Tablets to Outsell Notebooks in 2013

Tablets to Outsell Notebooks in 2013
Online advertising now 25% of U.S. ad budgets; mobile key to growth

Two important milestones were reached for B2B marketers this week. First, tablets are expected to outship notebooks this year, according to separate report this week from NPD DisplaySearch and Gartner. Second, U.S. marketers will devote at least 25 percent of their budgets to online advertising in 2013.

For the first time ever, researchers predict that tablets will grab more than 50 percent of market share in 2013, up from around 38 percent last year and 26 percent in 2011. Growth in tablet shipments are predicted to rise 64 percent this year from 2012, the report said. Global demand for tablets has opened up the market for a variety of players, both large and small. But, what caught our attention was that growth will not necessarily be driven by the iPad, but by a variety of devices, particularly those with smaller screens. Apple recently curtailed order for iPad parts, although we think the company’s recent stock slide is a correction more than a long-term trend and might signal a buying opportunity for those looking for bargains in the tech sector.

“Tablets have dramatically changed the device landscape for PCs, not so much by cannibalizing PC sales, but by causing PC users to shift consumption to tablets rather than replacing older PCs,” according to Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa, in the report. “This transformation was triggered by the availability of low-cost tablets in 2012,” he added.

According to the NPD folks, tablets with screen size between 7.0 and 7.9 inches will garner 45 percent of the market this year--that’s about 108 million units. In contrast, larger 9.7-inch tablets such as the traditional iPad are estimate to get only a 17 percent share of market. The other 38 percent is made up of the wide variety of sizes, ranging from 5.6 inches to 13.3 inches.

"The tablet PC market saw increasing investments in North America in the second half of 2012, from major brands that tested not only new screen sizes and price points, but also unconventional business models to support their efforts," NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim said in a news release. "In 2013, further investments are expected worldwide, stoking demand to the point that tablet PC shipments will exceed those of notebook PCs."

Online poised for 25 percent share of ad dollars; mobile fueling half the growth

Meanwhile, online advertising will pass a symbolic milestone this year, becoming one out of every four dollars spent by U.S. advertisers, according to new projections from the equity research team at J.P. Morgan. The growth, writes Internet sector analyst Doug Anmuth, is being fueled by advertisers shifting budgets from analog media to follow consumer time spent with digital media, especially Internet connected mobile devices, as well as continuing momentum of social media platforms like Facebook which announced a powerful search feature today to compete with Google, Yelp and LinkedIn.

“As consumer behavior and time spent online rapidly shifts towards mobile, we expect advertising dollars to follow,” Anmuth wrote in a report released to investors late last week, adding: “We are projecting Internet advertising in the U.S. to grow to $43.5 billion in 2013.”

The J.P. Morgan estimate represents a 17.4 percent gain over 2012 online ad spending levels. As a result, online media will be receiving one out of every four dollars in 2013 U.S. ad budgets. That being said, Anmuth estimates about half of that growth will be coming from mobile Web ad spending, and without the mobile component, the uptick in online ad spending would be only about 10 percent from 2012.

Conclusion
Two key tipping points have finally tipped. Do you think the surge in tablet adoption and online/mobile advertising is merely a coincidence? C’mon. You’re too smart for that. Do we really need to tell you where to focus your energies in 2013?

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TAGS: Android, Tablets , iPad, notebooks, Apple, Doug Anmuth, J.P. Morgan, Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa, NPD DisplaySearch, Richard Shim, Facebook, Facebook, Google, Yelp, LinkedIn

Billionaire Buffet Offers Plain Talk Tax Solution

Online viewers watch more long form videos thanks to tablets

Consumers who stream TV shows, movies and sporting events are increasingly tapping their tablets when they tune in, with tablet video viewers watching 54 percent more long-form videos than they did at the start of the year, according to video technology and streaming provider Ooyala in a new report analyzing video habits of nearly 200 million unique viewers across devices for Q3.

Researchers said tablet owners spent 71 percent of their total tablet video viewing time watching videos 10 minutes or longer. What’s more, the report said the overall share of tablet video viewing grew 90 percent in the past two quarters, an increase from 46 percent in the first quarter. That’s a significant rise in a short period of time, and suggests that tablets are becoming akin to second TVs for many who have them.

I’m in B2B, so why do I care? You care because your target customers (and their families) are also savvy, device-equipped consumers. Whenever you direct them to one of your webinars, podcasts, thought leadership videos or whitepapers, they’re more likely than not watching them on a tablet or smart phone. And they expect a professional quality experience from you.

Your customers, clients and prospects are watching “TV” more than they’re reading at work at home and on the go. But, that doesn’t mean you can be cheap or careless about what you put into your videos. Do it right, or don’t do it at all. 
Your customers will thank you and be more likely to refer you.

Buffet Straight Talk on Taxes



In a New York Times editorial today, Warren E. Buffett, billionaire head of Berkshire Hathaway, threw out some pragmatic ideas about taxing the ultra-wealthy and a smarter definition of the minimum threshold for “wealthy” in this country (hint it’s not $250K a year). Regardless of the motive for Buffet’s altruistic intentions, we agree with buffet that $250K annual adjusted gross income does not make one ultra-wealthy in many of the places you readers hail from: the Bay Area, Southern California, the Northeast, South Florida……His suggestion for $500,000 is a start.

What we liked more about Buffet’s op-ed is that he argues for Congress to get started on a few pieces of must-have tax reform, rather than straightening out the whole labyrinth IRC which could take years—and give opponents plenty of time to stall and continue reaping aggregious gains.

For instance, Buffet argues for a minimum tax on truly high incomes ASAP—at say 30 percent of taxable income between $1 million and $10 million, and 35 percent on amounts above that. “A plain and simple rule like that will block the efforts of lobbyists, lawyers and contribution-hungry legislators to keep the ultra-rich paying rates well below those incurred by people with income just a tiny fraction of ours. Only a minimum tax on very high incomes will prevent the stated tax rate from being eviscerated by these warriors for the wealthy.”

Again, we’re advocating the removal of uncertainty—we’re not advocating removal of incentives to get rich and be successful. That’s the American way and it’s in our DNA….just like Black Friday shopping.

Buffet says our government’s goal should be to bring in revenues of 18.5 percent of G.D.P. and spend about 21 percent of G.D.P. — “levels that have been attained over extended periods in the past and can clearly be reached again.” According to Buffet it was about 15 percent in and 22 percent out last year.

“All of America is waiting for Congress to offer a realistic and concrete plan for getting back to this fiscally sound path. Nothing less is acceptable.”

Amen to that.

TAGS: Warren Buffet, $250,000, taxes on wealthy, online video habits, tablets, Berkshire Hathaway, Ooyala

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Email Increasingly Viewed on Mobile Device, Not PC Internet advertising sets Q1 record

“Traditional ideas about what is opinion and what is news, what is advertising and what is editorial, is evaporating each day,” quipped New York Times media columnist, David Carr earlier this week. But, we can assure you if it’s advertising, and it’s digital, it just keeps growing.

Internet Advertising Revenues Set First Quarter Record 

Internet advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2012 set a new record for the reporting period at $8.4 billion, according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC U.S. It is the highest first-quarter revenue ever measured by the IAB and PwC and a $1.1 billion–or 15 percent increase–over the $7.3 billion figure reported in the first quarter 2011. The growth comes on the heels of 22 percent growth in 2011according to IAB's Annual Internet Advertising Revenue Report.

Mobile Email Viewing Taking Over

Here’s another milestone for you. By the end of this month, more people will be reading their email on mobile devices than on personal computers, according email marketing company Return Path. Mobile email views have increased over 82 percent in the past 12 months and Apple iPads and iPhones now account for 85 percent of mobile email that’s opened. Guess we don’t have to tell you which platform to optimize for.

Tablets Gain Mobile Video Viewers

Meanwhile, a new comScore study of the U.S. tablet market found that the devices have reached a critical mass in the U.S. with 1 in every 4 smartphone owners now using tablets. Smartphone owners are also three-times more likely to watch video on their devices compared to smartphone users, with 1 in every 10 tablet users viewing video content almost daily on their devices.

In April 2012, one in six (16.5%) mobile phone subscribers used a tablet, representing an 11.8 percent increase in the past year. Growth in market penetration was even more apparent among the smartphone population with nearly 1 in 4 using a tablet device in April, up nearly 14 percent in the past year. A lower 10.4 percent of feature phone owners use a tablet, suggesting that smartphone ownership is highly predictive of tablet adoption in the current market.

Internet Video to Surge by 2016

Internet video will play a major role in the quadrupling of the Internet over the next four years. That traffic growth from 2011 to 2016, according to Cisco’s latest report, will be driven by a proliferation in devices. Cisco projects that by 2016 the number of network connections will reach nearly 19 billion -- up from 10 billion last year, due to the growth in tablets, mobile phones and other smart devices. Video will drive the growth. Cisco said to expect about 1.2 million video minutes to travel the Internet every second by 2016. “Globally, there are expected to be 1.5 billion Internet video users by 2016, up from 792 million Internet video users in 2011,” Cisco said. 

Last year, computers accounted for 94 percent of Web traffic, and that share should drop to 81 percent by 2016 as more traffic rides on devices like tablets and smartphones. That figure underscores how quickly handheld devices are becoming the gateway to the Web for many consumers.

Macro view (with a Twist)

A few signs of optimism on the economic front for you. Single family home starts rose 3.2 percent in May and according to the U.S. Commerce Department, builders requested more permits for homes and apartments last month than they have in three and a half years.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials extended through the end of the year a program meant to drive down long-term interest rates and signaled that they were "prepared to take further action" if needed amid heightened worry about the economy's performance. By continuing the program, known as "Operation Twist," the Fed will buy $267 billion in long-term Treasury bonds and notes while it sells short-term Treasurys. The Fed said it still had big concerns about the economy as  the growth in employment "has slowed in recent months, and the unemployment rate remains elevated," with household spending rising at a “somewhat slower pace than earlier in the year."

Conclusion

We’re in a slow growth mode, with more emphasis on “growth” than on “slow.” For the short-term, technological advances have allowed companies to get by with fewer people than before, but those short-term productivity gains (including metrics such as revenue-per-employee) will begin to fade as human fatigue and disenchantment with “The Man” will eventually take over.

Pick your spots carefully when marketing to B2B prospects, but you do have to spend in order to stay in the game. Make sure mobile and video are an essential part of your marketing mix.

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TAGS: David Carr, Cisco, IAB Internet Advertising Report, mobile view of email, smartphones, tablets, online advertising growth, Operation Twist, comScore

Tablets Continue to Pull Business Prospects Away from Their Laptops
Learning to embrace the dance of the unfinished


According to IDG Research, one in eight (12%) iPad users already say their device has completely replaced their traditional laptop, while another 54 percent said tablets have partially replaced their laptops. What’s more, nearly half (44%) of marketers believe tablets will have a high or very high impact on laptop use in 2012.

The opinions of marketers on the future of laptops are divided though, says the report. The majority sit somewhere in the middle, with 37 percent suggesting it will have a high impact and 37 percent indicating it will have some impact.

IDG’s analysis concludes that tablets are widely used, and four out of five (79%) iPad owning professionals always use them on the move, is all the evidence marketers should need to target this medium.

Getting comfortable with things being unfinished

Blogger and futurist Seth Godin, had a great post recently about the never-ending state of our work lives. “There's always one more tweet to make, post to write, words with friends move to complete,” he explained. “There's one more bit of email, one more lens you can construct, one more comment you can respond to. If you want to, you can be never finished."


For the marketer, the freelancer and the entrepreneur, Godin observed, it’s not like how we were brought up--trained to finish our homework, our food, our errands and our chores. You’re never really done and you have to embrace that.

Conclusion

We may not have time to smell the roses anymore, but at least take time to notice them. It’ll be Labor Day before you know it. Don’t kick yourself again wondering where the summer has gone.
As Godin said: “Today, we're never finished, and that's okay. It's a dance, not an endless grind.”



Conclusion

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TAGS: Seth Godin, IDG research, tablets, iPad, replacing laptops, B2B marketing

State of the Union, GOP debates, economy and B2B

Things suck less than before. Housing over-supply and jobless claims dropping. Travel industry improving. Holidays sparked double-digit surge in tablets, e-readers.

Last night’s GOP debate from Tampa was supposed to be about the private sector’s ability to create jobs that Big Government hasn’t been able to generate the past three years. Instead it came down to two rich guys competing to see who paid more taxes on money they may or may not have earned fair and square through actual “work.”

Gingrich compared himself to Reagan, calling himself "exactly the kind of bold, tough leader" that Americans want, "someone who is prepared to be controversial when necessary." Romney cited his record in running the Salt Lake City Olympics and said Gingrich "had to resign in disgrace" as House speaker after an ethics controversy, a characterization Gingrich disputed. Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, when given a chance to get a word in edgewise, showed they’re smart, thoughtful and experienced. They’re probably too intelligent for the average American voter to get and not well enough funded (or well-connected enough) to stay with the leaders till the finish line. Too bad. But’s it’s nice to see common sense and modesty has made it to the Final Four.

In tonight’s State of the Union address, the Prez will undoubtedly point to great strides his administration has made since he took over the train wreck that was the U.S. economy in 2009. There’s certainly been progress, but how much can be attributed to policies put in place vs. how much has come from the natural corrections a free market economy allows. Housing and excessive private debt, the two biggest scourges of the recession, he'll likely say are finally showing signs of improving. Even cantankerous NY Times columnist, Paul Krugman, was upbeat in his NY Times column yesterday “Is Our Economy Healing?”

But you could also argue that the historical rate of home ownership in the U.S. has been about 60 percent of American households. We got near 70 percent just before the housing bubble burst and are still painfully regressing to the historical mean. Should we be fighting the law of averages or setting better home-ownership policies down the road?

In tonight’s address, we’ll surely hear talk about fixing income inequality, but we’re more concerned here about technology inequality. The Holidays sparked a huge gain in U.S. in ownership of tablets, e-readers. And, the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Report released yesterday said the share of adults who owned table computers nearly doubled overnight to 19 percent from 10 percent in November. The boost in tablet ownership was especially high among college educated folks earning over $75K per year. We suspect the rate of cutting edge technology ownership and systems is also tilted in favor of large business vs. small businesses.

Our take: Whether you’re a B2B marketer, business owner or media outlet, you absolutely must take this mobile data into consideration before you get too far down the road with your 2012 strategy. If you don’t have the budget for mobile and related-platforms, find a way to make it fit.

Jobless claims down

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits for the first time plummeted last week to 352,000, the fewest since April 2008, the Labor Department said. But is that real progress or are companies finally realizing they can’t continue to operate indefinitely with staffs stretched too thin, disgruntled and fatigued?

Separately, the government said consumer prices were unchanged last month, the latest sign that inflation remains tame. Lower gasoline prices offset rising costs for food, medical care and housing. The Federal Reserve projects consumer price inflation will fall from about 2.8 percent in 2011 to roughly 1.7 percent this year. That’s progress, but is it enough to spike a surge in demand?

Travel industry bouncing back

The travel and tourism industry has added about 224,000 jobs since reaching its low point in December 2009 according to the US Travel Association. Meanwhile, hotel occupancy reached 59.8 percent in 2011 (projected to hit 61 percent in 2012), up from 54.6 percent in 2009, according to Smith Travel Research. And the Bureau of Transportation Statistics said full-time jobs in the airline industry finally began to improve last year after 28 consecutive months of decline. No one enjoys flying anymore. It’s a cattle call for most budget conscious consumers and a horrific time drain for most business travelers, but people still need to meet and press the flesh to close business and preserve relationships (whether of the business and familial kind).

Conclusion

Whether you’re a glass half-full or glass half-empty type of person, indicators keep showing that more of your favorite beverage is in the glass than when the current Administration took over. We don’t take sides for any political debate, so you’ll have to decide for yourself whether the private sector can keep the small engine of momentum running by itself, or will it need a continuous helping hand from the government? As we’ve said many times before, things are never as bad as they seem when times are lousy—just as they’re never as idyllic as they seem when we’re flush with cash, customers and back orders (or waiting lists) for our services.

If nothing else, now is the time to hit the gas on your marketing, hiring and expansion plans, before the tsunami of pent up demand leaves you in its wake.

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