Check out the article on Consumer Trends - Millennial Moms (and Dads) - Bringing Back the Art of Coupons

1. TRENDSM O N I T O R
WALMART AMPS UP CAMPAIGN
TO TAKE ON AMAZON PRIME
FOR HISPANIC GROCERY SHOPPERS,
COUPONS FOSTER PRODUCT
DIGITAL VIDEO ADVERTISING TO
GROW AT ANNUAL DOUBLE-DIGIT
RATES
IN THIS ISSUE:
JULY
2016
CT CA MT
# L O V E T H E S P A R K

2. CONSUMER TRENDS CT
U.S. CONSUMER SPENDING
RISES, BREXIT CASTS
SHADOW ON OUTLOOKB Y L U C I A M U T I K A N I
U.S. consumer spending rose for a second
straight month in May on increased demand
for automobiles and other goods, but there are
fearsBritain’svotetoleavetheEuropeanUnion
could hurt confidence and prompt households
to cut back on consumption.
In late June, a fairly strong report released
by the Commerce Department pointed to
acceleration in economic growth in the
second quarter.
Still, economists worry that financial
turbulence, following the so-called “Brexit”
referendum, could hurt consumer confidence
and cause households to bulk up their savings
rather than increase spending because of an
uncertain economic outlook.
“With the confidence-sapping eruption
in global financial markets continuing to play
out, we expect spending momentum to slow
in the coming months ahead, adding a layer
of uncertainty to the U.S. economic outlook
going forward,” said Millan Mulraine, Deputy
Chief Economist at TD Securities in New York.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more
than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity,
increased 0.4% last month after surging 1.1%
in April. When adjusted for inflation, spending
rose 0.3% after April’s 0.8% gain.
Despite the healthy consumer spending,
BrexitmadeitunlikelythattheFederalReserve
would raise interest rates soon, economists
said. Fed Chair Janet Yellen told lawmakers
last week that the U.S. central bank needed to
be sure there was no shock from the outcome
of the British referendum before tightening
monetary policy further.
In the wake of the consumer spending
report, the Atlanta Federal Reserve raised its
second-quarter consumer spending growth
estimate to a 4.3% annualized rate from a 4.1%
rate. That pushed up its second-quarter GDP
growth forecast one-tenth of a percentage
point to a 2.7% rate.
“None of this is likely to matter for
supposedly data dependent policy in light of
the Brexit vote and the uncertainty pervading
global financial markets,” said John Ryding,
Chief Economist at RDQ Economics in New
York.TheBrexitreferendumwipedoffarecord
$3 trillion from global stock markets over two
days. Stock markets in Europe, Asia and the
United States have, however, since recouped
some of the losses. U.S. stocks rose on In June,
with the main indexes gaining more than 1% in
morning trade.
Thedollarfellagainstabasketofcurrencies,
while prices for longer-dated U.S. government
debt rose.
INFLATION BENIGN
So far, economists are forecasting that
Brexit will subtract an average of two-tenths
of a percentage point from U.S. growth over
the next six quarters.
Despite the steady gains in consumer
spendinglastmonth,inflationremainedbenign.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE)
price index, excluding the volatile food and
energy components, rose 0.2% after a similar
gain in April.
In the 12 months through May, the core PCE
increased 1.6% after rising by the same margin
in April. The core PCE is the Fed’s preferred
inflation measure and is running below the
U.S. central bank’s 2% target.
Last month, consumer spending was
boosted by a 0.3% rise in purchases of
long-lasting manufactured goods such as
automobiles.Spendingonautomotiveservices
increased 0.4%.
Growth in income moderated last month.
Personal income rose 0.2% after advancing
0.5% in April. Wages and salaries gained 0.2%.
Savings slipped to $730.6 billion last month
from $753.7 billion in April.
A separate report from the National
Association of Realtors, showed contracts
to purchase previously owned homes fell
3.7% in May after a cumulative 8.9% surge in
the previous three months. Despite the drop,
contracts in May were still the third highest in
the past year.
The decline likely reflects a dearth of
properties available for sale, which is pushing
uphouseprices.Housingmarketfundamentals
remain strong amid low mortgage rates,
which could fall further in the aftermath of the
Brexit vote. A tightening labor market is also
supporting housing.
“In light of declining mortgage rates, we
think that the trend in home sales is still up,”
said Michael Feroli, an Economist at JPMorgan
in New York.

3. CONSUMER TRENDSCT
I S S 7 / / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
Over the last 40 years, it was not uncommon
to see moms (and increasingly dads) huddled
around kitchen tables, scissors in hand,
clipping out all those little squares of savings
known as coupons. From penny savers to
local newspapers, budget-minded families
made coupons a part of every shopping trip. It
seems that Millennials learned a lot from their
parents as they are now keeping couponing
alive, but in a much more tech-savvy way.
Bloomberg Businessweek reports about
the Millennial couponing craze that has kept
savings alive in a time where coupons seemed
to be going out of style.
Why are Millennials so savings hungry?
Maybe it has something to do with all of the
student loan debt encouraging Millennials to
look for deals, but a report from Valassis says
that nine out of 10 Millennials use coupons.
Rather than reaching for the scissors and
newspaper, Millennials turn to the Internet
to find all the best deals. Websites like
RetailMeNot,Grouponandcash-backprograms
like Ebates allow Millennials to save big.
Many of these sites offer deals where
you refer a friend in exchange for credit or
goods. This is fueling already socially engaged
Millennialstosharethesetipswiththeirfriends
by encouraging them to take advantage of
couponing sites. In fact, mobile coupon usage
is expected to hit over 120 million users in
2016, according to Statistica.
Underscoring the huge surge of coupon
usage, sites like Retailmenot.com have
grown tremendously. According to Compete,
Retailmenot.com is one of the top 100 most
trafficked websites and has experienced
double digit growth in traffic and unique
visitors in just the last year.
But just because Millennials look for deals
online doesn’t mean they’ve gone completely
digital. According to a survey by Forrester
Research, Millennials are more likely to use
a paper coupon they receive in the mail than
one they find on an app or website. Forrester
explains why, saying, “Even in today’s digital
world, consumers still use paper coupons at
a surprisingly high rate, likely because most
digital options do not provide a seamless
customer experience. Somehow, in the
upside-down world of couponing, digital is
actually more difficult than paper.”
So, how can brands get in on the Millennial
couponing craze?
1. OFFER COUPONS
FOR WHAT THEY NEED:
According to Experian, 80% of shoppers
are looking for coupons for the products they
are already buying. We know that Millennial
moms have lots of products that they need to
buy for their households. Everything from food
to beauty items to appliances to furniture.
Supply her with the coupons she needs and
she will honor you with her business.
2. USE EMAIL TO
DISTRIBUTE COUPONS:
Why email? Because it’s effective. Many
companies have cooled on email marketing,
but it is still one of the most effective ways to
reach and influence shoppers. Brands should
build lists of shoppers interested in receiving
their coupons and then distribute these
coupons via email. According to Experian,
open rates on these types of emails are at
14%, and 34% of openers click through and
have transaction completion rates of 27%.
Overall, brands experience an impressive 48%
increase in revenue per email!
3. UTILIZE COUPON
INFLUENCERS TO SHARE
YOUR OFFERS.
A cottage industry of bloggers and other
influencers who focus just on passing along
special deals and coupons to their audience
has emerged over the last few years. These
influencers have major followings and they
drive results. Coupon influencer Heather
Hernandez of FreebiesforMom.com has over a
half a million followers on social media not to
mention the hundreds of thousands of people
who visit her website each month.
It is clear that shoppers are seeking deals.
Making coupons available for your products
and savvy dissemination of these coupons
will help ring up sales.
MILLENNIAL
MOMS (AND DADS)
BRINGING BACK THE
ART OF COUPONINGB Y A L I Z A F R E U D

4. CONSUMER TRENDS CT
FOR HISPANIC GROCERY
SHOPPERS, COUPONS
FOSTER PRODUCTB Y E M A R K E T E R S T A F F
Sales and coupons are the biggest drivers of
product discovery for U.S. Hispanics while
grocery shopping, according to December
2015 research.
AcostaSales&Marketing and Univision asked
Hispanic grocery shoppers about various
categoriesinwhich they had purchased a new
product in the past six months. For almost
every product category, from bottled water
to cereal to dog food, more respondents said
they had made the purchase because they
had a deal.
The only exception was chocolate candy:
New features and flavors drove 33% of
Hispanic grocery buyers to try new chocolate
treats, vs. 25% who picked up a new candy
bar because they had a coupon.
More Hispanic grocery buyers reported
using paper coupons received in the mail than
from any other source (45%), followed closely
by paper coupons from fliers in the mail (43%)
and from a retailer’s circular (42%). Couponing
was less common among Hispanic Millennials,
and somewhat more common among the total
sample of U.S. grocery shoppers.
In March 2015, Sensis and ThinkNow
Research also found that Hispanic Millennials
were not the keenest coupon clippers. About
a quarter (26%) of Hispanic Internet users
ages 18 to 34 said they used coupons when
grocery shopping, vs. 38% of whites and 34%
of Asians.

5. CATEGORY TRENDSCA
I S S 7 / / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
COULD STREAMING VIDEO
SAVE CABLE OPERATORS?B Y P . J . B E D N A R S K I
We’ve been reaching tipping points left and
right in the streaming biz but a rather central
one is this: As MVPDs begin offering more
and more pay streaming services in their
packages, the inevitable question becomes:
How much is too much?
And what is perfect?
Usually the answer I hear is something
low-ish. After all if I’m paying through the
nose for cable, I’d like some relief, right?
Alan Wolk, one of the smarter guys
out there standing at the intersection of
consumerism and technology, has been
thinking about this point. As the expert-in-
residence for the advisory and investment
firm, BRaVeVentures,he’sfloatingasomewhat
different scenario, especially compared to
another research paper from GfK.
That report, “Comparing Streaming
Services, 2016” (snappy!) warns that
Netflix and Hulu and Amazon Prime will all
be forced to become reliant on advertising
support because consumers just won’t
pay a whole lot more than the $10 or $11 a
month they’re paying now to get them. And,
the study notes, it is cost--not the promise
of exclusive content--that motivates
consumers to keep (or presumably, jettison)
those services. (But exclusivity is steadily
climbing the list.)
If all of streaming’s Big 3 are going to keep
producing more original fare, the money has
got to come from somewhere. GfK says that
somewhere is some clever ad model.
Anyway, Wolk says: No.
“As for the streaming services being
too expensive, we’re a bit skeptical on
that,” he writes. “People tend to be poor
judges of how much they’d pay for things.
. . Given the wide array of TV shows and
movies Netflix has available, we think the
subscription price can go up to $20/month,
and it will still seem like quite the bargain.”
Could be. For me, that $60 tab for all three
is something I might do, but not without
trimming somewhere.
That becomes Wolk’s point, too: “What’s
more likely to happen is that people will
start to look at their total TV bill. . . “and
realize that they’re paying a lot of money for
everything even though they’re spending
most of their time with the Big 3—Netflix,
Hulu and Amazon.”
What if the MVPD selling you the
package does something different? They’ll
give you the Big 3, plus HBO and Showtime
and a “skinnier bundle” and in Wolk’s world,
they’ll charge just about what you pay for
a cable/satellite top-of-the-line platinum
package now.
In his view, “the package won’t be
cheap, but most viewers aren’t looking for
cheap—they’re looking for something that
reflects what they watch on TV. Throw in
a well-designed interface—something that
looks more like Roku and less like Atari, and
you’ll have a sizable segment of your user
base—call them ‘heavy users’—who are
actually happy(ish) with the service they’re
getting.”
Wolk also authored the book, Over The
Top: How the Internet Is (Slowly But Surely)
Changing The Television Industry has
obviously spent a lot of energy predicting
how the book’s title will come more and
more obvious. He’s on to something.
He unleashes his inner-cable package
prowess by even proposing new tiers for
more bucks that would eliminate or limit
ads on ad-supported networks (for a fee).
The grid of options he has created has the
one element that is traditional at all cable or
satellite companies: It looks complicated!
But the general point--that streaming
services could essentially be the building
blocks for an entirely new MVPD structure--
makes perfect sense, especially for younger
users. Wolk writes that this whole thing
could spin into being in the next five to
10 years, and maybe he’s right. There are
obviously some contractual issues to settle
first. But if you ask me, a simpler version
could be ready sooner than that.

6. CATEGORY TRENDS CA
WALMART AMPS UP
CAMPAIGN TO TAKE
ON AMAZON PRIMEB Y S A R A H H A L Z A C K
Since last year, Walmart has been testing
a membership program called Shipping
Pass that offers unlimited free shipping
on many online purchases– effectively the
retail behemoth’s answer to Amazon Prime.
On Wednesday, Walmart moved to take the
pilot program to a wider audience, dangling
a 30-day free trial to get more people to
give it a try.
Customers’ reception of the offer will
serve as a test for Walmart as to whether
the program can gain the kind of traction
it would need to be able to compete with
Amazon’s more established membership
program. And it represents just one of
many strategic pushes by the big-box
retailer to become a more formidable player
in e-commerce.
Shipping Pass easily undercuts Prime on
price: It is $49 per year, compared to $99
for Amazon’s program. And yet Walmart’s
offering is far narrower: The essence of
Shipping Pass is free two-day shipping on
bestselling products. Prime also makes that
promise, but has grown to include other
perks such as music and movie streaming,
early access to deals, and, in certain
markets, one-hour delivery. (Jeffrey P.
Bezos, the Chief Executive of Amazon.com,
owns The Washington Post.)
For a long time, customers who signed
up for Shipping Pass often had to sit tight
on a waiting list before receiving access.
More recently, Walmart has moved to allow
customers to register and instantly receive
the benefits.
Walmart will face no shortage of
challenges in trying to lure shoppers
to sign up for Shipping Pass. Prime
debuted back in 2005, and analysts have
estimated some 40 million Americans have
memberships. In other words, many online
shopping devotees have already become
accustomed to turning to Amazon first,
and they’ve made a habit of an unbundled
approach to online ordering that Prime
encourages, in which they might snap up
a book one moment, only to follow with an
order of paper towels several minutes later.
So Walmart will have to persuade those
people to jump ship for Shipping Pass,
or cultivate a new group of shoppers to
test the appeal of this kind of model.
TheShippingPassannouncement suggests
that Walmart is looking for something of a
reprisal of the summer smackdown that the
two retailing giants had last July. Amazon
is poised to hold its Prime Day sale in mid-
July, a Black Friday-like deals bonanza that
the company held for the first time last
year. Walmart answered the 2015 Prime
Day sale with some digs at Amazon and a
massive deals blitz of its own, and it appears
Walmart is trying to steal some of Amazon’s
thunder again. In addition to the free
trial of Shipping Pass, Walmart promised in
a company blog post that shoppers will see
“some amazing items at great prices kicking
in” starting July 1.
Walmart also appeared to take a shot
at Amazon’s “lightning deals,” which are
discounts that last for only a short period
of time — perhaps only minutes or hours.
These kinds of deals were a staple of the
Prime Day event last year.
“Walmart is known for everyday low
prices, and when we have a special price,
it isn’t just for a fleeting moment,” Fernando
Madeira, Chief Executive of Walmart.com
U.S., wrote in the post.
With its relatively low price, Shipping
Pass may prove particularly appealing to
the value-oriented shoppers that have
made Walmart the goliath it is. And the new
service might also find a receptive audience
with consumers who like to buy online but
would like the option of being able to return
items to a store instead of by mail.
The experimentation with Shipping
Pass is part of a broader push by Walmart
to step up its e-commerce game. Last
year, its online sales totaled $13.7 billion,
adjusting for currency fluctuations. That’s
a minuscule slice of the $499.4 billion in
sales the company rang up in 2015. Some
of its efforts to boost digital sales include
the rapid expansion of grocery pickup, in
which customers place an order online
and pick it up curbside at a nearby store.
It is also testing an offering in which it is
partnering with Uber and Lyft to deliver
online grocery orders.

7. I S S 7 / / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
CATEGORY TRENDSCA
Casual Dining has had its share of challenges
over the past several years, buffeted by
consumers trading down for quicker and
less expensive fast-casual competitors, or
splurging on polished-casual restaurants.
But the segment still had some bright
spots in the Latest Year from chains that
emphasize not just food but fun.
“If the consumer today is going to take
the time to spend 45 minutes to an hour in
your restaurant at the prices you charge
in casual dining, you better make sure it’s
really an exceptional experience inside,”
said Wally Doolin, Chairman and Founder of
the Dallas-based restaurant analytics firm
TDn2K, parent to Black Box Intelligence.
Dave & Buster’s led the segment’s
systemwide sales growth in the Latest Year,
at 16.3%, followed by Texas Roadhouse, at
12.8%, and Buffalo Wild Wings, at 10.5%.
Estimated sales per unit continued to give
Casual Dining major muscle among Top 100
segments. The Latest-Year average ESPU
was nearly $4.4 million, up 1.3% from the
Preceding Year. Dave & Buster’s, with its
big-box entertainment venues, led the pack,
with ESPU of $11.3 million.
Dave & Buster’s was followed by The
Cheesecake Factory, at $10.5 million per
unit; Maggiano’s Little Italy, at $8.3 million;
Yard House, at $8.2 million; and BJ’s
Restaurant & Brewhouse, at $5.6 million.
Dave & Buster’s growth has benefited
from the expanding purchasing power of
Millennial customers.
“From a guest-target perspective,
our emphasis remains on play-together
young adults, from 21 to 39 years old,”
Dolf Berle, Dave & Buster’s President and
Chief Operating Officer, told analysts after
releasing record-setting earnings for fiscal
year 2015.
Dave & Buster’s appeals to its core
demographic because of the amusements
and food and beverage it offers.
“They also have a passion for sports
viewing in a social setting,” Berle said,
adding that they “are very attracted to new
experiences and new sensations” provided
in Dave & Buster’s tailored arcades and
televised-sports viewing areas. Buffalo
Wild Wings shares a similar draw.
Texas Roadhouse led percentage
growth in estimated sales per unit, at 6.7%,
followed by Dave & Buster’s, at 4.9%, and
Ruth’s Chris Steak House, at 4.5%. Latest-
Year ESPUs were negative at seven of the
total 26 Casual-Dining brands in the Top
100, with Logan’s Roadhouse at the bottom
of the list.
While Dave & Buster’s saw growth in
its Millennial appeal, Berle noted that the
concept has been careful not to alienate
older customers.
“We try to appeal to two secondary
targets, which are families who visit us on
a walk-in basis and corporations having
party events,” Berle said.
Dave&Buster’skeepsthenewnessfresh,
he said, by changing and promoting games
and menu items, which includes “at least
three launches per year of new games, new
food and new drinks that are all marketed
on national TV and complemented with a
limited-time offer to build excitement and a
call to action.”
In the Latest Year, Casual Dining trailed
only the Limited Service/Burger category
for share of sales among the Top 100
chains, totaling 16.2% across all 100 brands,
compared with 30.9% for Limited Service/
Burger concepts.
Among the top 10 Casual-Dining chains
based on share of segment sales, only three
brands gained share in the Latest Year:
Buffalo Wild Wings, Texas Roadhouse and
The Cheesecake Factory. The brands with
largest share — Applebee’s, Olive Garden
and Chili’s — saw their share of sales erode
in the Latest Year.
Yard House topped unit growth in the
Latest Year, with a rate of 11.9%, followed
closely by Dave & Buster’s, at 11.1%, and BJ’s
Restaurant & Brewhouse, at 9.6%.
CASUAL DINING SUCCEEDS
WITH FOCUS ON FOOD
AND FUNB Y R O N R U G G L E S

8. MEDIA TRENDS MT
WHY DIRECT MAIL
MARKETING IS FAR
FROM DEADB Y S C O T T T A Y L O R
Are you part of the 33% who find direct
mail the most effective way to remember a
product? How about the 79% of consumers
who will act on direct mail immediately? Or
maybe you’re part of the 74% of consumers
who can’t wait to find out what’s in their
letter box? If so, then no doubt you’re
already well aware that direct mail is far
from dead.
With the online consumer having an
attention span of around eight seconds (yes,
less than a gold fish), the online landscape
exploding into a fierce battle of the brands
and email marketing failing to hit targets
for many businesses across the country, it
may be time to the consider bringing direct
mail marketing back into the fold of your
strategic marketing plan.
If you’re still sceptical of the results direct
mail can harness, here are five reasons why
direct mail is very much alive and kicking.
DIRECT MAIL IS TANGIBLE
Is there a marketing method that offers
a more tangible solution than direct mail?
With the current generation bombarded
with video ads, remarketing and PPC every
time they even touch a screen; direct mail
offers you the chance to get something real
into the hands of your audience creating
a connection that just isn’t the same with
email or other online advertisements. Plus,
once the audience opens a piece of direct
mail, studies show they are far more likely to
take the time to look over the offer than they
would in comparison with email marketing.
DIRECT MAIL TAKES
PERSONALISATION TO A
NEW LEVEL
While one part of marketing is your ability
to communicate your message clearly the
other side is about building relationships
with your customers. The key to building
relationships?Gettingpersonalandshowing
that you both know and understand your
customer. The results can be staggering
too. Studies successfully showed that using
personalized direct mail as part of a wider
digital strategy can see response rates for
a campaign hit over 20%. You won’t find
those numbers with online marketing.
DIRECT MAIL IS THE BRAND
AWARENESS KING
With an estimated 81% of brands using
social media to build awareness around
their brand you cannot be blamed for looking
further afield than a Facebook page for your
brand-building strategies. While direct mail
is also a competitive discipline, there is
less direct mail going out than ever before
and with nearly 80% of consumers saying
they will open all their postal mail, you can
be almost certain that your message will
end up with the right eyes on it and less
competition with it.
DIRECT MAIL IS OPEN FOR
ALL AUDIENCES
Ok, so while my Grandad may be super
tech savvy, recent research shows that 41%
of people aged over 65 years do not use the
Internet at all. For marketers, that’s a huge
segment that cannot be targeted using PPC,
email or social media. Direct mail allows you
to keep your offers open to all audiences
rather than just the majority who fit your
online strategy.
DIRECT MAIL ALLOWS
CREATIVITY
Forget the postcard, catalogue or
pamphlet, 2016 direct mail campaigns are
all about getting creative and delivering
something that your customers cannot
resist. From British Gas delivery brews
to businesses across the country to
businesses even using Game of Thrones to
improve their campaigns, direct mail allows
for a wealth of tangible creativity that just
doesn’t exist online.

9. I S S 7 / / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
P r o s p e r J u n e 2 0 1 6
QUICK
FACTS!
30%FAMILIES WITH KIDS ARE 30%
MORE LIKELY THAN AVERAGE TO
SPEND MORE ON GROCERIES IN
THE NEXT 90 DAYS.
24%IN THE LAST 30 DAYS, 24% OF
FAMILIES WITH KIDS HAVE SHOPPED
IN A PHYSICAL STORE OVER ONLINE
FOR SPORTING GOODS.
MEDIA TRENDS MT
eMarketer expects U.S. digital video ad
spendingwillseedouble-digitgrowthannually
through 2020. By contrast, TV ad spending
will grow much more modestly, at rates
ranging from 2.0% to 2.5%. Still, TV will remain
dominant, with total ad spending reaching
$77.17 billion in 2020, more than quadruple the
$16.69 billion for digital video, as explored in
a new eMarketer report, “Digital Video Trends
Q2 2016: Monetization, Audience, Platforms
and Content.”
A NewBay Media study sponsored
by Akamai showed that 73% of U.S. TV
and video professionals polled planned to
monetize their content with ads in Q1 2016,
while 59% planned to use subscriptions.
Those two methods beat out pay-per-view
(37%) and electronic sales (34%).
Researchfirm AdvertiserPerceptions found
that 38% of U.S. marketers it surveyed in
December 2015 planned to draw funds from
their broadcast budgets to support digital
video ad spending. This was followed closely
by print (36%) and cable (29%).
The same study found 72% of marketers
planned to invest those digital video ad
dollars with YouTube in the next 12 months.
Comparatively, 46% of marketers intended
to use Facebook, while other platforms
including Hulu, ABC and Yahoo garnered less
representation. This shows that even though
Facebook and others are strong contenders in
the video space, YouTube remains the go-to
platform for roughly three-quarters of brands
that do digital video advertising.
An April 2016 study from ad tech
firm Videology showed that viewability
continued to be a top campaign objective for
U.S. advertisers in Q1 2016. Viewable rate
was a goal for 52% of campaigns served
by Videology, compared with 48% for
viewthrough rate and 38% for clickthrough
rate. Actions and conversions did not register
as major objectives. The data is a reminder
that a video ad only works when it’s seen, and
that video advertising remains fundamentally
a branding pursuit.
Separate Q1 2016 study by ad
platform Extreme Reach found the average
viewabilityratefordigitalvideoadsworldwide
was 47%. This was based on activity on
its own platform, which is predominantly
U.S.-based. Predictably, viewability was
significantly higher for premium ads placed
directly (62%) than for ads placed through
networks and exchanges (42%). There was
very little variability by ad length.
Although the average viewability rate did
notchangesignificantlyinQ12016fromthefull
year before, there was a marked improvement
in the rate for publisher-direct ads. In Q1 2016,
these ads had an average viewability rate of
62%, compared with 55% in 2015.
And while the Extreme Reach data shows
a distinct increase in viewability, the digital
video ad industry still has plenty of room for
improvement when it comes to making sure
its core product is seen by end-users.
DIGITAL VIDEO
ADVERTISING TO
GROW AT ANNUAL
DOUBLE-DIGIT RATESB Y E M A R K E T E R

10. MEDIA TRENDS MT
YOUR CUSTOMERS FLOW
FROM ONLINE TO OFFLINE, SO
SHOULD YOUR MARKETINGB Y B R U C E S W A N N
Integrating online and offline channels is
where the cross-channel marketing efforts
of many companies tend to stall.
Whether it’s reluctance to place
customers over channels, or a refusal to
merge disparate marketing teams into a
single, unified force, many enterprises are
separating online and offline marketing
programs at a time when they should be
bringing these programs together.
A true cross-channel marketing
campaign — where online and offline
marketing channels work together —
means prioritizing the single, accessible
view of the customer. Once your brand
has developed a comprehensive view of
your customers’ needs, you can begin
addressing those needs by using online
and offline touchpoints to enhance the
customer experience.
Here are four ways to help your brand
accomplish this:
USE MOBILE DEVICES TO
INVOLVE OFFLINE CUSTOMERS
For example, remember when offline
channels — such as video displays, posters
and programs — were the only options for
marketing messages at a sporting event?
Today, brands can enhance offline messages
by promoting engagement through online
channels — for instance, encouraging
sports fans to respond to trivia questions
displayed on a scoreboard by submitting
answers via their mobile devices.
Retailers can take the same approach by
creating mobile apps that offer coupons and
discounts to use with in-store experiences,
increasing in-store and offline customer
loyalty by utilizing online channels. Once a
customer opts-in and engages, this activity
becomes a part of their profile.
PERSONALIZE OFFLINE
CONTENT BASED ON ONLINE
BEHAVIOR
Tailoring and personalizing offline
content based on what your customers are
doing online is a prime example of cross-
channel marketing integration.
For example, some travel companies
personalize vacation-package planners
based on what a particular traveler is
researching online. This allows brands to
leverage online data to deliver personalized
content that can be placed directly in the
hands of their customers.
DON’T DISCOUNT DIRECT MAIL
Online channels may be more fun to talk
about, but that doesn’t mean we should
leave direct mail out of the conversation.
Couple the response rate of direct mail
with the power of the single customer
view (which requires incorporating data
gathered from online channels, too), and you
have a recipe for online/offline marketing
success. In fact, according to Report, direct
mail remains one of the most heavily used
marketing channels, along with email
marketing and social media.
MONITOR ONLINE AND
OFFLINE INTEGRATION
Brands can further ensure online and
offline channels are connected by using
direct attribution to determine how
marketing channels complement one
another. For example, some brands may
ask for catalog codes before completing
online orders to determine whether a sales
catalog had any effect on final purchasing
decisions.
By monitoring which offline channels
are influencing online purchases, marketers
can direct future campaign efforts toward
the preferred marketing channels of their
customers.
VIEW ONLINE AND OFFLINE
AS ONE
True cross-channel marketing is more
than just a talking point. It means developing
a single view of the customer while
deploying an overall campaign strategy
capable of using online and offline channels
to enhance the customer experience.
It’s time to stop treating online and
offline marketing channels as two separate
entities and start integrating these valuable
touch points. The result will be increased
engagement that drives conversions, loyalty
and brand advocacy.

11. I S S 7 / / J U L Y 2 0 1 6
MSPARK TRENDSM
BRAIN TEASERS
MSPARK WINS 13 DESIGN
AWARDS FROM
GRAPHIC DESIGN USA
Mspark’s creative team won 13 individual design awards at the 2016 American Inhouse
Design Awards competition sponsored by Graphic Design USA (GDUSA). Honors were
awarded across a broad range of categories, including Direct Mail & Direct Response;
Internet Design; Logos, Trademarks & Symbols; Posters & Infographics; and Sales &
Corporate Promotion. Approximately 6,000 entries were submitted to the annual GDUSA
competition with a highly selective 15% earning awards.
READ MORE ABOUT THE WIN IN OUR NEWSROOM AT WWW.MSPARK.COM/GRAPHIC-DESIGN-USA-AWARDS/
1. A clerk at a butcher shop stands five feet ten inches tall and
wears size 13 sneakers. What does he weigh?
2. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest
mountain in the world?
3. How much dirt is there in a hole that measures two feet by
three feet by four feet?
4. WhatwordintheEnglishlanguageisalwaysspelledincorrectly?
5. Billie was born on December 28th, yet her birthday always falls
in the summer. How is this possible?
1. Meat
2. Mt.Everest.Itjustwasn’tdiscoveredyet.
3. Thereisnodirtinahole.
4.Incorrectly(exceptwhenitisspelledincorrecktly).
5. Billielivesinthesouthernhemisphere.
ANSWERS...

12. ARTICLE REFERENCE R
ARTICLE
REFERENCES
U.S. CONSUMER SPENDING RISES, BREXIT CASTS SHADOW ON OUTLOOK
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-consumer-spending-idUSKCN0ZF1DV
MILLENNIAL MOMS (AND DADS) BRINGING BACK THE ART OF COUPONING
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/278955/millennial-moms-and-dads-bringing-back-the-art-o.html
FOR HISPANIC GROCERY SHOPPERS, COUPONS FOSTER PRODUCT
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Hispanic-Grocery-Shoppers-Coupons-Foster-Product-Discovery/1014108?ecid=NL1014#sthash.
c9K6s4dJ.dpuf
COULD STREAMING VIDEO SAVE CABLE OPERATORS?
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/278130/could-streaming-video-save-cable-operators.html?utm_
source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=93836
WALMART AMPS UP CAMPAIGN TO TAKE ON AMAZON PRIME
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/06/29/walmart-amps-up-campaign-to-take-on-amazon-prime/
CASUAL DINING SUCCEEDS WITH FOCUS ON FOOD AND FUN
http://nrn.com/us-top-100/casual-dining-succeeds-focus-food-and-fun
WHY DIRECT MAIL MARKETING IS FAR FROM DEAD
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-taylor/why-direct-mail-marketing_b_10627116.html
DIGITAL VIDEO ADVERTISING TO GROW AT ANNUAL DOUBLE-DIGIT RATES
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Digital-Video-Advertising-Grow-Annual-Double-Digit-Rates/1014105?ecid=NL1001#sthash.
mmD4B4yh.dpuf
YOUR CUSTOMERS FLOW FROM ONLINE TO OFFLINE, SO SHOULD YOUR MARKETING
http://www.cmswire.com/digital-marketing/your-customers-flow-from-online-to-offline-so-should-your-marketing/