Widgets, Defined

Along with mobile advertising (Smart Marketer April 2009), widgets also provide marketers the special opportunity to invoke invitation-only dialogue with consumers.

As defined by e-Marketer, a web widget is a small, self-contained module or piece of content that an Internet user can place on his or her social networking profile page, blog, Internet start page or Web site.1

Indeed, installing widgets for personal use is very simple. For example, from Terra’s publisher widget installation page (http://www.terra.com/widget/), one can choose English or Spanish language of course, content theme (news, lifestyle & culture, entertainment, sports or all) and finally choose where to place or share it from a variety of different options, as seen in the example below.

The result would look similar to this snapshot below, whereupon a list of relevant articles appears to urge visitation back to Terra.

Terra’s widget has been widely adopted beyond expectations by our visitors. This is not surprising, as it is another way of obtaining notifications of relevant content. According to our Syndicated Study, when asked the question, Do you use any of the following alerts that automatically notify you when a new message has been received or new content has been posted online?, 32% of respondents do not use any alerts which means that 68% do. 2

Chart 1:

According to Chart #1, while e-mail notifications were the most popular, those under 35 years old were statistically significantly higher to use social networking alerts versus their older cohorts. 3 In addition, there was no statistically significant difference among alert usage by language preference.

Widget Usage

A main impetus to publish this article is due to the wide adoption of widget usage among Internet Users.

Chart #2
Source: comScore, May ’09
Analysis performed by Terra USA Research

US Hispanic vs General Market

[Chart #2: Orange] While 62% of Hispanic Internet Users overall use widgets, adoption is higher among Spanish Preferred (74%) and Both Spanish & English Equally (67%) while English Preferred trails a bit (55%). US General Market widget usage is 59%, so roughly 3 out of 5 US Internet Visitors use widgets.

[Chart #2: Yellow] Worldwide widget usage, 31%, is half of US Hispanic Internet widget usage, 62%. While 43% of the Latin American region overall uses widgets, the strongest performer being Puerto Rico, 48%, followed by Colombia and Mexico who tie for 45% reach for widget usage.

Overall, widget reach has clearly surpassed critical mass among Internet Users to leverage advertising opportunities.

Widget Advertising

Perhaps because widgets are “new”, compared to more traditional interactive techniques such as e-mail marketing, only 11.8% of US Marketers agree that widgets are a viable marketing tactic.

Chart 3:

However, widgets, within ‘Distributed Content’, trump e-mail as the online media channel that will be the biggest winner for customer usage and marketing dollars. According to Chart #4, Distributed Content (widget, apps, RSS) of 13% comes ahead of e-mail, 4%.

Chart 4:

While 2009 is not yet over, US Web Widget and Application advertising spending in 2008 was $40 million. 4 This figure is surely set to grow if nothing else due to widget usage overall.

One major advantage of web widgets, such as Terra’s publisher widget, is our open architecture, which allows placement on a multitude of platforms. This open methodology stands in sharp contrast to applications, defined by eMarketer below. 5

Chart 5:

For example, an app for Google’s Android will probably not work within Apple or Blackberry’s operating systems. Of which, clearly Apple has taken a strong lead in number of apps, 35,000+ as seen in chart #5. Nonetheless, Virgin America is advertising a charming synergy with Google apps. 6

Be a Smart Marketer. Leverage the open architecture and high reach provided by widgets who invite marketers within their space. Terra provides customizable widget advertising solutions with the additional option to integrate within our display advertising. While one must play by the rules of the consumer, the only limitation is imagination that applies not just for widget advertising but interactive advertising overall.

We already benefit from the increased traffic brought to us by our publisher widgets, imagine what widgets can do for your brand.

Sources:

1.) Williamson, Debra Aho. Web Widgets and Applications: Destination Unknown. eMarketer. Feb 08

2.) Terra.com Hispanic Syndicated Study by comScore for Terra USA ’08.

3.) A, B, C, D – Superscript letters indicate that the referenced group percentage is significantly higher than the group with the corresponding letter.

4.) US Web Widget and Application Advertising Spending, 2007 & 2008 (millions and % of total social network ad spending). eMarketer. Jan ‘08

5.) Elkin, Noah. Mobile Applications: Moving Beyond Apple. eMarketer. June ‘09

6.) Screen shot of Google apps display ad found on NYTimes.com by Terra USA Research. June ’09

By Natasha Funk

Published:  July 09