'Net Features : digitas

Use Video to Drive Brand Interest (Not Direct Sales)

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:30:00 GMT

A new survey from Harris Interactive and brand agency Digitas reveals an increased urgency for brand investment in video, showing that 46 percent of online video viewers in the U.S. say that if they are watching a video online that mentions a new product or brand, they would be at least somewhat likely to look up that brand afterwards.

Additional highlights from the study include the following:

- 49 percent of those who follow brands on social networks say that if a brand that they follow posts a video online, they are at least somewhat likely to click on the link to watch it and learn more.

- 51 percent of online video viewers, ages 18-44, say that if they watch a video online and it mentions a new product or brand, they would look up that brand.

- 62 percent of online video viewers who have a favorite celebrity, ages 18-34, would check out an online video starring that person.

"Brand content has become an integral part of any successful marketing strategy," says Stephanie Sarofian, managing director of The Third Act, the brand content unit of Digitas. "Whether you're thinking about mobile, social, b2b, or any facet of marketing, content is now at the heart of everything we do. There is immense opportunity right now for brands to engage consumers through content-marketing across all channels."

Mobile Search Queries Spike on Weekends

Mike Phillips — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:56:00 GMT

This week Google and Digitas announced a collaborative effort to better measure mobile marketing by combining "original Google and Digitas search and marketing data to forecast trends, inform investment strategies, and drive the creation of mobile optimized Web sites," according to the release.

As part of that announcement, some interesting data was released about mobile search, centered on the period surrounding Mother's Day. According to the data, 33% of Google queries for the term "flowers" came from mobile devices. In the week leading up to Mother's Day, desktop searches for "flowers" increased Monday to Friday then declined on the weekend. But mobile searches steadily increased all week and throughout the weekend. Also, "flowers" was searhced on mobile devices over 100% more than last year, suggesting mobile search is on the rise across the board, and that consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to shop.

This is yet another reminder that mobile search is on the rise, is taking place anywhere and everywhere, and is not limited to any particular day of the week. In fact, this data suggests that mobile search is highest on weekends. Knowing this, Web professionals might benefit from testing dayparting mobile advertising strategies to target weekends, and timing promotions and discounts to take advantage of weekend usage patterns.