Kids, Teens and Virtual Worlds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2007

It’s a virtual, virtual world after all.

The Walt Disney Company’s $350 million purchase of Club Penguin signals a new focus of attention for marketers and media companies targeting kids and teens online.

Virtual worlds are becoming more frequent destinations as the percentage of children and teens who use the Internet increases.

“For marketers trying reach kids and teens on social networking sites, there is a new game in town: virtual worlds,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Kids and Teens: Virtual Worlds Open New Universe.

“Of course, virtual worlds are not new, but the level of development activity, venture capital investment and consumer interest in virtual worlds is unprecedented,” she said.

Club Penguin is one of the fastest growing virtual worlds for young children. As of August 2007, it had 12 million registered users and 700,000 paid subscribers, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

According to eMarketer estimates, 41.5% of children ages 3 to 11 will use the Internet at least once a month in 2007. In total, 14.9 million children will go online in 2007, rising to an estimated 16.6 million in 2011.

Among teens, eMarketer estimates 76.4% will go online at least once a month in 2007, rising to 87.1% by 2011.

Overall, children and teens make up 18.2% of all US Internet users.

“eMarketer estimates that 24% of the 34.3 million child and teen Internet users in the US will use virtual worlds at least once a month this year,” Ms. Williamson said. “And by 2011, 53% of them will be going virtual.”

As more kids and teens start to use virtual worlds, their viewpoint on the Web changes, too.

“They are growing up not only with social networking but also with the ability to interact with people, shop, learn and play in a graphic environment,” Ms. Williamson said. “Flat Web pages with clickable links and banner ads may pale in comparison.”

Younger kids are getting used to a graphical representation of a social network, Jonathan Collins, executive producer of virtual worlds for MTV, said in an interview with eMarketer.

“They’re going to feel a social network that doesn’t have [that] element is missing something,” Mr. Collins said.

eMarketer expects that virtual worlds — particularly those for kids and teens — will see an increased level of interest from marketers in the next few years.

“The intense activity in virtual worlds for kids and teens is only a microcosm of the larger development work being done in virtual worlds,” says Ms. Williamson. “Many believe that the graphically rich environment of virtual worlds will transform how consumers shop, communicate and browse the Internet.”

Starwood launches Starwoodpro.com

September 13, 2007

To initiate the programme, the company has introduced a website StarwoodPro.com.

Starwood recognises that travelers are increasingly turning to travel professionals for the personal relationship and for a trusted source of information.

“With the launch of the StarwoodPro website, we at Starwood continue to invest in the increasingly important business relationship with travel professionals, giving them the tools and information they need to compete in a rapidly changing travel landscape,” said Chris Austin, Vice President, Global Customer Partnerships, Leisure and Luxury Sales.

Founded on five pillars – Access, Knowledge, Rewards, Compensation and Communication – StarwoodPro.com establishes a sophisticated, user-friendly interface between Starwood and travel professionals.

The StarwoodPro.com website delivers easily accessible content and information on deals, rates and product information, commissions, sales contacts and comprehensive hotel and brand information. In addition, event details and news about on-going programme enhancements and content development will be available.
Equipped with powerful search and booking tools, the StarwoodPro website gives travel professionals multiple ways to find hotels that will meet their clients’ specifications.

According to Starwood, agents can plug in search criteria including brand, city, hotel amenity and special interests such as skiing or golf. Travel professionals can also check the status of client reservations, research room rates and special offers, and find information on education and marketing programmes. A click to call feature provides instant access to speak with a reservations agent at any time during the process.

“With nine distinct brands and over 850 properties available to the traveler, StarwoodPro simplifies the daunting task of pairing the right clients with the right brands, appropriately identifying what experience will best satisfy their specific needs and desires,” stated the company.
Related Link: StarwoodPro.com

Online Travel and Demographics

MAY 16, 2007

The 55-and-older crowd isn’t about to spend retirement tending the garden.

A February 2007 Hitwise study found that slightly more women than men visit online travel sites, and that nearly a quarter of visitors are ages 55 and older.

The age distribution is worth noting because lifestyle trends are altering the types of trips people take and the way they plan and book travel. Those 55 and older will increase substantially as a percentage of the population during the next 10 years. Yet Web-based resources tailored specifically for that group have been lacking.

Don Birch of Abacus International said in the June 2006 EyeforTravel newsletter that “we’re seeing the emergence of a new generation of older travelers who are healthy, active, street-wise and have unprecedented spending power. This is a lucrative segment but one which has specific needs.”

Another online travel study conducted in February 2007 by Nielsen//NetRatings also tracked about a quarter of visits as coming from those ages 55 and older. Nearly half of visitors were ages 45 and older, pointing toward even more growth in the 55-and-older group during the next 10 years.

Youth travelers ages 16 to 24 are another large but underserved market. They now represent more than 20% of all international visitors, according to a study by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Youth & Student Educational Travel Confederation (WYSETC).

The study, cited in March 2007 by TravelMole, stated that “compared with average tourists, adventurous young backpackers stay longer, spend more, seek out alternative destinations and enjoy a wider mix of travel experiences.”

Over $700 billion was spent on travel in the US in 2006, according to the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA). Travel spending is expected to rise through 2009, but at decreasing annual rates. The TIA said the slowdown will come from the stabilization of travel prices, softer demand and a general slowdown in consumer spending.

AdSense for Mobile Goes Live

Google has officially announced the debut of AdSense for Mobile, bringing its ubiquitous ad format to mobile Web pages, reports TechCrunch.

AdSense for Mobile will work very much like traditional AdSense. Advertisers will be able to bid, through an auction system, for ad placement on mobile-friendly pages. The new program is specifically meant for online publishers who have optimized their sites for mobile display or who offer mobile-friendly versions.

Just days ago, Google announced the availability of AdWords for the mobile platform.

Mobile Ad Spending Boom on the Horizon, says Myers

By Fred Aun , September 18, 2007

Slow to catch on, mobile advertising is about to enter its heyday, according to the latest ad spending projection from The Jack Myers Media Business Report.

The forecaster believes advertisers are currently spending about $500 million annually on mobile advertising but will increase that amount by 120 percent next year and reach about $1.1 billion.

The spending won’t stop there, said report publisher Jack Myers. He estimates another 120 percent boost in mobile spending for 2009, meaning marketers will shell out about $2.4 billion to dangle their goods and services in front of mobile device users. According to his forecast, 2009 should be the year mobile advertising draws 1 percent of the $254 billion total ad spend.

“Mobile advertising, in 2005, was at virtually the same level as gaming advertising,” said Myers in an interview. “It was growing at a fairly parallel rate with gaming.” However, if his projections prove correct, mobile ad spending will grow twice as fast as game ad spending in 2009.

While it will not come close to the growth rates of either mobile or game ad spending, general Internet advertising — including search and video — is still on the rise. Myers projects online spending to increase 20 percent, to $16.7 billion, this year. Similar growth rates should follow, according to Myers: Online/Internet should see 24 percent gains in 2008 and 28.5 percent growth in 2009.

He said video advertising will be the heavy hitter of the online advertising lineup. “Search growth is slowing, but everything to do with video is accelerating,” said Myers. While monetization of YouTube and other user-generated video is a hot topic these days, Myers said the big growth in online video ad spending will benefit large, commercial sites. “More the CBS, Disney professional type video,” he said.

While online advertising is growing, it still amounts to a small slice of overall marketing budgets. “In 2007, online represents 7.2 percent of total advertising and advertising represents 31 percent of total marketing,” said Myers. Noting that online represented only 5.3 percent of total advertising in 2005, Myers predicts it will have doubled to 10.5 percent by 2009.

Myers forecasts overall media advertising will increase 6.9 percent in 2008 and 3.1 percent in 2009, and his report notes categories untracked by some other forecasters, such as cinema, mobile, games, branded entertainment, satellite radio and custom publishing, are expected to collectively grow 20.3 percent this year, 18.4 percent in 2008 and 18.5 percent in 2009.

Meanwhile, Myers projects newspapers will sustain the largest declines in ad spending. He said the papers will lose 4.6 percent in ad revenues in 2007, 2.4 percent in 2008 and 4.5 percent in 2009.”