From MarketingCharts.org: full story here

Print Beats SocNets for '11 Holiday Deal-Seekers

Print (15%) proved a far more popular way to find holiday shopping deals in 2011 than Facebook (3%) or Twitter (1%), according to a survey released in January 2012 by Crowd Science. The largest proportion of respondents said that visiting companies’ websites (24%) was their favorite way to find deals, although the same proportion said they had no preferred method. Email newsletters were cited by 13% of respondents, ahead of talking with friends and family (9%) and online flyers (5%).

Online Not the Preferred Purchase Channel

Although 23% of the consumers surveyed said they preferred to conduct all of their holiday shopping online, they were outweighed by the proportion (35%) that did not prefer to do so. Those aged 24 or younger were less inclined to prefer online shopping for the holidays, as compared to older shoppers.

Additionally, 1 in 5 respondents cited an anxiety about security when buying online. The concern over online safety was more pronounced among lighter internet users (less than 24 hours per week) compared to their more experienced counterparts.

1 in 5 Shoppers Procrastinated

17% of respondents admitted to doing nearly all of their holiday shopping at the last minute. Among the 43% who denied being last-minute shoppers, women were more prominent than men (51% vs. 38%). According to survey results released in December 2011 by PriceGrabber, , with men more likely than women to do so (11% vs. 8%).

Other Findings:

• Only 15% of respondents to the Crowd Science survey said that the holidays are their favorite time to shop in person, compared to 47% who disagreed. The negative sentiment was more pronounced as time progressed, with disagreement climbing from 45% before Thanksgiving to 49% as the holidays approached.
• 4 in 10 anticipated spending about the same amount during the holidays as they had the year before. Those who indicated they would spend less traced more to lower income households. As the holiday season progressed, the study found a 5% point increase in those anticipating spending more: the week of Thanksgiving, 17% said they would spend more, rising to 22% as the Christmas holiday drew closer.

About the Data: The Crowd Science findings were gathered from a random sample of 1,756 respondents from November 16-28, 2011, and 3,545 respondents from November 29-December 29, 2011.

From ClickZ. Full story here

Yahoo's partnerships with newspaper publishers - including one of its biggest scores, Gannett - are chugging along. The company continues to consider new ways of working with its so-called consortium of local media partners. For instance, as Gannett begins testing Yahoo's ad management system, Yahoo is exploring expansion of the relationships into the daily deals space.

"We continue to talk with the leaders of the consortium about lots of opportunities, and the deals space is certainly one," said Lem Lloyd, VP of Yahoo's Newspaper Consortium, during a talk with ClickZ News late last month. "I wouldn't be surprised if you see something along those lines later this year."

Yahoo already partners with daily deals providers like Groupon, LivingSocial, and Gilt City for its "Local Offers" channel.

"To the extent that opening up more traffic and distribution can enable [newpaper partners] to accelerate growth in the daily deals category, Yahoo is an attractive partner for them," said Lloyd.

Gannett Digital owns properties in the local retail arena such as shopping circular provider ShopLocal and CouponClipper.com. It told ClickZ in December it has tested its own social commerce programs pairing local advertisers with consumers seeking nearby deals.

But Yahoo's newspaper partnerships are entrenched in display advertising. Yahoo gradually has been integrating partners like Gannett onto its APT ad management platform, the roll out of which has sputtered since its unveiling in 2008. For instance, while Gannett initially planned to begin testing APT late last year, the company only just began in the last few weeks, according to Jack Williams, president of Gannett Digital Ventures.

The hold up was due to a series of upgrades Yahoo made to the system - some that would have affected the integration with Gannett. The publisher decided to wait to begin training employees on APT until the upgrades were complete. "Otherwise ...we would be duplicating the work," said Williams.

Despite the hiccup, one Gannett paper site has been converted and another is in the works. In all, the firm will test "several" paper sites and one TV site in about four markets, Williams said. For now, Gannett is using the platform to manage the Yahoo inventory it sells to broaden the reach of its audiences for local advertisers.

Companies like Gannett use the platform to view available inventory by advertiser segment in their DMAs - for instance, luxury SUV buyers in Phoenix. From there, they can create ad packages for clients. Gannett is assessing various aspects of the platform, including inventory management, ease of use for ad input, and ad trafficking.

When Yahoo finally signed Gannett as a partner in July 2010, it was a significant win for the company. Yahoo had already aligned with around 40 newspaper publishers as part of its newspaper consortium, representing around 800 paper sites. Today, Yahoo counts its newspaper partner sites at closer to 900 (the Gannett deal brought in over 80 sites, adding new local markets for Yahoo), and has incorporated broadcast television sites from partners including Media General, Freedom Communications and Gannett. Although the Gannett deal is very similar to that of Yahoo's other newspaper partners, technically Gannett is not a part of Yahoo's Newspaper Consortium.

"Probably 80 to 90 percent of our markets are well ahead of the [projected] numbers," said Williams.

During Gannett's Q4 2010 earnings call last month, the company reported, "the partnership is working as planned," and said 39 sites - just about half - are selling Yahoo inventory, and "several" others plan to complete the setup process by the end of March. In addition, Gannett said all of its seven targeted broadcasting markets have launched the Yahoo program, culminating recently with Arizona's KPNX and its azcentral.com site.

That setup process involves training local Gannett sales staff on how to sell Yahoo inventory. "We train them on Yahoo behavioral targeting and Internet advertising, and trends that we're seeing," said Lloyd.

Though the broadcast sites Yahoo works with have lots of video content, the company is only serving display ads around that content at the moment, rather than in-stream advertising. For Gannett, that could change down the road, according to Williams. "I don't know why we wouldn't consider that if it's feasible," he said.

Also in the future, Gannett could consider using the APT platform to serve its own inventory. "That's a longer term process," said Lloyd, "That's really more up to them."

ChicagoShopping.com - a website operated by the Chicago Tribune - announced a partnership today with Groupon

Full story in The Chicago Tribune here

The recently launched ChicagoShopping.com announced a partnership with Groupon, a shopping website that offers a daily deal on the best local goods, services and cultural events in more than 300 markets around the world.

ChicagoShopping.com, a product of the Chicago Tribune Media Group, will feature one new local deal each weekday on the site’s homepage.  The ChicagoShopping deal-of-the-day powered by Groupon is a unique offer exclusive to the Chicago Tribune Media Group. 

“If you like Groupon deals, you’ll now like them twice as much,” said Belinda Englman, General Manager of ChicagoShopping.com.  “By registering at ChicagoShopping.com, you’ll have the option to sign up to receive the exclusive Groupon offer in addition to the feature Groupon highlights on their website each day.  It’s the ultimate opportunity for Chicagoland deal-seekers.” 

"We're excited to offer something special to users of ChicagoShopping.com just in time for the holidays," said Sean Smyth, vice president of business development at Groupon. 

With ChicagoShopping.com, Chicagoans can enjoy fantastic value, flexibility and convenience with access to discounts on hundreds of offers from thousands of their favorite brands.

 “We’re connecting with Chicago deal seekers and shopping enthusiasts to help them find a smarter way to shop,” said Englman.  “For our advertisers, ChicagoShopping.com is yet another solution within Tribune Media Group’s portfolio to expand their reach in the local market.  Apart from providing our advertisers with a new vehicle to extend their current advertising offerings, ChicagoShopping.com also represents a unique opportunity for Chicagoland’s small businesses to reach relevant audiences at the hyperlocal level.”

In addition to ChicagoShopping.com’s Deal of the Day powered by Groupon ChicagoShopping.com lets you personalize your shopping experience and stay informed of exclusive VIP shopping events. Instead of presenting thousands of options with no search customization, once you sign-in, ChicagoShopping.com will find the best deals for you that fit your needs - from deep discounts on your favorite brands to limited time offers from thousands of stores and more. The site also features relevant editorial content focused on shopping tips and advice.

Interesting article in the New York Times about how the economy is dictating a shift in message among traditional brand advertisers. For those of us who work primarily in print, this shift is less pronounced. Perhaps difficult economic times offer a silver lining for some print publications who may be perceived by a general public hungry for deals as a good source for saving money on the products they need?

 Here is an excerpt from the Times story:

As the economy rapidly deteriorates from flourishing to floundering, marketers are scrambling to remake their advertising so products seem affordable and sensible rather than indulgent and fabulous. For many big marketers, including automakers, retailers, consumer product companies and even financial services, a major shift in consumer psychology spells an end to the aspirational advertising that has dominated their campaigns for the last decade.

There is a sense that expensive purchases — even if consumers can afford them — have become gauche, said Stephen J. Hoch, professor of marketing and director of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Link to full story