Digital media continues expanding, and generally is adding to people’s media diet and expectations, a recent study generally finds.

Smartphones are leading this expansion and Facebook and multi-computer homes have crossed the 50% threshold. No surprise from here in Lincoln Park. 

These compelling results are from a new national survey from Arbitron and Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2011: Navigating Digital Platforms. The study, released this week, is the 19th in a series dating back to 1998.

 Check out these key findings: 

• The percentage of Americans age 12 and older who have a smartphone has more than doubled in the past year, from 14 to 31%.
• Facebook is now being used by a majority of all Americans age 12 plus (51%) — this number was only 8% when Arbitron/Edison Research first measured the social media phenomenon in 2008.
• A majority of American households now have two or more computers (51%); as compared to 24% of households in 2002.
• Usage of online radio is up significantly, with weekly usage of all forms of online radio having doubled in the last 5 years; self-reported weekly time spent with online radio is now nearly 10 hours (9 hours 47 minutes).
• Daily time spent with TV, radio and the Internet combined has increased by 20% in the last 10 years, with self-reported daily usage now at 8 hours 11 minutes compared to 6 hours 50 minutes in ‘01.
• Just under one-third of all Americans (31%) have plugged an MP3 player such as an Apple iPod into their car stereo systems.
• One in ten Americans report listening to Pandora Internet Radio in the week before they were surveyed.
• Among the 81% of American households with Internet access, two-thirds now have a Wi-Fi network installed.
• More than one-tenth of all cell phone owners have listened to online radio streamed in their cars by connecting their phones to their car stereo system. 

Those behind the report add these important interpretations:   

• The rapid growth in ownership of smartphones and continued rise in the use of social media it becomes increasingly clear that these platforms are fueling fundamental changes in consumer expectations and how they use media, Bill Rose of Arbitron.
• The Internet over the past ten years has an “additive effect” upon the American media diet, which continues to expand. Digital media is being consumed simultaneously with offline media and in venues and opportunities where media might not have been consumed previously, Tom Webster, Edison Research.

 One final point that I find interesting is what Rose points out — the study shows radio's continued resilience and relevance in today's digital landscape.  What are you listening to and from the golf course?

Digital video advertising (DVA) is on the rise with many marketers planning to shift TV ad money to DVA in 2011, indicated by recent report. 

Called An Inside Look at Demand-Side Perceptions of Digital Video Advertising, its highlights include:

• More than two-thirds of marketers (69%) and one-half of agency pros (55%) say they plan to grow their DVA spending 22% on average in 2011, according to this study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
• Those surveyed agency pros plan to spend 19% of their total online display ad budgets on DVA in the next 12 months, whereas marketers plan to allocate 15% of their budgets to DVA.
• Most agency and marketing professionals plan to shift TV ad dollars to DVA in 2011: 62% of marketers believe DVA delivers better ROI than TV, whereas 47% of agencies and 50% of TV decision-makers plan to shift ad dollars to follow their target audiences. 
• Most agency and marketing pros feel the appropriate length for video is 15 seconds, while the preferred pricing model is CPM (cost-per-thousand).
• Improving DVA Measurement – pros would likely adopt DVA at greater levels if they could improve ROI measurement (56% and 44%, respectively) and standardized metrics (30% and 41%, respectively).

Evolution of all forms of digital video will be exciting, especially when you consider Google’s news about $100M investment in YouTube changes to accommodate television and ESPN’s recent announcement about mobile apps.  

Marketers are falling behind their consumers, according to a recent report by Internet marketing expert by Forrester.

The report shows a "huge disconnect" that persists between consumer behavior and marketer behavior. This persists mostly because CMOs have not empowered their interactive marketing teams to deliver the consumer experience, consistent across channels, that consumers expect these days.

That's the message of the recent Forrester Research report, "The Future of Interactive Marketing.” Consider these insights and ideas about the report:

 "Consumers expect the information about them to carry across a mobile, hand-held, call center, website — and that very rarely actually happens. They think that you, as a marketer, should know everything about them and be one step ahead of them in terms of addressing their interests and needs," says Forrester Principal Analyst and Research Director Emily Riley. But marketers still lack adequate skills, resources and technology to meet that expectation, she says. And:

o That 30% of large companies have fewer than 15 interactive-staff members. That's limiting ability to use anything other than digital media in executing campaigns.

o Teams are mostly siloed, separate from disciplines such as creative and production. In fact, this report leads Riley to believe that less than a 25% of Fortune 500 companies have effectively integrated interactive marketing teams.

The report's findings urge CMOs to restructure marketing organizations to deliver on interactive marketing’s future – Forrester defines this as more than building online campaigns, but "enabling collaborative customer relationships — through any medium or experience."

"We're looking back at the last decade as the decade of consumer empowerment; the next decade should be the decade of marketer empowerment. We've been talking about consumer empowerment for so long that that's not really the story anymore," Ms. Riley says.

Forrester's solution, detailed in the report and at its Marketing Forum this week?

C.O.R.E., which stands for customize, optimize, respond and empower — a proprietary mission and framework. (See chart).

"Create Customized interactions across channels," Ms. Riley says. "Optimize so that you can deliver in real terms. You might be really good at email or search, but rarely do you have good understanding of the customer's behavior across all the channels, and that needs to change.

"'R' is really that the interactive marketing organization needs to be actually responsive to address consumers' concerns in real time with people and technology. It goes beyond customer service at this point. It's about the brand promise. If they like the spokesperson in your campaign, why can't they talk to them [just like the Man Your Man Could Smell Like in the Old Spice ads]?" Finally, she says, "'E' is the empower part for the interactive marketing team: Allow them to test new things."

Ms. Riley highlighted internet-only marketers, Groupon and Gilt Groupe, as ones that understand these principles extremely well and are adept at tactics like integrating email and social media.

Are you getting to the CORE with your marketing efforts with all your customers?  

The New York Stock Exchange is brainstorming a new name for its proposed merger with Deutsche Borse AG, a common challenge for brands and organizations.

So to the Web and I found this great post by the Brand Strategy Insider on tips for generating brand names. Here are my favorite 7:

1. Work backwards from the selling proposition – – Taster's Choice for instant coffee and Caress for bath soap for silky, soft skin.
2. Spell it a different way – – a gelatin dessert named Jell-O or Toys "R" Us.
3. Study your local retailers – – Banana Republic for khaki- based travel clothing and One Night Stand for a women's boutique that rents designer clothing for special occasions.
4. Think about why it will be used – – Reebok is the name of a fleet-footed African gazelle and Puma is the Spanish word for a large wild cat. How about Under Armour?
5. Think of the name as a promise– – cold remedy Nyquil comes from fragments of words: “ny” (from night) and “quil” from (tranquil).
6. Put the benefit right into the name – – a perfume called Passion and a SUV named Explorer.
7. Go to church – – the Ivory soap name comes from Psalm 45:8.

Smart ideas and favorite golf brand names – – the Blur for the new Fujikura and RIP for new Aldila shafts. How about Ghost for white TaylorMade putter, SeeMore alignment technology and original Ping for its putters. Love standbys like Cleveland Launcher and Callaway Big Bertha!

And how about Herbert Warren Wind's Amen Corner or the Masters itself? One named for a jazz song and the other for the Masters of the game.  A tradition unlike any other, indeed. I am sure these naming ideas are used when these "brands" were conceived.

A colleague recently asked me what I thought were the most valuable assets of a communication strategist. I quickly brainstormed these five, top-line assets.

I must admit some of them were inspired by this story about Vogue Editor Anna Wintour in WSJ magazine:

1. Craftsmanship – the ability to craft the client's message and story to make it both valued by his customer and key constituencies, and newsworthy for the media. That can be more challenging than you think.

2. Connectability – having the literal connections to produce a result for client, whether it is simply in powerful media coverage or a creating a new partnership or alliance. In another way, I would define connection as knowing when and how to link your client story to what's important in your market, and business and the economy in general.

3. Contextuality – many clients’ stories can find their place but it is a strategic, savvy and sophisticated strategist who can put that into the context that attracts customers, influencers and media. Essential in this asset is genuinely understanding and leveraging trends that adds value to your client’s business.

4. Counseling – it's as much about telling a client what not to do with expert review and analysis as it is what to do. At the same time, it's the courage to buck conventional wisdom or group think when a proposed plan of action can compromise the client’s position.

5. Communications – knowledge, experience and the confidence that a particular strategy and set of tools will be most productive, effective and successful for client’s challenge or opportunity.

I thought these could get the conversation started. What additional assets would you suggest? Did you ever think Anna Wintour would be in my blog?