IFR: Retailers Boost MP3 Ad Frequency, Shave Brands

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y.— The new kid on the MP3 block – Microsoft's Zune – was overwhelmingly responsible for a 14.1 percent increase in the frequency of MP3 player appearances in U.S. retailers' newspaper ads and inserts for the 12 months ending September 2007, IFR Monitoring data shows.

The statistics also show that retailers advertised a lot fewer MP3-player brands. The number of brands advertised fell to 39 from the previous 12-month-periiod's 76. The number of SKUs advertised also fell to 604 from 673, the IFR data show.

Microsoft's Zune ranked only third in ad share during the 12 months ending September 2007 with 11.7 percent of total MP3-player placements in ads. Microsoft followed San Disk's Sansa brand, which ranked second with 19.9 percent share, and Apple's number one share of 33.9 percent (table 1), according to IFR, which tracks advertised pricing, promotion and placement of products by more than 2,000 retailers across the U.S. and Canada.

MP3 players put in appearances in retailer's ads 104,490 times during the 12-month period, up 14.1 percent from the previous 12-month period's 91,580, IFR found. Of the 12,910 additional MP3 ad placements, Zune products accounted for 12,238 of them, the IFR statistics show. IFR tracked more than 90 brands representing more than 590 SKUs.

The number of ad placements for iPod devices also rose during that time, but Apple's share of ad placements slipped to 33.9 percent from the year-ago 37.6 percent as retailers began to promote the Zune, which became available to consumers in November 2006.

IFR also found that five most-advertised brands accounted for 75.3 percent of MP3 ad share. In order, they are Apple, San Disk, Microsoft, Creative Labs, and Samsung, with the latter two brands posting only single-digit shares. The next five most-advertised brands accounted for 11.5 percent of the MP3 players advertised in retailer ads.

Likewise, a small number of retailers were responsible for most MP3 advertising, IFR found. Five retailers accounted for 67.3 percent of total MP3 advertising, led by Best Buy and followed in order by Circuit City, Fry's, Office Depot, and CompUSA. The next five top MP3 advertisers accounted for 16 percent. They are Target, Sears, Office Max, RadioShack, and Toys 'R Us, in descending order.

IFR also found that advertising retailers boosted their promotion of the San Disk, Archos, and Philips brands