Digital Marketing report

LIVING IN A DIGITAL WORLD How will the digital revolution affect marketing and communications for food and drink brands?

Richmond Towers Communications Ltd 26 Fitzroy Square London W1T 6BT Tel: 020 7388 7421 Fax: 020 7388 7761 Report author: Leang Chaing, Yale University Report director: Simon Mowbray, Editorial Director, Richmond Towers Communications January 2008

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Marketing is a competitive business so, like all good marketing, communications and public relations firms, Richmond Towers Communications wants nothing more than to give its clients an edge. That is precisely why we decided to delve further into the subject of digital marketing and communications – beyond what we already knew as an agency experienced in the digital world.

Our aim was to discover new and valuable information that signals not only how consumers feel about the present digital communications landscape, but also to try and find out what the future holds and how consumers believe they will interact with that future before it even arrives.

For companies seeking innovative ways to distinguish themselves in an ever-evolving media world, digital communications and marketing are often approached with no small amount of trepidation – What sort of digital marketing should we do? Should it be web-based? If so, should we do it through our existing website, create another, or use a third party outlet? Who will notice it? Will they engage with it? And last, but certainly not least, will it really add to the bottom line?

In a bid to answer these questions – and many more – we began our research with an attempt to determine how the food and drink industry might capitalise on the explosion in digital communications and marketing. We found that consumers are even more advanced and ready to embrace this brave new world than might have previously been imagined or perceived.

Through desk research and a review of the plethora of available studies, we have picked out the most relevant observations on digital media, communications and marketing for the food and drink industry. And, in order to ensure that our research was not only up to date but of maximum value, we commissioned a public survey of 3,000 UK adults aged 16 and over to find out what they really think about the digital universe and how they want food and drink companies to communicate to them both now and in the future.

Unsurprisingly, the picture is mixed. Yet there are common themes running throughout.

For example, consumers of all ages – from young adults to the older generation of ‘silver surfers’ – are embracing the digital age in greater numbers than ever before and have an ever expanding appetite for interaction with brands and brand owners. They also trust brands. Digital communications put out by food and drink companies are not only trusted, but respected and viewed in greater quantities than those put out by government. This finding – and the many

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others outlined in this report – signal the opportunity for companies looking to embark on a digital media campaign, as well as providing compelling evidence for why they should do so.

However, by the same token this should not be interpreted as the start of the demise of traditional media – in fact, far from it.

Our research shows that traditional outlets – in particular TV, newspapers and magazines – continue to go from strength to strength in terms of their credibility in the eyes of consumers. Yet they, too, are realising the need to embrace the digital world as consumers become more and more sophisticated.

The same, it seems, applies to food and drink brands serious about making an impact in the new digital world.

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THE DIGITAL LANDSCAPE The internet has revolutionised how we communicate – at the mere click of a button we can now research, order and critique goods and services faster than ever before, whether for business, pleasure or out of simple necessity. The internet is a venerable fountain of information, accessible to all through search engines, media sites, emails, and much more.

The ability to effectively connect with billions of internet users across the globe arguably gives food and drink companies – the guardians of the largest fast moving consumer goods (fmcg) category on earth – one of the greatest opportunities to interact with consumers and obtain an edge in an ever increasingly competitive industry.

Not only does the internet allow companies to distribute information and advertisements with ease, it can also globalise firms by targeting new consumers in original and innovative ways, completely unconstrained by geographical location. In many ways, the distances between billions of people have been reduced to the inches from user to computer screen.

The advent of web 2.0 has given users more control over the development of their own domains and greater input as to what they are willing to accept and what they will simply ignore.

Blogs, social networks and user generated content is shaping the internet into communities with open and personalised content — which can generate streams of revenue if firms tap in.

Some food and drink companies are already seizing this opportunity, some are not.

In order to help businesses assess the potential gains and pitfalls of communicating with consumers digitally, Richmond Towers Communications set out to assess the value of the internet and other digital formats as a medium for public relations and facilitated corporate interaction with consumers.

We began our research by aiming to determine how the food and drink industry might capitalise on the popular trend of digital marketing to ultimately increase its bottom line.

Our goal has been to establish the value of digital marketing and also evaluate the changes needed to effectively utilise this new medium. How seriously do consumers take the information found online compared to that in traditional media? Do people actually pay attention to corporations wishing to sell their goods when they can close browsers and exit web pages with a simple click? Can an online presence improve brand awareness and loyalty? Can digital communications truly affect the bottom line? If so, what forms of digital marketing and

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communications are most effective? And last, but certainly not least, will firms lose out if they don't incorporate digital marketing into their campaigns?

In answer to these questions – and others which inevitably presented themselves as our research progressed – we have attempted to test the benefits of using exciting digital formats in an organised and deliberate way to increase brand awareness – and ultimately profits. As you will see, we found that when used conscientiously, the internet combined with television, print, and radio can indeed be an invaluable asset to a company's marketing and public relations.

WHAT IS DIGITAL MARKETING? To start our assessment of digital marketing we must first understand exactly what digital marketing entails. One can trace the origins of digital marketing to the advent of the search engine when in 1991 “Gopher”, one of the first network query and search tools, was introduced.

However, it wasn’t until the arrival of Yahoo in 1994, receiving one million hits within its first year, that companies realised the need to begin modifying their websites to attain more site hits and higher rankings in the searches. 1 This technique is still being used today, now known as search engine optimisation, so that selected websites will be listed first when keywords are searched, increasing traffic and activity and, as a direct result, awareness of a company.

Indeed, over the last decade search engine marketing has adopted ever increasingly sophisticated capabilities to match the developing technology. Pay-per-click advertisements suggest related websites to website users and will only charge advertisers when users “click” on the suggestions, an improvement upon the former fixed rate price for advertisers. But while search engines may have started the trend of digital marketing, many other dimensions have come to define it.

In the early 1990s, the internet was more similar to traditional forms of media where information was centralised and content was created by a few. Search engines acted like television networks — the content they displayed was chosen by the search engine through sponsorship. Search results were simply companies that paid the engines for advertisement space and content was pushed upon the rest of the audience. Officials call this era Web 1.0 where tools like emails, one-way published websites and static pages lacked the capabilities to engage and incorporate users.

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Email campaigns are one of the most frequently used forms of digital marketing. 84% of online consumers use email daily, making it one of the most used mediums on the internet. 2 The advantages of email are immediately apparent — instantaneous outreach to millions at virtually no cost. One can send updates about products through newsletters or advertise promotions with incredible ease. However, due to the number of unsolicited advertisements Diagram courtesy of Jonin60seconds.com

consumers now regularly receive through email,

and the rising dissatisfaction with ‘SPAM mail’ email campaigns, we have also sought to study if email may not be as effective as other methods of communication because of the propensity for consumers to simply delete marketing emails.

The establishment of Web 2.0 dynamically changed the interface of the web. This new development, not so much a technological revolution as a new focus for internet developers, created a level of interaction between website guardians and consumers that had never been experienced before. New website formats allowed dynamic interaction with the users from realtime updates to allowing anyone and everyone to create his or her own content.

Prior conventions had it that information travelled from companies to consumers through certain communication channels, particularly the media. Regarding product reviews and information distribution, the media’s opinion has traditionally been a vital addition to good advertising and PR. However, the creation of blogs, podcasts, and social networks means that positive reviews can now be generated by consumers themselves. There is little control over what is said and how information travels, referred to as Diagram courtesy of Jonin60seconds.com

3 the lunatic fringe model. But consumers

are now able to evaluate a product and spread information about those products or firms to other

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consumers with ease. And they may in turn pass the information to others, for example as part of a viral campaign.

To this extent, consumers can now potentially replace or bolster information coming from other media sources — they write their own news through blogs, speak their voices on podcasts, and interact with thousands others through social networks.

Blogs can be platforms that produce content viewable by both search engines and, most importantly, potential customers. The top rated food and drink related blog, deliciousdays.com has 3,334 other blogs linked onto it according to Technorati, a blog search engine. In addition to deliciousday.com’s unmonitored readership, this means 3,334 other blogs have the capability to link to hundreds or thousands of other sites whose readers regularly subscribe to the opinions and evaluations they see online.

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Podcasts, known as the audio analogue of a blog, are downloadable, portable audio files.

They have a loyal following since all podcasts have a subscription option which will automatically download all future podcasts to a computer or mp3 player.

Podcasts can have expansive audiences and as a result are a potentially interesting marketing tool. In the US, Mommycast (mommycast.com) – a podcast started by two mothers – gained 300,000 listeners a week in 2006. On one show they recommended the family film March of the Penguins, which became the highest grossing documentary of all time. Warner Independent Pictures attributed a quarter of the $100 million gross to the independent review on Mommycast.

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Brands are also developing their own podcasts. Whirlpool American Family, developed

by Whirlpool – an American appliance company – talks about family related topics including parenthood, schooling and nutrition. Every month it achieves 70,000 downloads and this success not only advertises Whirlpool but also creates a consumer affiliation with the brand in a way that gives it a positive buzz. 6 Social networks like Facebook, Bebo or MySpace are electronic communities comprised of millions of use rs and potential customers. Users spent an average of 20 mi nutes per visit on these sites in May 2008. And Britons spend 2.4 billion minutes on Facebook every month, making this social network the second most used website in Britain. 7

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Like blo gs, social net works have the potential to distrib

ute informatio n virally. For

example, at the la st count a Nike commercial featuring football star Ronaldinho had 23.7 million views on youtube.com, a leading social media website. 8 Global impl ementation of broad band inter net ha s made video streaming po ssible for many ho useholds. In the UK, onlin e vi deo sites li ke youtube. com have an 87% rea ch am ongst home, office and school locations with 28 million unique visits.

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Meanwhile, advertisements and written communications have even extended to phones where text messaging, Bluetooth and internet capability are all now being utilised by marketers.

Companies have the capability to use text messaging campaigns to advertise and more than 2% of all phone users now have access to social networks from their phones – and this is projected to quadruple in the next five years. 10 This year almost £3 billion was spent on mobile messaging advertising. 11 But this is far from the full array of tools available. For example, digital marketing includes other platforms such as widgets – programs that consumers can interact with for potential viral branding, microsites, microblogs, and advertisement games. Widgets proliferate websites to enhance the digital experience while playing some practical purposes — they can track the number of visits, allow for real-time conversations or stream photos along the sidebar. They can also subtlety advertise brands and promotions. To increase awareness of its ‘buy 1 grow 1 tree’ campaign, Innocent Drinks, a UK-based smoothie and soft drink manufacturer, developed a widget so customers could proudly display ‘how many trees’ they saved by purchasing Innocent Drinks on their personal pages or Facebook.

The continuously developing technology will require revisions of this list, as with time and user adoption of different platforms some tools will be replaced and new ones introduced with greater capabilities.

But is this just the tip of the proverbial iceberg? After all, the internet is the largest growing medium in the marketing world. With 36.9 million users in the United Kingdom alone, and 56.9% of those having access to a high speed connection, the internet is becoming increasingly accessible, irrespective of class, social status or income.

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In this way, blogs are among many areas or tools with huge growth potential. While 60% of the world’s online population visit some sort of social network or blogging site, in the UK blogs account for only 1.19% of traffic. However, in the last three years, blog activity has increased by

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208%, outpacing the 70% growth of news and media sites. 13 It seems blogs are becoming more popular with the mainstream and people are taking notice.

Social networks like Facebook, Bebo and MySpace have become a principal part of the internet culture. 60% of respondents to a survey have a profile on a social network. 14 Not only are these sites popular — they are habit forming as well. Three out of 10 UK internet users – or 11 million people – spend time on sites like Facebook. 15 11% of Europeans use social networks daily. 16 An average of 9.09% of all visits in the month of May were to a social network website, making up a large share of UK internet activity. 17 Companies seem to be taking notice of this global trend and directing advertising efforts to the World Wide Web. 18 Today the UK online advertising market is worth £3.026 billion – with a growth rate of 39.5%, far surpassing the -1.6% growth in press advertisements and 2.3% growth in television advertisement spending, the largest mediums in terms of expenditure. 19 Ad spending on social networks alone is expected to rise 77% to £115 million if sustained and is projected to increase 148% from 2008 to 2012. 20 At current rates, the internet will soon pass all other mediums in terms of popularity and preference. While television advertising is still holding strong, possessing a 21.8% share of total ad spend, other forms like print are being pressured to convert to digital. 21 Newspapers are beginning to offer advertising space exclusively on their online editions as they begin to offer an alternative or addition to print advertising. According to the 2008 ‘State of the Marketer’ survey conducted by Eloqua, 55% of marketers expect a decrease in their print ad spending over the next three years. 22 Meanwhile, according to research conducted by Arbitron, people now spend 14% less time listening to radio than 10 years ago and companies are focusing their marketing efforts online. 23 The move towards internet advertising seems to be gathering such momentum that Fosters Beer declared it would halt all television promotions and place its entire budget online in 2006. 24 Business heavyweights like Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer are also joining the debate.

Ballmer believes that print will be dead within the next 10 years and will only exist electronically.

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However, such massive proclamations should be treated with some caution. After all, similar gloomy predictions were predicted for the newspaper industry with the advent of the first home radios. Radio in turn had its obituary written by many with the appearance of television, whereas the reality is that all three of these formats continue to be massively popular and, in the case of some titles, programmes, stations or channels are increasing their market share or

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audience. They are also successfully integrating digital formats into their overall product mix. In this way, it can be safely assumed that more traditional forms of media will still be here for many years to come, although they will undoubtedly continue to evolve in line with future technologies and trends.

As a result, social media usage, which continues to grow in the United Kingdom, looks like it will become a fertile area for both media operators and fmcg giants alike. 74% of companies polled said they planned to increase their direct e-mail spending, while about twothirds will spend more on mobile texting and SMS. Nine out of 10 stated they would continue to increase direct online ad budget, at the expense of print budgets.

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And more than three-quarters

of marketers surveyed will increase their social media spending within the next three years.

Marketers recognise the necessity to branch out through electronic and digital platforms as that’s where their customers are spending more and more time.

CURRENT ACTIVITY Most people in the UK now have access to the internet. Of 16-24 year olds, 90% of them had used the internet within 3 months of polling. Even amongst seniors, 24% had accessed the internet, a number that grew 60% within one year. On average 67% use it every day. Males are more likely to use the internet daily, 70% compared to 63% of daily female users. 27 Yet despite this, many UK companies seem hesitant to expand their internet presence beyond simply a corporate website. In a poll conducted by Richmond Towers Communications, almost half of the food and drink company marketers and communicators we quizzed were in charge of brands lacking any social media tools and were uncertain whether they would implement digital media into their marketing strategies in the future.

Yet adoption of internet tools is arguably a necessity in this day and age. Most companies have at least a website and domain to refer to customers. However, there are several case studies of companies effectively using the resources online to build their corporate reputation and consequently increase sales. For example, confectioner Cadbury boosted sales by uploading its commercial involving a gorilla and a drumset on youtube.com. The video now has 10 million views, achieved mostly through word of mouth and referrals from others. It cost Cadbury no money to use youtube.com, but extended its brand name with great success.

Burger King initiated a more effortful digital campaign to promote its new line of chicken burgers. It referred consumers to a website where users could control a chicken and command it

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to do whatever they pleased. Within a year the website had 14 million unique visitors, a total of 400 million page views, and Burger King had a 9% jump in chicken sandwiches in one week during the month the ‘Subservient Chicken’ website was released. 28 Successful digital marketing campaigns can range from simple postings on social media websites to extensive integrated promotions using different media. US brewer Anheuser-Busch promoted online versions of its television commercials the week before the 2006 Superbowl. The company got more than 22 million visits to its website according to the New York Times. 29 One high-profile user of digital marketing is US presidential candidate Barack Obama.

His website (barackobama.com) has blogs written by both Democratic nominee Obama himself and his supporters—anyone who registers on his website can blog as well. Advocates can choose to receive text messages regarding race updates as well as events held nearby to maintain ties with the campaign. The personal social network established on the website, where Obama fans can create profiles, state why they support the candidate and talk to others who share the same passion makes this political website truly revolutionary. The website not only educates visitors on the presidential candidate’s policies and goals, it also engages the voters to host their own political events, recruit other supporters, and spread the word. According to the BBC, Obama’s website played a key role in his success — allowing him to raise more funds, mobilise a network of avid supporters, and tap into young voters, a traditionally hard to reach demographic. One of the unique features of the Obama campaign has been its ability to embrace social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

Alpro Soya has focused its efforts on the internet in its new campaign, Year of Wellbeing (YOW, yearofwellbeing.com). Positioning itself as a supporter of health and wellbeing issues, Alpro created a comprehensive web-based initiative towards increasing people’s wellbeing. 100 ambassadors were chosen from the general populace to act as guides and advocates of healthy and happy living. Members are supported with a customised social network where ambassadors offer tips, advice and support for others in their attempts towards a healthier life. They can interact with each other, communicate with individuals or groups in support of their mutual objectives. Personal profiles on the website feature goals for the year as well as some healthy guidelines to share with the rest of the community. The YOW blog has anecdotes of exercise regimens, city life and other healthy living stories to create intimacy towards the participants’ lives while encouraging others to join in on the initiative. The website also features expert opinions, podcasts and newsletters to keep members updated and involved with the campaign.

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Since its September 2008 inception, more than 9,000 consumers have joined up on the Year of Wellbeing website and members continue to actively recruit new people to the site. Every member is encouraged to engage through a myriad features and encouraged to become wellbeing ambassadors in their respective communities. The website has had 80,500 visitors and 330,000 page visits and has been successful in encouraging repeat visits and exposures. The newsletters and podcasts are designed to be easily forwarded to friends and family, promoting the programme goals and ideals to countless others.

Alpro conceptualised the Year of Wellbeing initiative not as simply an elaborate scheme to enhance the brand’s reputation but as a move to promote its stance on good living. Alpro believes the way to market penetration and advocacy is through establishing its brand as a lifestyle choice. Its goal is therefore to extend its reach beyond the website by promoting permanent changes which will lead to the adoption of Alpro’s nutritional and healthy products.

Innocent Drinks is another UK firm using the internet as its primary vehicle for advertisement (innocentdrinks.co.uk). Its blog, updated 350 times a year, features stories ranging from fruits and vegetables to random thoughts like commentary on banana phones or a new book that has engrossed a writer. Most importantly, however, the blog includes updates of Innocent Drinks’ festival, the Innocent Village Fete. The blog is a free platform for Innocent Drinks to advertise the acts and festivities at its event, simultaneously encouraging and energising visitors to attend. Innocent has also used its blog to argue against remarks on Gordon Ramsay’s show the ‘F word’ that criticised smoothies regarding their health benefits. Innocent Drinks used the blog to disprove Ramsay’s claims and reduce his comments to sensationalised embellishments while simultaneously advocating the natural components of Innocent smoothies.

But it doesn’t stop there. Innocent offers a network of websites for different interests – while its flagship site – innocentdrinks.co.uk – garners the most traffic, the company also offers a website for a younger demographic with interactive games and activities, another site for its sponsored festival Village Fete, as well as a domain for its charity to prominently advertise its focus on corporate social responsibility.

All of the online activity is focused on developing interaction between Innocent Drinks and its consumers, with the company looking to expand interest with more features like expert recipes for fans to try out or an interactive drinks site for others to create and share their favourite drinks.

With a weekly newsletter going out to a database of 130,000 users, Innocent Drinks has accentuated its position as a grassroots company into success. Web traffic and sales have increased proportionally for the smoothie company.

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All of its work has created a community of faithful brand advocates. Charlotte Rawlins, head of Innocent Drinks’ communications division, claims that a survey attached to Innocent’s weekly newsletter will receive almost 5,000 respondents instantly. The interest consumers show in this brand has propelled Innocent Drinks into an internationally recognised company renowned for its close relationship with its consumers.

Digital media, however, is not essentially a tool for marketers to sell podcasts. To create a community filled with brand advocates, companies have to invest in a long-term campaign and constantly maintain and update features. Clare Wood, Marketing Manager for Standard Blends at Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard, states: “It’s a big commitment. Once you build a relationship online you have to sustain it – you have to maintain it. It’s not like running a TV campaign for six weeks or six months and then coming off air. You’ve created a community and people feel very personally and powerfully — if you walk away people are going to be very angry.”

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Indeed, blogs, podcasts and videos need constant updating. A website needs to be actively engaging with new content and new activities to keep consumers happy and to encourage them to keep on returning. Posts need to be monitored and while some internet campaigns have a limited shelf life, blogs and online communities are potentially endless. “It can’t be a static medium at all, it can’t be a brochure,” says Robert Sutton, Marketing Director of Pomegreat. 31 “It’s clearly live and available for dialogue. People won’t accept static, boring, dull, inactive websites anymore.” With questionable returns on investment, many companies question the need for such high maintenance tools.

As a relatively new medium, legal boundaries and restrictions are still in their infancy. In fact, it’s a legal minefield. Copyright laws are not as defined as they are in traditional media and companies are more vulnerable to court actions with such ambiguity. Possession is relatively undefined on the internet, and any content that borrows from another may be plagiarism or theft, even if cited. In this way, the internet’s ease in sharing information has some companies fearing an employee sampling another firm may inadvertently break the law. As a result, until more boundaries are set in the digital realm, some firms are erring on the conservative side and focusing solely on their own domain and nothing else.

But in the end, companies must weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of digital marketing as they do when taking any other business decision. In this way, the ultimate goal of

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this study is to determine through independent and impartial research the value of digital marketing as a strategy for the food and drink industry. In order to do so, we set out to establish whether online content could be seen as believable and reliable as traditional forms of media. To clarify the potential for digital marketing, we also sought to evaluate browsing patterns and purposes — what tools do people use on the internet and why? Lastly, we looked at the likelihood of consumers taking account of the content found online in their purchasing decisions, and so conclude what the relationship might be between search and purchase.

A detailed outline of our research methods follows here. Our study is intended to offer a comprehensive perspective of digital marketing that helps better inform the decisions of those companies who wish to engage in it.

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METHODOLOGY In order to guarantee the most complete and comparative analysis possible, we undertook a multi-faceted approach to our research. It included preliminary desk research, interviews with marketing and communications professionals, academics and digital specialists, and a 3,000 respondent public survey. The details of these methods follow.

Desk Research Desk research began in early June 2008 and continued through August 2008. Most of this research was conducted either online, or through the British Library and Yale University Library.

Sources directly cited in this report are included in the bibliography. We are particularly indebted to eMarketer for its extensive research on internet patterns, Paul Gillian and his book, The New Influencers, and Richmond Towers Communications’ new media manager Jon Bishop.

Interviews Interviews were conducted either in person or by phone over a fortnight in Summer 2008.

Interviewees were provided with a preview of the questions they would be asked. We tried to select a range of interviewees, including academics, digital specialists, and marketingcommunications representatives from various sectors of the food and drink industry, so that the opinions expressed in our report would be representative of all relevant groups.

Public Survey Our public survey was conducted on behalf of Richmond Towers Communications by 72Point/OnePoll, a market research company. It was conducted between 14 July 2008 and 16 July 2008 amongst a nationally representative sample of 3,000 UK adults aged 16+. Responses were analysed demographically by gender, age, income and geography, as well as at large.

Inquiries regarding the research, including the permission to use any part of this report, can be directed to:

Leang Chaing

Simon

Mowbray

Davenport College, Yale University Leang.chaing@yale.edu Ric Leang@rt-com.com

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Editorial Director hmond Towers Communications simon@rt-com.com

CREDIBILITY OF DIGITAL MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS THE CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE In order for investment in the internet and similar technologies to be worthwhile, consumers have to take the content seriously. Otherwise, alternative mediums would simply be more cost-effective and powerful. While the internet may be popular globally, there is a general perception that it still lacks the kind of gravitas that gives television and print their authority — mediums where well trained, trustworthy journalists report the information.

But the basic foundation of the internet is the ability to spread and disperse information amongst users. With the numerous resources available online, and with a plethora of websites acting as electronic guides to readers, it is easier to be informed and knowledgeable than ever before. Studies show that the most popular internet activity is currently searching for information on products or services, with 86% of respondents claiming to have used the web for this purpose.

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People certainly appreciate the internet’s effectiveness as a research tool. According to Richmond Towers Communications’ poll, 86.25% of people polled believe the internet is an effective tool for accessing and sharing information with others.

But while the ability to create content may have shaped the digital landscape, it also creates variability and uncertainty towards the trustworthiness of user generated content. In order for digital media to be successful, people must have as much faith in the content found online as they do offline. When we questioned consumers about how seriously they treated the internet compared to other media, they rated it the second most useful source for gathering information about brands, tied with television at 21% and behind only family and friends. With the exception of households with an income of £15,000-£29,000, each income group rated the internet as the most effective medium for information retrieval, above the traditional and more established forms of television, print and radio. Surprisingly, more users aged 56+, a demographic conventionally believed to be internet avoidant, rated it as the best tool at 26.6% - even more useful than friends and family (20.62%).

The internet rivals other forms of media in terms of trustworthiness. 74.25% surveyed trust the internet as much as they do television or radio while 75.3% trusted information found online as much as information printed in a newspaper or magazine. Internet confidence is not limited to younger users either – 69.07% of consumers we quizzed aged 56 and older viewed the

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information on internet as trustworthy on television or radio. Likewise, 74% viewed the internet and print to be on similar levels of reliability.

What is the most useful source for getting information regarding food/drink products?

Newspapers

7% 21%

13% 2%

Magazines Directories (Yellowpages) Friends/family In-store staff

21%

27%

Television The Internet

9%

Consumers see the internet as just reliable a tool as television or print — if not more. In fact, a presence on the internet is necessary to be perceived as credible. Even the press sees the internet as an essential and reliable source of information. According to a study conducted by the marketing consultancy Arketi Group, 85% of journalists stated that corporations without a website were less credible than those with one. 33 Even sources such as blogs, written by laypeople, are perceived with some authority.

More than 84% of business journalists say they either have used or would use blogs as primary or secondary sources for articles, according to the ‘2007 Arketi Web Watch Survey: Inside B-to-B Media Usage of Web 2.0’. 72% of journalists spend their time online reading blogs, while 54% of reporters claim blogs spark story ideas.

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If online content possesses as much authority as print

and television coverage, then digital marketing should be as influential as traditional marketing towards making a purchasing decision.

Surprisingly, our own study shows that 63.4% of British consumers trust recommendations found online at credible sites and blogs as much as those made by family and friends. In other words, consumers take the opinions of internet peers at face value, even if they’re made by complete strangers.

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The Company’s Domain The website is the digital face of the company. As a primary source for brand information, a significant number of consumers seek content at the company’s homepage. 16.17% of Britons travel directly to the website for product information. 13.75% prefer a brand website to media or consumer review sites when researching information, making the company website an influential source for influencing purchasing decisions.

Therefore, as one portion of the internet that companies have complete control over, food and drink companies must ensure that their representation of the brand is satisfying and easily accessible. When questioned about the most important features on a website, 54.95% of respondents listed detailed information, thereby fulfilling their original goal in hand — to get more information. 44.5% saw the need for companies to have their information formatted in an easily digestible layout.

Generating traffic onto the website is just as important to companies as the content itself — attracting consumers to spend their time there can be difficult with so many competitors vying for their attention as well. However, it could be as simple as just telling people the address. Four out of 10 (39.4%) respondents would go to a website address for more information if it were advertised on television, print, or even packaging.

Tools Where do consumers find their information? What are their traveling patterns? How can marketers capitalise on their demands and presence?

The most frequently used resources to access food/drink information are media websites — those associated with traditional television and print. According to our poll, almost half (45.35%) of people use the information found on television, newspapers, and/or magazine websites for information on food and drink products with usage increasing with age. As one of the most salient sources of information, media websites are frequently advertised through their offline counterparts as well as online. Media websites like the guardian.co.uk maintain the integrity of their parent affiliates. But with the interactivity that users have with posting comments, it comes as no surprise that most consumers rely on a new form of media that they are comfortable with.

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Which of the following do you use to get information on food/drink products?

26.63

Emails f rom c ompanies and brands

45.35

TV/Newspaper/Magazine websites

20.17

Consumer review sites

26.73

Sources

Price c omparison sites

16.17

Corporate websites

21.87

Emails from family, friends, acquaintances

3.15

Podcasts

8.76

Social networks

18.37

Third party blog/websites

1.26

Other

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Percentage

The power of email Consumers get flooded with SPAM everyday advertising all kinds of goods and services.

But while most corporate messages are often relegated to junk folders and trash folders, email can still have a powerful impact towards influencing consumer opinion.

When we asked consumers which part of a marketing campaign that used the internet was most memorable, 10.85% recalled email advertisements the most. The salience of emails may be explained by sheer quantity — the internet user receives more email promotions than any other advertisement tool.

The difference between SPAM and effective emails is that consumers actually read the latter because they are permission-based. Half of respondents to the Harris Interactive study ‘View from the Inbox’ on Permission-based Email Marketing (PEM) made an online purchase due to a PEM. As a prior accepted form of advertisement, PEM can be used to better inform consumers about product updates or promotions.

Unsolicited emails, on the other hand, are rarely successful.

35

76.18% of respondents to

the Richmond Tower Communications study said they never responded to unsolicited email, while many claim they reply solely to tell companies to stop the SPAM. 15% of people were concerned with the privacy of their information while 27% simply refused to reply out of

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annoyance. One respondent wrote: “If I want information I will go out and find it myself. It simply annoys me to get products shoved at me and I’ll be more than likely to avoid that company in the future for that sole reason.”

Yet 33.97% would rather receive information on a food or drink product by email than by text message, post or telephone, although 35.73% would prefer not to receive any unsolicited information at all.

Newsletters are also a simple yet effective means of cultivating brand advocacy. 71.6% of the people we questioned had a favourable attitude towards newsletters. Across income groups, interest towards newsletters remained constant with seven out of 10 people in the lowest income group and the same ratio within the highest income group favouring newsletters. Since consumers opt into newsletters, they have a higher chance of being successful at keeping the brand active in consumers’ lives. In addition, since newsletters can easily extend beyond simply promotions and coupons, they have a better chance of fostering a relationship between consumer and company.

Aside from search engines (Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc.), which online tools do you or would you use the most for information about food and drink products?

27.9

Emails from family, friends, acquaintances

33.25

Consumer Review sites 28.4

Price Comparison sites 7.75

Social Networks 5.1

Source

Governmental websites

14

Online Encyclopedia

13.45

Third-party websites 7.45

Blogs

13.75

Corporate websites

13

Media websites 5.75

Newsfeeds

22.85

Emails from Companies/brands 1.19

Other 0

5

10

15

20

Percentage

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25

30

35

Mobile Mobile communication is relatively unexplored in Europe and America compared to parts of Asia where consumers and business have been quicker to adopt 3G technology and more phones have internet access capabilities. While only 42 million Europeans access the web regularly, Japan has 83.3 million subscribers. 3637 The mobile communication industry is limited by the sparse but growing number of UK 3G phones, but is expected to boom once technological adoption reaches its critical point, as it has in Japan and South Korea.

When asked how often they accessed the internet via mobile phone, a resounding 52.20% replied “never” — attributable to the high fees for or inability to browse online. However, 26.55% of respondents claimed to access the internet at least several times a month – representing a growth in use of the developing technology.

Cost certainly seems to play an important role in using mobile phones to surf the internet.

In our survey, only 38.46% of those in the £60,000+ income group said they did not use mobile technology to browse the internet — much lower than the 57.61% of respondents in the £014,000 group. Indeed, more affluent people were inclined to using mobile internet regularly — 42.30% claimed to do it at least monthly.

But while mobile internet may still only be widely accessible to the well-off, decreases in the costs of both services and phones are likely to make the practice more commonplace in the future. In May 2008, Vodafone, a leading mobile service provider, started offering internet connectivity with its basic phone plans — allowing any member to surf the mobile internet.

Text messaging is a common practice that most people engage in yet few food and drink companies have used it as part of their campaigns. Only 11.4% of those surveyed said they did not use text messaging or that they only did it a few times a year. By contrast, (more than half) 53.75% claimed to text every day, making it a very popular and potentially profitable activity.

While some texting messages may be unsuccessful and downright annoying, companies that use text messaging as a service can fulfill a consumer demand. Some 47.65% of those surveyed said they would use a texting service offered by a food and drink company, even if it came with a marginal fee. And when it comes to food and drink products, customers want recommendations towards recipes to use various ingredients. Almost a quarter (23.35%) would be willing to text a company for recipes ideas — making it the perfect opportunity for product promotions and food/drink suggestions.

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Meanwhile, price continues to be one of the leading determinants in a purchasing decision, especially with the cost of food goods currently increasing at the time of compiling this report. One in five (20.8%) believed a price comparison service would be useful.

Although UK usage of emerging technologies like interactive television hasn’t yet hit critical mass, they have the potential to be profitable platforms for brand marketing. A positive correlation exists between adoption of technology like interactive television and income with 67.24% of those in the £50-59,000 income bracket using i-tv at least monthly compared with 23% of the <£14,000 group. As a demographic high in disposable income, marketing towards special interest groups can yield high results. In fact, 30% of those in the £50-59,000 income group would not mind more advertisements on interactive television.

Social Networks and Virtual Communities The surge in social network activity has all industries questioning the potential returns towards marketing on such a popular platform. Users are flocking to social network sites with Facebook alone now having 10.6 million users in the UK. 38 The UK dominates social network spending in Western Europe, comprising 68% of the market. 39 In 2008 companies spent a total of £115 million on social network advertisements, an increase of 76.9% on the year before. 40 Companies perceive advantages of incorporating social networks into their marketing mix — a large population with special interests can spread brand information and awareness effectively.

However, the return on a social network investment is foggy at best. People do not join social networks to be swamped with advertisements, and a corporate presence is uninvited.

Almost half (46.45%) of people disapproved of corporate usage of social networks to advertise brands, believing them to be too intrusive and annoying.

Consumers also seem to take little notice of advertisements on social networks, negating the primary objective why companies use these websites in the first place. When asked how influential social networks were towards their purchasing decisions, social networks were rated second lowest at 1.93 out of a scale of 5 ahead of podcasts. Indeed, only 7.75% of people cited social networks as a source they would use for information about food and drink.

Companies intruding on a consumer’s space may, in fact, be triggering adverse reactions towards a brand. Robert Sutton, Marketing Director of Pomegreat, believes that the strategy to stubbornly force one’s way into a consumer’s domain will be unsuccessful. “You won’t catch me advertising my brand on a social network website or those sorts of things because that is

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counterproductive. If you’re too intrusive in marketing your brand, customers will simply ignore you.” 41 However, if a brand or company is relevant to the social network it can be accepted, and even welcomed – especially if it is genuinely supporting, enabling or empowering those using the network.

Like social networks, Second Life and other virtual communities have attracted a lot of attention due to their popularity amongst users. In March 2008, Second Life had more than 13 million registered accounts and 28.1% of respondents to the RTC survey admitted to using a virtual community like Second Life. 42 While 34.6% claimed they did not, or would not, mind food and drink advertising to enhance the in-game realism, sites like Second Life has yet to convince some marketers that it can offer a fruitful communications avenue.

On-line Advertisements In the past the only corporate presences seen online were advertisements — intrusive banner and pop-up advertisements that detracted from the quality of a website with gaudy animations and windows that seemed to proliferate like a virus. Indeed, 91% of the people we surveyed said they were annoyed by pop-up advertisements and 54.45% of a less anti pop-up audience had an unfavorable view towards banner advertisements. Online ads, however, are still perceived as very disengaging with a mere 6.15% of respondents liking banner advertisements.

The control consumers have over the content they view makes these unappealing advertisements completely ineffectual. Consumers can simply ignore, block or close adverts.

According to the Implications for Web-based Advertising Efforts, once consumers attend to and recognise a banner, they learn to forget it and become progressively insensitive.

43

In the new

landscape, where people can sort and find what engages them through search options and online communities, banners with little relevance to a consumer’s interests will simply be ignored.

Penetration and recall The internet’s global reach gives consumers the ability to access content unlimited by geography, while simultaneously allowing companies to advertise and market to a wider range of demographics than ever before. In spite of age or income differences, consumers are receiving brand information every time they go online. More than eight out of 10 surveyed said they had received unsolicited emails before.

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If consumers are constantly receiving information on brands, whether food and drink or other, how likely are they to pay attention and remember the brand? A considerable number of consumers could name a brand that used the internet effectively—28.80%. A similar number (27.75%) recalled internet presence and promotions but could not name the brand.

Of a sampled number of companies mentioned by consumers, some common threads seemed to be the key to success. Websites that offer free promotions, display some corporate social responsibility by discussing issues and those that flag up a special offer are the most memorable amongst consumers.

In a promotion to gain interest and information for the Strongbow Brand, Strongbow cider had UK newspapers like the Sun send emails to consumers offering a free pint to anyone who responded by text message. Using this popular medium, people had to send in their addresses and were texted back a voucher for a free pint. By offering this promotion, Strongbow now has the contact information of thousands of UK consumers to use in future promotions.

Coca Cola, Tesco and Kellogg are several other memorable companies — all with websites and pages devoted to publicising their corporate social responsibility (CSR). On Coca Cola’s website (www.coca-cola.co.uk), users can read about Coke’s work towards reducing its carbon footprint, get nutritional information on its drinks, and learn more about its programmes devoted to promoting a healthy lifestyle. Similarly, the Tesco website (tesco.com) has healthy recipes, an exercise regime and a section for consumers to make their own virtual lunches and compute the nutritional value. Kellogg (kelloggs.co.uk) offers consumers the ability to compute their body mass index (BMI), information on smarter eating and better nutrition. As consumers expect food and drink companies to do more for the community and exhibit some corporate social responsibility, the ones who display and discuss their goals and programmes openly are amongst the most popular or memorable, at least in the case of digital audiences.

It is therefore no coincidence that some of the biggest players in food and drink have realised this potential. Coca Cola also offers videos detailing the history of the brand, biographies of its management teams and an interface by which consumers can send their friends a soda bottle they have custom-designed online. Tesco.com allows consumers to learn more about the brand by reading biographies of Tesco’s suppliers, staff and even customers. Customers can also check the price of products through the Tesco website and compare them with the price offered at Tesco’s major competitors.

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Clearly, websites that can engage consumers by offering detailed information and content can dramatically increase brand awareness. And consumers who use entertaining and informative features on a website are more likely to return or refer the website to a friend. Most importantly, these brands are more likely to be remembered.

Influence Marketers are understandably concerned with the bottom line — will a campaign, whether it be traditional advertising or creating a digital community, deliver an acceptable return on investment? In order for digital media to be an advisable investment it has to generate sales either directly through immediate purchases or indirectly through brand advocacy and exposure.

While people may seek out information online, it only becomes relevant if the information guides behaviour. But clearly many people have come to rely on the internet to aid their purchasing decisions. In our survey, 85.19% of those people in the £50-59,000 income group had purchased a food/drink product due to information found online with 48.14% of the group doing so at least 5-10 times a year. Almost two-thirds (65%) had purchased a food or drink item due partly to internet activity.

The comments and opinions of others also weigh heavily on consumer purchases. More than two-thirds (68.95%) of respondents said they would take positive comments on review sites or blogs into consideration when making a purchase. Monitoring and managing the comments about a brand becomes especially essential when taking into account that 81.5% stated they would also take into account negative comments written online when making a purchasing decision. In other words, a negative evaluation on a popular blog or consumer ratings website can be as detrimental as one found on national television — and the ease of transmission the internet allows can especially be harmful as thousands of users can link, copy and forward negative news to others at the click of a button.

Like all media, what is being said and safeguarding the brand’s reputation must be monitored at all times. According to an independent study conducted by Buzz Marketing for Technology, 55% of business respondents admitted to not being equipped to handle an online reputation crisis. The potential for a viral attack on a company, like the Youtube postings of infested Kentucky Fried Chicken and Taco Bell restaurants can leave a permanent blemish on a company’s reputation.

44

But help is available. There are several tools that can observe the countless discussions and measure a company’s presence online. For example, Podbridge can inform companies how

- 25 -

many people are listening to their podcasts in addition to the demographics of their listeners.

Google ‘news alerts’ and ‘blog search’ can monitor what is being said and written about any topic.

Podscope and podzinger are search engines that allow users to search for key words in video or audio files. Linkdomain gives a list of all links to a specified page or domain, allowing one to search for word hits on a site and browse through all affiliates. Radian6# is a service that monitors all forms of social media from blogs to videos to social networks instantaneously.

But while consumers do factor internet chatter into consideration when making a purchase, our study of 3,000 UK consumers showed that television and traditional forms of media still maintain the highest influence over consumers. When asked how likely consumers would be to purchase a food or drink product if endorsed on various mediums, media house websites were found to be the most influential of all online platforms with an average score of 2.49 out of 5. One in five people (19%) rated these as likely to influence behaviour, while printed media had a 2.76 score with 26.6% stating it likely to influence behaviour. However, the greatest medium remains the television with a score of 2.99 and more than a third (36.6%) of people stating that an expert endorsement would be likely to influence behaviour.

How likely are you to buy a food/drink product if a journalist/editor/expert/independent consumer endorses it via the following outlets: (Please rate each of the following factors on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being "not likely at all", 5 being "very likely.")

Question

Choice % 1

26.80

2

19.65

TV/newspaper/Magazine websites 3

Corporate website

Podcasts

Avg.

34.65 2.49

4

15.40

5

3.50

1

36.75

2

21.60

3

30.45 2.18

4

9.15

5

2.05

1

50.50 1.87

2

20.90

3

21.90

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Television

Radio

Newspaper/Magazines (printed media)

Blogs

Third Party Internet websites

4

5.00

5

1.70

1

17.05

2

14.20

3

32.15 2.99

4

25.50

5

11.10

1

26.95

2

21.95

3

34.50 2.43

4

14.40

5

2.20

1

19.60

2

16.95

3

36.85 2.76

4

21.40

5

5.20

1

39.80

2

23.40

3

27.90 2.08

4

7.05

5

1.85

1

35.10

2

22.45

3

30.50 2.21

4

9.95

5

2.00

However, the internetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to sway opinion and decisions heightens with the integration of other media to strengthen marketing potential. A report by Advertising Age states that online and TV viewers were 27% more likely to intend to buy beer than those who viewed TV alone, 22% more likely to intend to buy apparel than TV viewers alone and 21% more likely to intend to buy consumer electronics than TV viewers alone. This increase can be attributed more towards a comprehensive and repeated exposure marketing campaign rather than the power of any one medium. Online and magazine readers were 20% more likely to intend to buy beer than

- 27 -

online users alone. 45 While the internet plays a large role in consumer’s lives, it’s clear that it is only one important factor in the decision making process.

Brand Advocacy The internet’s capacity to engage consumers has changed the potential for marketing.

Never before have companies been able to become so personal, connecting with millions of consumers through anecdotal blogs and newsletters. Many companies use the internet to generate and strengthen ‘brand advocacy’ or the loyalty and evangelicalism of consumers towards a brand. While difficult to effectively track the overall effects of constant marketing through commentary and a feel good attitude, we can measure consumer’s willingness to embrace such tactics.

For example, our study has found that consumers do believe that the internet can help foster relationships between customer and company through dialogue and updates. One in five (18.55%) would be interested in food/drink brands using the internet to connect with them.

Consumers wish to converse with companies and see the internet as the perfect medium to do so. Two out of five (41.95%) believe that the internet is an effective tool in establishing a relationship with companies and a similar number (39.20%) believe the internet is more effective than traditional media in doing so, while 37.80% had no opinion towards the matter.

How strongly do you agree with the statement: The Internet is an Effective Tool in Establishing a Relationship with Companies 10%

11%

12%

Not at all Hardly No opinion

31%

A little Very Much 36%

While blogs may not be influential in determining consumer behaviour, our survey found they achieved a rating of 2.08 out of five in terms of how likely an endorsement would be to lead to a sale. They are therefore a useful platform for companies to discuss relevant issues or simply keep customers returning to the website. More than half (56.56%) would like food and drink

- 28 -

companies to discuss recipes online, while 55.83% believe healthy eating and nutrition is a pertinent topic. Again, almost half (46.78%) believe product promotions are an interesting and applicable subject for companies to discuss.

Consumers also expect more from brands they recognize. They want stories, active engagement and entertainment. They want to give their opinions. Three out of 10 (28.25%) people believe user comments and forums capability are essential for a website. By keeping customers on the site longer through engaging facilities, companies can increase brand exposure and slowly develop a reputation as a caring company.

Brands play a crucial role in helping the consumer understand the quality and benefits of a specific product. People have to rely on positive experiences to choose a superior brand as food and drink products lack physical cues to denote finer quality. Digital communications are capable of sharing great experiences associated with brands directly to the desktop.

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CONCLUSION So does using digital communications create lifelong followers, a group of supporters and promoters devoted to a brand, who in turn will bring more converts? There is certainly mounting evidence that this is the case.

The purpose of this study was to establish the value of digital communications and digital media for food and drink companies looking to engage in it. We hope that by offering a broader overview on the benefits of digital communications we might present a more global depiction on the benefits of the value of digital communications to companies and their brands.

In the end, we have to acknowledge that as a marketing tool digital communications need to be smartly conceived and examined before implementation. Digital communications are not an infallible tool to access target audiences â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they have a limit and can be ineffective if companies haphazardly decide to venture in without a clear objective. Consumer attitudes towards advertising are considerably negative and platforms like social networks are ambiguous environments at best. This exemplifies the changes occurring in the marketing world as consumers now have the ability to choose which messages to embrace and which to ignore. The internet is still a developing and evolving landscape, and any undertaking must be done with care and caution.

However, we must also realise how big a part digital communications now play in society.

As a medium, the internet is now as popular as television, print, and radio. And while it may not yet be as influential as traditional media, its continuing growth and global embracement has positioned the internet as a key component in making purchasing decisions. People are using media and corporate websites to research brands, gathering information and accumulate a brand perception that will eventually shape future purchases.

We believe the value of digital communications for food and drink companies lies not in the short term profit gains, but the creation of brand ambassadors. The demand for a more personalised corporation is the result of a technological shift in bridging the communications between institution and individual. Companies who display corporate goals and ideals while at the same time creating content for consumers to interact with are better recalled than those who do not. Companies can no longer hide behind wrought iron gates as consumers now have the democratic power of mobilising and creating their own movements and influencing in the comfort of their own homes.

As companies continue to use the internet as a core part of marketing campaigns and consumers flock to the World Wide Web as both researchers and reviewers, the internet has

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become a key platform for interaction. Eventually, the internet wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be a potential supplement for brands, a way for them to gain a competitive edge over rivals â&#x20AC;&#x201D; it will be an expected necessity.

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Reference Endnotes 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo http://www.nielsen.com/consumer_insight/ci_story5.html 3 Bishop, Jon M. Why I Think Web 3.0 is a Load of Nonsense. Weblog. Jonin60Seconds. 09 February 2008. <http://www.jonin60seconds.com/2008/02/why-i-think-web-30-is-load-of-nonsense.html> 4 http://www.technorati.com/pop/blogs/?page=7 5 Gillian, Paul. The New Influencers. Sanger, CA : Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press, c2007.

6 Gillian, Paul. The New Influencers. Sanger, CA : Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press, c2007.

7 www.telegraph.co.uk/digitallife/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2008/06/10/dlface110.xml 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsO6D1rwrKc 9 http://www.emarketer.com/Chart.aspx?id=76572&xsrc=chart_head_sitesearchx 10 Covey, Nic. “Emerging Mobile Pursuits: The Future of Mobile Media Consumption.” Nielsen Consumer Insight Magazine. 7 (March 2008). <http://www.nielsen.com/consumer_insight/issue7/ci_story5.html> 11 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006341 12 www.emarketer.com/article.aspx?id=1006349 13 http://weblogs.hitwise.com/robin-goad/2008/06/uk_blog_traffic_reaches_all_time_high.html 14 http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/Emarketer_2000496.aspx?src=report_head_info_reports 15 http://www.marketingvox.com/uk-social-network-ad-spend-to-grow-148-2008-2012039054/?camp=newsletter&src=mv&type=textlink 16 Blackshaw, Pete. “The Global Village, Virtually Realized: Social Networking Engages Users.” Nielsen Consumer Insight Magazine. 8 (May 2008). <http://www.nielsen.com/consumer_insight/issue8/ci_story5.html> 17 http://www.hitwise.co.uk/images/UK_Industry_Report.pdf 18 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006349&src=dp2_home 19 www.marketingcharts.com/television/ad-spending-up-4-in-uk-internet-spending-up-40-4894 20 http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/Emarketer_2000496.aspx?src=report_head_info_reports 21 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006349 22 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006341 23 Gillian, Paul. The New Influencers. Sanger, CA : Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press, c2007.

24 www.independent.co.uk.news/world/americas/fosters-the-australian-for-beer-calls-time-on-televisionadvertising-410464 25 Lohnmann, Elan. “Print Will Die, Hard Lunch to Swallow.” Web log. Link Love. 07 June 2008. <http://elanlohmann.com/2008/06/07/print-will-die/> 26 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006341 27 www.statistics.go.uk/pdfdir/inta0807.pdf 28 Gillian, Paul. The New Influencers. Sanger, CA : Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press, c2007.

29 Gillian, Paul. The New Influencers. Sanger, CA : Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press, c2007.

30 Interview with Clare Wood, Marketing Manager for Standard Blends and Heritage at Scotch whisky and gin business Chivas Brothers, 14th July 2008 31 Interview with Robert Sutton, Marketing Director of Pomegreat, 17th July 2008 32 www.statistics.go.uk/pdfdir/inta0807 33 www.marketingcharts.com/television/uk-meida-and-marketing-growth-rely-on-internet-937 34 www.marketingcharts.com/print/b2b-journalists-blogs-other-online-sources-more-than-ok-to-use-2295 35 www.marketingvox.com/consumers-like-permission-emal-but-a-good-chunk-end-up-as -junk 36 www.emarketer.com/article.aspx?id=1006079&src=article_head_sitesearchx 37 www.emarketer.com/chart.aspx?id=73035&xsrc=chart_head_sitesearchx 38 http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/ready-draft-nielsen-uks-hottest-social-media-sites-3739/ 39 http://www.marketingvox.com/uk-social-network-ad-spend-to-grow-148-2008-2012039054/?camp=newsletter&src=mv&type=textlink 40 http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/Viewer.aspx?code=emarketer_2000491&autodetect=Y&xsrc=report_ head_sitesearchx 41 Interview with Robert Sutton, Marketing Director of Pomegreat, 17th July 2008 2

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42

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/second_life Chatterjee, Patrali., Hoffman, Donna L., and Novak, Thomas P.. “Modeling the Clickstream: Implications for Web-Based Advertising Efforts.” Marketing Science, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Autumn, 2003), pp. 520-541 Published by: INFORMS 44 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su0U37w2tws 45 http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=127454 43

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