal touch, but what is also clear from this election is his unprecedented and progressive outlook in communicating via modern media channels to gain electoral support, coverage, younger/new voters, and even sponsorship. By launching his own website, online TV channel ‘Barack TV’, Obama blog, not to mention his infamous facebook site, enabled Obama to engage with a much wider and larger audience.
A prime example of how to communicate successfully, using a targeted campaign with both online and traditional media channels to compliment one another. A master class in effective PR Broadcast.
So a new President and young family in The White House from January 2009...and apparently a puppy too. A ‘first dog’ - things certainly do change! A historic time to witness and be part of – and definitely one to tell the grand kids….how long before the Presidential puppy has its own Facebook group?
