Orlando Ad Market Finishes Strong First Quarter: Good Second Quarter Forcasted

Orlando ad spending has increased throughout the first quarter but despite previous quarters experiencing sluggish markets. Both TV and radio have seen spending gains in numerous categories this quarter.

TV spending was up 10 to 15 percent in January, and it’s expected to be up at least 10 percent year-to-year for the remainder of the quarter. Large categories including auto, financial, telecom and furniture have all increased spending by double-digit percentages versus a year ago, putting a squeeze on inventory.

Prime-time and news day-parts have the highest demand this year, but other day-parts will also pick up in coming months. With predictions for a strong second quarter the market should remain healthy.

Radio spending has also been ahead year over year throughout the first and second quarters, despite pricing being down as compared to a year ago. Financial, retail and auto advertisers have all increased radio spending this year.

From Dec. 6 to Jan. 2, WMGF averaged a 13.6 portable people meter rating in its holiday season, according to Arbitron, more than five points ahead of the No. 2 station WPOZ-FM, which averaged an 8.5. Stations owned by Clear Channel and Cox perform the best; In December those companies accounted for seven of nine top Orlando stations.

Super Bowl Ads that Confused Us All

BlackBerry and Best Buy are two struggling companies with a whole lot in common when it comes to their failing business models and slump in stock sales. Now they are also two companies who have recently given the world two terrible Super Bowl 2013 ads which don’t seem to have much hold on consumers.

BlackBerry’s recent introduction of its new Z10 smartphone, which was unveiled last week was intended to keep its current customers engaged with the brand while enticing its former customers to return. The product itself could be what BlackBerry desperately needs to get back on track, and with the right ad campaign, they could have done so. But instead of showing consumers what their product does, BlackBerry did a full 180 and gave us this monster of an ad.

Meanwhile, Best Buy featured an ad which portrays Amy Poehler as a shopper, harassing a sales associate with personal questions. The ad has hints of humor but confuses consumers with non-direct messages and endless questions on what seems to be hundreds of products. With the tagline, “Thousands of Experts Ready to Help,” One would think the commercial would showcase the expert actually answering questions, instead our expert stands dumbfounded and speechless in the wake of the inquisitive tornado that is Amy Poehler.

With Super Bowl 2013 ads being said to average $4 million dollars for each 30-second spot, big box stores like Best Buy battling online competition, and BlackBerry fending off the ever growing iPhone following, it is clear that neither company should invest in risky, unclear and confusing ads. Super Bowl ads have always stressed creativity but with BlackBerry’s flat out weird ad and Best Buy’s borderline obnoxious and aimless ad, it seems as if sense and logic are being removed from the process creating new ads.

Infographics: The Newest Way to Digest Data

Infographics have been popping up in social media everywhere recently and the buzz is all about how they educate viewers more quickly and efficiently than traditional posts.

Infographics visually express data via the use of small icons, bits of text and basic graphs; this seems to be the best formula to help viewers digest content faster. With info expressed visually and usually in within a moderate amount of space viewers are more likely to view an infographic as compared to a basic post. With the pressure from users for faster data and instant results, infographics seem to be the best way to grab attention.

 In the world of social-media and marketing expediting the relay of data is paramount and infographics are a great way to boost relevance and engage a target audience. To grab attention and engage your audiences experiment with infographics, but don’t rely on them as a primary means of advertising. Infographics should be supplemental to your marketing tactics!

Mobile Business Apps: Increasing Productivity and Revenue

The buzz is all about mobile business apps! Mobile productivity and process apps went mobile in 2012 and revenue associated with them is estimated to be around $25 billion for 2012. Research firm Strategy Analytics says this number is expected to rise to $50 billion by 2017.

The mobile experience has evolved from simple mobile email and messaging apps to productive apps with content authoring abilities like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and consumer resource management (CRM).

The importance of worker productivity on the go has driven the rapid growth of mobile business apps and has pushed the market revenue to new highs. It’s exciting to see the ways businesses are stepping up to the plate when it comes to mobilizing their business operations.

The mobile device has evolved to fit each and every business need and surely the apps market should be one to watch in the times to come. 

Marketing Predictions for 2013

In 2012, there were increased developments for marketers. Social media sites, such as Facebook, created a massive mobile advertising business. Now the question is, what does 2013 have to offer? Advertising experts got together to show marketing predictions for the year to come.

The first strategy experts explored was “Mobile-First Strategy.” Facebook and Google are two sites responsible for the mobile ad spending tripling to $4 billion in 2012. According to eMarketer, “we expect mobile ads to increasingly become the top priority for advertisers on digital, rather than desktop.” This is the result of consumers spending more time and money on mobile devices.

Next experts explored the revision of “Banner Ads.” Banner ads do not work well on mobile devices, which has lead companies to reconsider using them. However, the ads will not be going away for good, instead businesses are working on a more creative way to post them and become user friendly.

How Online Shopping Effects Dealership Traffic

According to AutoTrader.com, online shopping leads buyers to visit fewer dealerships than in the past. Whereas people used to visit multiple dealerships and look at any number of cars, car buyers have been given the opportunity to browse inventories online, find and compare prices all without leaving the comfort of home. AutoTrader explained that current buyers spend an average of 11 hours shopping online and just 7 hours offline and in dealerships when searching for their next vehicle.  

On a positive note, online shoppers who do head out to purchase new vehicles are willing to travel further to dealerships they would not have ordinarily considered. The pull of dealerships from further distances seems to have increased with the influx of online shoppers in their searches for the best deal. The convenience of the internet leads to a need for an interactive dealership website which can offer pricing, tools for comparison and an accurate inventory with an emphasis on directions to the physical address. This is just another example of how the age of technology is changing how consumers shop.  

Powerhouse USA Announces a Promotion and Two Team Additions

The Powerhouse Family is happy to announce the promotion of Miss Megan Neuner!
Megan has earned the new title of Internet Marketing Manager and has been given new responsibilities including management of client relations and budgets. Miss Neuner also oversees the work of two new hires, Amanda Carr and Sydnie Cobb.

In November Amanda and Sydnie were brought on to work as Internet Marketing Coordinators. While Sydnie works primarily on maintaining web presence and social media she also aids in internet marketing and advertising campaigns. Amanda works on composing client materials for the media outlets and assists with web presence and media as well.

We're happy to welcome Amanda and Sydnie to the team and look forward to working with them!