Goodbye Pageviews

One of the slides in our New Media Landscape report released earlier this year was “AJAX Killed The Page View.” AJAX is a web technology that allows content to be updated on the page without a whole new page loading. You can see this in action when you use services like Gmail. The problem with AJAX is that it hurts companies who provide better functionality (AJAX technology) by lowering their pageviews, which is the basis for a great deal of online revenue. Comscore just issued a press release that they are aware of this and adapting their measurement for the future by releasing a figure called “Visits,” which will measure frequency based on time, rather than full page views.

With the onslaught of new media distribution channels, content providers, and technology, you don’t hear much these days of radio stations embracing an extension of their brand into the retail space. More often than not, radio will look for new distribution channels to extend their brand and, on the retail side, look more at brand absorption.

Brand absorption occurs when a radio station absorbs a pop culture phenomenon or strong retail brand onto their own brand. This concept has been nearly ubiquitous with radio and the iPod. Radio stations attached themselves to the iPod explosion via “myPod” request shows or “shuffle” weekends. You also see this also with the various promotions, contests, and shows tied into reality television brands like American Idol or Deal Or No Deal.

This week we conclude our summary of Pollack Media Group’s yearly comprehensive look at media trends, The New Media Landscape: 2007. Over the past few weeks, we have published a summary of the various sections of the report. If you are interested in a full copy of the report, you can request one by e-mailing hq@pollackmedia.com.

Mobile

The power of mobile for media companies can be summarized in one simple fact: No media device spends more time or is closer to the consumer than his or her cell phone. Media companies able to find a home on the cell phone of consumers will be with them at practically every moment of their waking day.

Expect 2007 to be the year that audio media and the mobile phone finally come together for the consumer in a comprehensive way. Nowhere will this become more obvious than the impact of the groundbreaking new Apple iPhone.

This week we continue our summary of Pollack Media Group’s yearly comprehensive look at media trends, The New Media Landscape: 2007. Over the next few weeks, we will publish a summary of the various sections of the report. If you are interested in a full copy of the report, you can request one by e-mailing hq@pollackmedia.com.

Search

One of the more interesting trends that will evolve in 2007 is the changing nature of Internet search. Powering this evolution will be the continued changes in how individuals use and find information on the Internet. This includes local search, mobile search, and reference sites.

The Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab (RAEL, ) just published a Fall 2006 study conducted by Harris Interactive Inc, () that makes a strong case that complementing radio advertising with Internet advertising significantly improves consumer recall of a product or brand.

The methodology used in the study compared two Internet ads versus the effectiveness of one Internet and one radio advertisement. The results showed that unaided recall for two Internet ads at 6%. But when one Internet ad was combined with one radio commercial, recall shot up more than four times in the study to 27%. Aided recall was 25% for two Internet ads only, but 58% for one Internet ad combined with one radio ad.

Big change at the LA Times

Two weeks ago the Los Angeles Times made a startling confession. In a self-published article they admitted that their web site was not up to the paper’s own standards. Recognizing the importance of the web in maintaining a reputation as a major news outlet, the paper admitted in its own report that, “As a news organization, we are not Web-savvy, if anything, we are Web-stupid.”

But besides just being a confessional, this announcement included a commitment by the Times publisher to turn the web site into a priority. In fact, he stated that they would henceforth look at the web site as the primary vehicle for delivery of up-to-date news, recognizing that “the paper” will eventually be relegated to the background. This is another example of how the newspaper business is being forced to change their business model to meet audience tastes that have changed faster than the media outlets themselves.

This week we continue our summary of Pollack Media Group’s yearly comprehensive look at media trends, The New Media Landscape: 2007. Over the next few weeks, we will publish a summary of the various sections of the report. If you are interested in a full copy of the report, you can request one by e-mailing hq@pollackmedia.com.

Filtering Content

The content on the Internet is so overwhelming that ways of filtering it are an absolute necessity.

Several new and revolutionary content filters are breaking through to help users navigate the overwhelming amount of content on the net.

While traditional content filters are focused on the choices of individuals, from movie critics to radio music directors, the new filters are experimenting with leveraging community and technology.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs dropped a bombshell earlier this week with his memo recommending that digital music be sold and distributed without digital rights management (DRM). The consumer press was aglow over the powerful maker of the iPod taking the side of consumers in wanting free access to their music, but the media press looked at the memo with a more objective eye. Here’s a summary of what may have been behind the memo and what it will mean heading into 2007.

2007 is the year when the world’s last analog entertainment medium makes a big leap into the digital world. I’m not talking about HD radio, but a more immediate technological change: electronic audience measurement through the PPM. Electronic measurement is inevitable, with agencies and advertisers demanding it. It’s already used for television and Internet, so radio is going to have to adopt and adapt.

Arbitron put the Portable People Meter on the fast track a while ago, but they’re officially rolling out PPM-based ratings in Philadelphia for the Winter. Even the most optimistic projections show that it will take a few years for electronic measurement to take over, but now is the time to start thinking about what it means for programming.

This week we continue our summary of Pollack Media Group’s yearly comprehensive look at media trends, The New Media Landscape: 2007. Over the next few weeks, we will publish a summary of the various sections of the report. If you are interested in a full copy of the report, you can request one by e-mailing hq@pollackmedia.com.

Consumer Generated Content

The trend of remixing content, rather than creating it on its own, will continue to dominate CGM in 2007, but the independent artist will become more and more of a factor as the year goes by. Perhaps the biggest question of 2007 will be whether a true star will develop outside of traditional media channels.