Ad dollars continue to lag behind consumers' shift to mobile

Time spent on mobile devices surges in U.S., at expense of print, radio, even online

Ad dollars continue to lag behind consumers' shift to mobile

Posted by: Paul Maloney


EMarketer's new study shows the time U.S. adults spend daily using mobile devices (not including phone calls) has more than doubled in the past two years. And in 2012 alone, mobile device usage looks to grow nearly 52%, to about 82 minutes per day.

Last year "non-talk" mobile device use passed print as the fourth most-used major media.



As 2012 is shaping up, the ranking (TV is top, then online, radio, mobile, and print) stays the same. But while television and online are growing in use, broadcast radio and (especially) print are slipping. Even online (using non-mobile computers) is seeing the pace of its growth slow.



"Mobile, by contrast, is growing quickly from a small base — and growth in time spent is also being boosted by fast uptake of smartphones and tablets, which have still penetrated only a minority of all consumers," eMarketer explains. "As more U.S. consumers continue to acquire these devices, and current owners shift more of their digital activities to mobile and portable devices, mobile is grabbing an ever-greater share of time with all media — potentially at the expense of faster online growth."



Ad dollars, as we've seen, have not caught up to these shifts in media usage. While U.S. adults will average 11.7% of their media time on mobile devices, just 1.6% of ad spending will go there.



Read eMarketer's summary here.

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New iTunes fails to launch, but Hypebot says iPad Mini an awesome music device

Posted by: Paul Maloney

Issue Date: October 24, 2012 - 2:10pm

Music fans were expecting an iTunes update as part of Apple's iPad Mini launch yesterday. That didn't happen, but Hypebot says there's still lots about the Mini that make it "an awesome music device."



Obviously, the Mini is thinner and lighter than other iPads, and most other competing tablets, and fits nicely in a purse or breast pocket. What's more, the LTE "ultrafast wireless" lets you stream music at top quality. And, existing iOS apps won't need to be modified to fit the smaller screen, since the Mini has the same 1014x786 resolution.



Read more from Hypebot on why music listeners should love the iPad Mini here.

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Stitcher announces finalists in podcast awards

Posted by: Paul Maloney

Issue Date: October 24, 2012 - 2:10pm

Stitcher, which aggregates podcasts and non-music radio and audio content, has announced the finalists for its first annual Stitcher Awards (first covered in RAIN here).



News organizations dominate the nominations. NPR received the most nods, with other top finalists including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, KCRW, BBC Radio and The Wall Street Journal.



Stitcher picked six finalists for each of 20 different categories, based on the more than 55-thousand listener votes. Through November 5th, listeners can vote for their favorites from among the finalists. Stitcher will name the winners in December at the first annual Stitcher Awards ceremony, to be held in San Francisco.



You can see a list of all the finalists here (note, you'll need to "Like" Stitcher on Facebook to see the nominees and vote).