Streaming Audio is the Perfect WFH Partner. Pandora and Mindshare Research Study

With many working from home in the past year, new audio consumption habits have been developed. For a company like Pandora, the question is, how have our listening habits changed over time? Is music still the dominating audio choice or are people gravitating to new formats such as podcasts? Pandora and Mindshare in partnership with Edison Research, launched a pivotal study in October 2020 to get to the core of America’s listening habits, particularly while working and how the pandemic has reshaped audio consumption.

To get a full grasp of the landscape, Edison conducted online interviews with adults 18+ who were employed either full or part time. These results were then compared with at-work studies conducted in 1997 and 2013. The 2020 study highlighted these emerging trends:

The Era of the Home Office is Here For 24 Hours a Day

While the work from home trend pre-dated Covid-19, it only represented 8% full time and 9% part time workers in 1997 and 2013. During the pandemic, it ballooned to 49% with higher income adults and parents of children over-indexing compared to all workers.  By contrast, Black Americans and lower-income adults are both 12% more likely to be currently working outside their home.

For those working from home, office hours have greatly expanded. It is no longer 9 to 5. Almost one in three Americans are currently working outside their normal work hours and their daily routines have been disrupted and often stressed.

Amidst Disruption, WFH is a Welcome Change … For Some 

Despite all of the pandemic shifts and stresses, those who can work from home are generally very satisfied with their employer (94%). However, this does not apply to everyone.  Black Americans are 38% more likely to be dissatisfied with their employer while Parents and Men are more likely to describe their employer as uncommunicative (130 index, 111 index) and impatient (146 index, 114 index), Further, Younger and Multicultural workers are more likely to describe their employer as more demanding right now (Gen Z: 147 index, Black: 111 index, Hispanics: 127 index).  

Work flexibility has become a high priority for workers (58%) giving them more time with family (65%), better work-life balance (58%), made them happier (56%) and more productive (55%), less stressed (50%) and more resourceful (50%). But that might depend on demographics and household composition. Many feel less connected to their co-workers (59%), find it harder to be a good parent (47%), have no separation between their work and home lives (46%), are working more hours (42%), are feeling more distracted (42%) or lonelier (41%).

Pandemic Parenting is Hard

While parenting can have its occasional challenges in normal time, the pandemic has brought on unique stress. Seventy percent of working parents say that they are also juggling their child’s at-home virtual learning and 6 in 10 of those with children learning at-home say that it has been difficult to balance work with virtual learning. Obviously, working Parents are especially likely to be feeling the pain from  juggling work with parenting including Women (118 index), Hispanics (111 index) and those with lower income (109 index).

Streaming Audio is a Welcome Activity

While media habits in general have evolved during the pandemic, streaming audio has been particularly successful.  The study found that 7 in 10 workers listen to any audio while working with higher levels for Gen Z (87%), Hispanics (82%), and Parents (79%). Audio has undergone a digital transformation. Compared to Edison Research’s 2013 at-work listening study, those who say they listen to streaming audio while working has grown by +57%, while those who listen to AM/FM radio while working has declined by -8%. Notably, other forms of digital audio are also experiencing growth during the pandemic – 41% of listeners are spending more time listening to podcasts, while 45% are spending more time listening to audiobooks.

Consumers Love Audio as a Mood Lifter

Audio is favored by consumers for a variety of reasons. The study found that it helps fill silence (71%), makes their workday go faster (69%), helps them escape (58%), makes them feel connected (52%), and provides a break from screens (50%). Audio also puts workers in a good mood (69%), help them stay focused (59%) and provides inspiration (52%).

And Audio Can Lead to Online Shopping Through Ads

Obviously, those who listen to audio are paying attention and are therefore more receptive to ads. Half of those who listen to streaming audio while working do so through an ad-supported service, meaning that there is significant opportunity for brands to reach and resonate with listeners during the workday. Many workers feel that they are even more receptive to ads while working; 37% of those who listen to ad-supported audio while working say that they pay more attention to streaming audio ads while they’re working than when they aren’t. Men, Gen Z, and Parents are more likely to agree.

Streaming audio ads have more impact and create a call to action. The study found that 45% of those who listen to ad-supported streaming audio while working have sought more info about a brand after hearing an online audio ad.

For marketers, the value and impact of streaming audio cannot be understated. Not only is this media form growing as more Americans work from home, its positive impact on daily life will continue to expand post pandemic as Americans enter a new normal.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

 

 

The Changing Landscape of Advertising. Mindshare’s Media Multiverse Study

As media morphs and fragments, and as content creators become more adept at maximizing the reach of their content across platforms, the basic business model is changing for advertisers. Mindshare has embarked on an ambitious and fascinating study on the emerging Media Multiverse and how consumer usage is impacting the major entertainment franchises.

According to their press release, the Media Multiverse is “the industry shift towards franchises that live across a mosaic of platforms, and away from linear storytelling on one channel.” The study examined 35 of the most popular properties to ascertain their power and their impact on brands.

I sat down with Joe Maceda, Managing Director, Invention Studio Lead, Mindshare North America, and asked him the following:

Charlene Weisler: Why do this study?

Joe Maceda: We noticed that more and more franchises were building extensions across multiple channels and platforms and taking up more of consumers’ time. We think that is indicative of the entertainment companies focusing more on audience depth rather than audience reach. And by depth we mean the ability to get a core group of fans so interested that they will follow your franchise wherever you take it - in terms of channel and whatever format. Recognizing that, we thought it was important for us to understand who those biggest players are that have the most power when it comes to cultivating those audiences and inviting them into those franchise extensions.

Weisler: The study indicates that the biggest companies have the greatest resonance.

Maceda:  Yes. Those who have managed to cultivate a brand in a way that is consistent, such as Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel; those who have an air of special-ness, especially those who are able to extend it from the theater to the TV format and eventually into more extensive digital formats.

Weisler: What do you see as the future for advertisers in this Multiverse?

Maceda: Advertisers need to think about the ecosystem of the major franchises. If you have a core group of millions of fans who are engaging with a franchise in eight to twelve different formats over the course of time, there are implications as to how we message when there are advertising opportunities. But further down the line, as it gets more ad-free, brands and advertisers might think about flipping the script entirely and becoming entities that help create and become partners to create more buy-side content and unique experiences to become an entry point into some of these franchises or revive previously dormant franchises.

Weisler: How immersive do you see it all going?

Maceda: I like to think about immersive as less about the formats of the content itself (like whether it is AR or VR) and more in terms of how deeply a fan of that franchise can engage. I think it will be fully immersive to the point that it might not be linear at all anymore. For example, more and more movie releases are accompanied by real world experiences that partly promote the property itself but also an extension of the property. 

Weisler: Were any of the results somewhat surprising to you?

Maceda: We were surprised at how powerful Game of Thrones is given that its heritage is fairly deep in the fantasy genre and to date, the existence of Game of Thrones is only on premium pay cable so it is entirely behind a paywall. But it is the franchise that most people want the most of (54% want to experience more GOT). So we are seeing the birth of a mega-franchise here which we haven’t seen since Harry Potter 20 years ago. If this follows, we would expect to see, in 10 or 15 years, multiple iterations or extensions of the story in terms of video content. We can almost be certain that there will be theme park extensions and other real world experiences as well as continuing in the written format and the emerging formats.

Weisler: How would advertisers know about which content has the greatest resonance, such as a Breaking Bad?

Maceda:  What we found from our study is the very first thing is whether people want to talk about the content after consuming it because that is a major indicator of how much more they want to experience it. So the more someone talks about it, the more we can assume they want to enter into that world and consume more deeply. So Breaking Bad is a great example in that it was never created to be a great franchise but at the same time it captured people in a way that almost required giving them more. I don’t know if you can set out to create or identify resonant content at the start but that initial reaction and the way fans engage once it starts to take off is the biggest indicator. 

Weisler: What are the next steps for this study?

Maceda:  We plan to make this an annual study. I am very excited to see what year two looks like as more and more of these franchises continue to build out their fan bases and their formats. We anticipate that, as we looked at 35 properties this year, we might remove some and add some more. I am most excited to see, as with Game of Thrones, the trajectory and the velocity of some of these franchises as time go on.  We in the Invention Studio are using the study for brainstorming techniques. We want to identify what types of ideas we can bring to partnerships with these franchises and understand all of the ways people are engaging in these properties. Our Partnership Teams use this data to identify which formats and platforms are most powerful for our consumers. 

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Using the Loop to Mine for Unique Insights. Interview with Mindshare’s Cindy Giller

Mindshare’s Cindy Giller, Managing Director and Atlanta Office Lead, has always had an interest in consumer behavior, culture and psychology. “So, media and advertising proved to be a nice fit for that,” she confided. 

A seasoned industry veteran, her first foray into media was in Silicon Valley working with tech brands which enabled her to get experience bringing never-before-available products to market. “It was edgy, fast moving and unconventional,” she continued.

After working across agencies such as Young & Rubicam, Publicis, and MEC, she moved to Atlanta to run JWT’s media group, which then merged with Mindshare. Today she heads up Mindshare’s growing Atlanta office, working across clients such as Jiffy Lube, John Deere, Orkin, Falcons, the U.S. Marine Corps, and more.

Charlene Weisler: How have you applied your experience working at a creative agency to your role at Mindshare?

Cindy Giller: I love interacting with creative thinkers whether they’re in the creative agency or the media agency - the more diverse the better. Creative agencies tend to focus on the brand first, whereas we start with the consumer insights and behaviors. Having that experience has helped me see the bigger picture from a user experience and activation perspective, making sure that we’re got a holistic outlook on the brand and consumer journeys.

Charlene Weisler: There appears to be increasing connectivity between media and creativity. Can you speak to that?

Cindy Giller:  Everything is media. Today you’re not looking at just the media buy or the ways that you can introduce a message to consumers. Instead, we must pay attention to the signals that we’re getting from our audiences so that our stories can be told in the right voice and introduced in a relevant way. Our data and insights teams play a crucial role there. 

Charlene Weisler: And this has evolved from when you first started in the agency business.

Cindy Giller:  Tremendously. It’s no longer as siloed as it used to be, which is a very good thing. The real-time data that we collect – whether it’s a reaction to an ad, a new rising search trend, a look at what competitors are doing—it allows us to adapt as we go.

Charlene Weisler: What is the connection between earned, bought and owned media?

Cindy Giller:  Are you familiar with The Loop at Mindshare?

Charlene Weisler: No. Can you tell me about it?

Cindy Giller:  Yes. It’s our adaptive marketing operating system, occupying a physical space in our offices across the globe. Eight or more screens revealing real-time data that’s customized to a client, brand and/or category.  Our Loop sessions are organized around paid, earned, owned, and cultural context.  We’re constantly looking for insights through news, patterns, and data correlation that help us tell a unique story.  These are insights that we can make actionable; data and insights that we leverage for media investment decisions across channels (not just digital). To look at paid, earned, and owned separately doesn’t make sense anymore.

Instead, we use the data to challenge our thinking, to find outliers that could drive an interesting strategy or approach.  For example, working with a client we saw a change in seasonal patterns for keywords of a product they sold. A competitor was making content adjustments in a similar direction.  The client never saw these patterns in their own data “because we weren’t looking for it.” But we moved quickly to adjust our timing strategy and new content was created.  

Charlene Weisler: Can you talk to me about mentorship?

Cindy Giller:  Mentorship is a big picture experience for both the mentor and the mentee. Earlier in my career, I was a member of the Women’s Tech Cluster out in San Francisco. What I learned from that experience was that it is important to have the right pairings for the right reasons. 

Today, we do speed mentoring twice a year in our Atlanta office. It’s a relaxed and fun way for our junior people to have a one-on-one sit down with all the senior people in the company.  They can ask questions, and probe for career advice. And then afterwards, if there’s a particular mentor or pairing that really resonated, something where people felt a connection, they’re given the opportunity to follow up and form one-on-one mentor relationships. This approach results in regular, active mentor pairings in the office. 

Charlene Weisler: How do you achieve work / life balance?

Cindy Giller: I get asked this a lot. Over the years, I’ve learned to reconcile that balance means I’m actually off balance much of the time—and I had to be okay with that, and find ways to take advantage by turning it into a positive. Even though I get a lot of energy and joy from my job – I love what I do – taking time off always refreshes me, refreshes my ideas and my thinking and how I approach problem solving. So I do make time to travel and to have new experiences as well as general family time. And being a Mom has made me a more perceptive media person – there’s a lot that I’ve learned over the years from my daughter and seeing how her media consumption habits have changed. It’s had a real impact. 

It’s also really important to have a supportive partner—to have a partnership where you understand one another and you’re there to help each other when things get tough. I have a great husband, who has never made me feel guilty in my career ambition.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Mindshare’s Community X Helps Women Develop into Global Leaders

 At a time when sexual harassment at large corporations is making headlines, and life and death decisions on women’s health care options are being decided by all-male panels, it is affirming to note that there are several female empowerment initiatives taking root both nationally and globally, especially among media organizations with the power to amplify that message. 

Lifetime, for example, is launching Open Road which is traveling state to state to take the pulse of national sentiment on women’s issues. And, for global impact, Mindshare, in partnership with Charlotte Beers, recently announced the launch of Community X to up gender equality in the ad industry.

According to its press release, “what’s different about Community X is that it brings both Mindshare executives and (the agency’s) clients together, making it more unique than a standard female leadership training or retreat programs.” Helen McRae, Mindshare UK CEO and chair of Western Europe, is heading up the effort with Charlotte Beers, former CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. I had the opportunity to ask them the following questions:

Charlene Weisler: What precipitated the formation of Community X? What was its path to implementation?

Helen McRae: It was a conversation in China with our global CEO, Nick [Emery] our China CEO Amrita [Randhawa] and a few clients. The group was talking about leadership and gender balance. There were a lot of shared experiences and learnings and Nick suggested that we do something as a community - clients and agency, all leaders and all women. Charlotte runs the X-Factor for WPP and has always been keen to expand this leadership course to a wider group! And so the idea of Community X was born!

Charlene Weisler: What are the challenges to gender equality in the advertising industry?

Charlotte Beers: The most pressing gender issue starts fairly far along in a woman's career. It is that threshold where she is one of several choices to take a leadership role. Men are chosen more often because they are easier to read in terms of potential. This is not a bias it is simply the fact that men can read one another more easily. The problem needs to be solved by the women who are contenders. This means they have to develop their skills in communicating who they are and particularly how strong relentless and fierce they can be in making good decisions. My experience is that women at these thresholds have all these qualities but in the work they are presently doing such attributes may not be on display. It may not be fair but it is up to our women to make it clear that we have the potential to be leaders and put it in terms that a man can read because it's usually a man who is making that crucial choice to cross the threshold to the highest level.

Charlene Weisler: Do you see differences in US efforts vs European efforts for Community X and if so what are they?

Helen McRae: It's a global effort. There will be perhaps some differences but think it will be nuanced differences. And we won't just stop at US and Europe but intend of having these communities in every region.

 Charlene Weisler: What advice would you give a young woman starting out in the industry today to achieve the greatest success?

Charlotte Beers: I would urge the young women coming up in the business to think and study who they are so that they can bring forward what makes them unique, what excites them and the kind of task they do exceptionally well. This understanding is part of how they learn to find meaning at work but it also guides everyone around them as to where they will be most productive and successful. This is not easy because there's so much pressure on the new members in the business to learn the culture, to follow the directive of your immediate boss and to search for evaluations. While these pressures are real this other somewhat more interior homework has to be done at exactly the same time. In studying yourself as your master your work you will learn to keep your own scorecard and present your own capacity. That's the beginning of learning to be a leader.

Charlene Weisler: Where would you like to see this initiative five years from now?

Helen McRae: Ideally it should be redundant and focus on diversity in leadership irrespective of race, gender, etc. Leadership comes in many shapes and sizes and it is diversity which adds depth and scales opportunity. 

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Older is Cooler. Surprising Results from the 2017 Mindshare Culture Vultures Study

For those of us who have aged out of the desirable 25-54 demographic, we can now take some comfort and satisfaction from the results of the latest Mindshare Culture Vulture Trends report. Culture Vulture is Mindshare's global cultural trends program that sets out to identify macro and micro trends.  Now in its sixth year, the Culture Vulture has been ascertaining consumer trends with eerie accuracy.

Past studies have correctly mapped out the increasingly divided nature of our society. “Over the years, two of the biggest trends we’ve tracked have been ‘2 Americas’ and ‘Crossover Culture,’ both of which are still two of most impactful trends years later,” explained Alexis Fragale, Director, Consumer Insights, Mindshare NA . According to this year’s study, we are experiencing a Boomaissance as the value of this overlooked demographic now becomes apparent.  

The 2017 study marked ten impactful trends that are then matched with advertiser demographic targets to help in strategy and planning. The ten major trends are ‘Tapped Out’ (Too busy lives and plateauing productivity), ‘Boomaissance’ (Older adults take on a Middle Aged Millennial mindset), ‘21st Century Success’ (Traditional American dream vs dream of personal experiences), ‘Unmasking Unicorns’ (Parsing fake news), ‘My World / The World’ (Widening gulf between personal perceptions and views of the world overall), ‘Mind(ful) Optimization’ (Seeking purpose and mindfulness), ‘Land of the Giants’ (Corporate giants dominate but niche brands fight back), ‘The Informal Normal’ (More casual at work and with friends), ‘ Borecore’ (More and more, we’re posting and watching ‘boring’ content) and ‘Open Lives’ (Less privacy, more exposed lives).  

I sat down with Alexis Fragale and Jodie Huang, Manager, Insights, Mindshare NA and asked them the following questions:

Charlene Weisler: Two of the biggest trends from past studies are ‘2 Americas’ and ‘Crossover Culture’. Can you tell me about them?

Alexis Fragale: In ‘2 Americas’, we explored how Americans' values and lifestyles have been diverging significantly over recent years – making it harder for brands to speak to ‘one’ homogenous country. This was clearly a huge factor in the 2016 election and we’ve seen it move beyond values and lifestyles to other areas like content preferences and our social algorithms. ‘2 Americas’ has been evidenced in our 2017 trends of ‘My World / The World’ and ‘Unmasking Unicorns.’

In ‘Crossover Culture’, we explored how a more connected and complex world gives opportunities and a need for crossover in art, technology, science, ideas, and brands. And in a world where it’s harder to gain consumers’ trust and wallet share, more brands are finding ways to extend their brand into more areas of their consumers’ life. For example, take West Elm who is set to open a hotel, and NBA teams buying eSports teams. ‘Crossover Culture’ has been evidenced in our 2017 trends ‘Tapped Out’ and ‘Land of the Giants.’

Charlene Weisler: What are the big takeaways from this year's study?

Alexis Fragale: First, the report is a reminder on how quickly the world and culture changes. Second, there are pockets of growth opportunities that advertisers may be missing and may need to address differently than before – for example, look at Boomers, or how to deliver against consumers’ changing definition of success. Third, there are a lot of myths out there. Myths about how people are feeling in America. About the types of content people want. About consumer media behavior. That’s why you’ve always got to keep looking at the data – question those myths.  

Charlene Weisler: Do you think advertisers will shift advertising dollars to the Boomer cohort and why?

Alexis Fragale: Boomers control much of the disposable income in America and they are living longer than ever. While companies will still advertise and try to win over younger consumers (which is partly a Customer Lifetime Value play), it would be a missed opportunity to ignore or alienate such a large portion of Americans, especially one with so much spending power. As for shifting dollars to Boomers, it depends on the nuances of both category and jobs to be done within the campaign (e.g. retain consumers, inspire trial, etc.).

Take spirits as an example: for certain brands, their stronghold of users is among Boomers (e.g. Scotch), but to grow the category, they need to appeal to a (21+) millennial audience. They’ll need to strategize how to balance the growth opportunities while speaking to their loyalists.

Charlene Weisler: How is the American Dream changing and how will that impact spending?

Jodie Huang: We’ve seen a bigger push towards experiential over materialism, especially amongst Millennials. These experiences increasingly help define their lives and identities versus the things they buy. So there is a shift in how they spend, the content they look at, and what companies they use to enable this lifestyle change. Travel is one category that will benefit from shift to experiential spending, and the one-upmanship we’re seeing among Millennials (e.g. the race to be the first of your friends to travel to Cuba or planning an epic celebration vacation for your 30th birthday).

Charlene Weisler: How can we dispel myths and fake news?

Jodie Huang: Educating consumers on how to tell the difference between fake and real news will empower the readers and puts the onus on them to decide for themselves whether or not to trust the content they are reading. Tools and content hacking devices can help make it easier to look at the source material, check facts, review credentials and speed up the process of verifying the news.

Charlene Weisler: Give me one descriptor word for each generation.

Jodie Huang: Gen Z: Ephemeral, Millennials: Savvy, Gen X: Overlooked, Boomers: Idealistic

Charlene Weisler: What advice would you give advertisers today to best prepare for the future?

Alexis Fragale: A lot of industry ‘futuring’ work tends to be wrong, especially in highly uncertain categories (the famous quote: “Wall Street indices predicted nine out of the last five recessions”). The best you can do is map plausible scenarios and prepare for a small number of likely outcomes. Our Culture Vulture work throws up the trends that may underpin different category and media scenarios. It’s important to keep a pulse on the directions the world may be heading in, and what the implications are for brands. We recommend three things:

Talk to consumers as frequently as possible (or ensure that your agencies do). At Mindshare, among our other ongoing surveys and research, we run monthly ‘consumer conversations.’ We speak to the early adopters of technologies or behaviors (e.g. right now we’re chatting to folks who have Amazon Echos and Google Home). Look to understand the drivers and barriers of new behaviors to understand the impact to the brand today and tomorrow.

Set up a committed test-and-learn program, with a funnel of hypotheses that come from consumer insights/research, and an overarching measurement strategy.

Get out and experience the emerging technology and cultural spaces – do monthly safaris out into new format retail stores, or set tasks for your organization to download and trial the newest app (e.g. try Meitu).

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

Insights into Holiday Shopper Behavior. Mindshare Releases Their Black Friday and Cyber Monday Research Results

One of the foremost things on an advertisers mind at this time of year is holiday shopper behavior. Mindshare has just announced the results of their new research study that reveals fascinating consumer behaviors among those who said that they were planning to shop on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

As their press release noted, “Mindshare NA surveyed 779 upcoming shoppers for Black Friday or Cyber Monday to look at what (and why) people want to buy, what they want from retailers, where they seek discounts, and much more. The research was led by Shop+ (the agency's dedicated retail unit) using The Pool (Mindshare's proprietary research tool).” The study polled Adults 18+ with an even split between men and women.

Joe Migliozzi, Managing Director, Shop+ Lead, Mindshare, explained some of the study takeaways and how advertisers can maximize their impact on buying decisions:

1.       Never underestimate the power of showrooming. A great deal of shoppers will use their phones to check for prices while in-store, which means there’s an opportunity for competing brands and retailers to push out their messages instead.

2.       Shoppers have clear budgets in mind. Brands and retailers should consider helping shoppers find the products that meet their budget by curating their offer messaging and promotions for different types of shoppers and budget ranges. That applies to social media in particular. As people are posting deals and what they bought afterwards on their social networks, brands can engage with these posts and offer shoppers additional services, be it future discounts or customer service.

3.       Many shoppers have an expectation that there will be deals that supersede all other deals—64% of shoppers in our study said that they get deals on Black Friday that they can’t get at any other time, a data point that rises to 72% for millennial shoppers in particular. So, if your brand thinks as the holidays as simply a time to piggyback on increased retail traffic, that’s a mistake. Planning for increased discounts and promotions during this time is critical to grabbing shoppers’ attention.

4.       Men are avid shoppers. It was surprising to see how much men took the lead on not just spending (although that was quite significant – men say they’ll spend nearly 69% more than women), but certain behaviors as well. Part of that has to do with their purchase of big ticket items, and part of that has to do with greater numbers of men who strongly believe that there are certain deals you can only get this time of year, certain deals that you can only get in store, and more.

In terms of how these results can be used to predict the success of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Migliozzi explained, “We surveyed folks who were already planning to shop so we believe that brands and retailers who ground their media strategies in data and insights and continue to adapt to changes and events throughout the holiday season will do better than those who don’t.”

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com