Multi-screen usage  Stats from our Multi-Screen Marketer report, produced in association with the IAB, show that 65% of the respondents with a tablet in our study said they were likely to be using a second device while watching television. Even most people with only two screens (TV + computer) are more likely to be online while watching than not (52%). Multi-screening can be positive for publishers and advertisers. Those with tablets are significantly more likely (47%) to take an action (voting, purchasing, etc.) in response to what they’re watching than their peers with three screens (37%).  47% of tablet owners have used a mobile device to respond to something on the screen and 28% have downloaded an application that’s related to a show they watch. Chance of using a mobile device to take action from television prompt: Mobile web usage Almost two-thirds of UK smartphone owners (59%) access the mobile internet everyday, according to stats from Google.  85% of UK mobile users seek local information on their smartphone, and 81% take action using the local content. Mobile search has grown 500% in the past two years. Online research and in-store purchases More than a third of Homebase customers research online before going in-store, according to the retailer's Head of Multichannel Andy McWilliams. Reducing online returns rates By using the Shoefitr tool, which helps shoppers to find the best fit for them, US retailer Running Warehouse has reduced fit-related returns by 23%.  The app has enabled Running Warehouse to increase its profit margins by 2.5%.  Previously, around 65% of the retailer returns were due to size related issues, but now 20% of orders come in from customers that have used the app.  Social media and customer service More than a third of UK consumers (36%) have engaged with brands through social media, according to a survey from Fishburn Hedges. 68% of those who have engaged with brands through social media believe that it “allowed them to find their voice”. More than two-thirds (65%) also believe that it is a better way to communicate with companies than call centres. Twitter's mobile users Twitter now has 10m UK users, of which 80% access the site using mobile. This makes the UK Twitter's fourth largest audience behind the US, Brazil and Japan. It has 140m users worldwide.  Tablets One tablet generates as many website visits as four smartphones, according to data from Adobe's Digital Index Report. By the end of Q1 2012 smartphones accounted for 6.1% of site visits compared to 4.3% on tablet (mainly iPad). Within a year of its launch in Q2 2010 the iPad accounted for 1% of total website visits, reaching 4.3% of total visits by the end of 2011. Facebook and customer acquisition More than a third of UK businesses (36%) now use Facebook to attract new customers, according to data from Basekit. This makes it more popular as an advertising tool than local business directories such as Yellow Pages and Thomson, which are used by 27% of the 500 small businesses surveyed. The use of online advertising is now almost as common as print advertising (20% vs. 21%), and Twitter is also quickly gaining popularity (17%). Marketing emails and mobile Research by STEEL finds that 36% of all consumers are already reading marketing emails on a mobile device. This figure rises to 55% for 18-34s.  However, one in four find marketing emails too difficult to read on their mobiles.  The top area of dissatisfaction is too much scrolling (42%), while 29% state that the layout of emails isn't right for their mobile device and 27% feel there is too much content.  Reasons for opening emails on mobile: Shazam and TV ads According to ITV and Shazam, around 50,000 viewers used the Shazam app to tag the Pepsi MAX and Cadbury ads shown during ad breaks in Saturday’s Britain’s Got Talent final. Shazam recently announced a partnership with ITV to provide interactive TV ads. 

There has been a great deal of attention and research directed at the multi-screen recently, and with good reason. 65% of the respondents with a tablet in our study said they were likely to be using a second device while watching television...and that number goes up for those 18-44 years old. Even most people with only two screens (TV + computer) are more likely to be online while watching than not (52%). The Multi-Screen Marketer explores some of the effects of these behaviors, and tries to lay out an approach for publishers and advertisers. How does the distraction of the second screen affect attention?  When someone has another device at the ready, their attention can shift from the screen the moment they lose interest. Whether it's a commercial break or just a break in the action, they're off and mentally running. Studies have already shown that commercial blocks invite the heaviest multi-screen behavior. We wanted to measure how this could impact advertiser recall. Respondents were asked to identify their favorite television program, and then asked if they could identify specific advertisers associated with it. We expected that the less people fit the mold of the multi-tasker, the more they would recall, but that's not what we found. Overall, 46% of survey takers were able to identify between one and three advertisers. Surprisingly, four screened respondents (TV, computer, smartphone and tablet) were more likely (53%) than those with only two screens (42%). Again, younger tablet owners did even better...61% could recall at least one advertiser. Of course, this doesn't capture some very important pieces of information; we don't know anything about messaging recall or sentiment. You can be sure that studies will fill in these gaps. Does the type of content (TV program) correlate with multi-screen behaviors? Television programs aren't all the same, even if it feels that way when you've got a remote in your hand. Respondents were asked to identify their preferred program types (procedurals, sports, reality, etc.) and given three randomly chosen questions about their behaviors from a total of six possible questions (to avoid overload). Three of the behaviors were "commercial" - related to online shopping, product searches, etc., while the others related to general online surfing and searching for media-related information. Findings are broken down in detail within the report but one of the highlights was discovering that independent drama (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, etc.) is a hotbed for both commerce and non-commerce related second screen behaviors. People are somewhat more likely to shop for products they've seen during the program (show + commercials) and to do things like connect on social networks, than during any other program type. At the other end of the spectrum are procedural dramas. Where are we headed? Connected TV is already here, but few people have bought them so far, and those that have often aren't using them to their full potential. We asked respondents to describe television of the future and the televisions of the future, and to gauge the impact of these expected changes. At the top of the list is the ability to watch anything, anywhere, anywhen. Not surprising and unlikely to be fulfilled any time soon, because of the basic business models of the primary players. The second highest priority is for a television that listens and more importantly, does what we tell it. Voice recognition scored well, as people acknowledge that between multiple remotes, hundreds of channels and piles of accessories, it can be complicated to find or record the content we want.  Other top priorities center around the multi-screen experience. People expect to be able to watch programming on any device, and then move it simply from one device to another as they travel. Naturally, we gravitate to the best available device, but often that is the most available device. Watching a film on a smartphone is sub-optimal, unless you're on a subway, in which case it's sublime. Other Findings The Multi-Screen Marketer looks at a number of other topics including how social is really a private activity, how multi-screeners use online information during the purchase process and how TV viewing is shared among devices. Thanks to the sponsorship of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the report is available to all Econsultancy members, bronze and higher.

What led you to create MyPod Studios? In the agency I ran before founding MyPod, we pitched a new video platform to a B2B client. They couldn't justify the build so we decided to make it any way and license it to them instead.  As time went on, I realized I was tired of doing social media marketing even though it is useful and I believe in it. After updating the technology, I took the platform to make it for general consumers and my partner took the clients.  Do you host the videos yourself? How does someone become a content provider for you? We have our own server, own database and own player so that we can neutrally brand it. Originally, we reached out to content creators who already had a significant reach or were the larger content providers.  Since launching in September, we have 20 million uniques per month and creators come to us. On average, we say no to about 75% of them. It's about watchability not just quality. People want content that is fun, entertaining, informative or educational. We're OK if it's cheesy or "bad" as long as it's fun to watch. The most popular content is food and drink and health and fitness - anything how to related. Actually this area is so popular that we are launching a how to section! What makes your offer unique compared to services like Blip or Hulu? And how do you monitize the site for your content providers? We put PR, social media and outreach behind what we do and all the ads onsite are pay per clicks. We use display ads that rotate every four minutes, pre-roll and mid-roll if the program is over ten minutes long Saying that, we also heavily rely on content providers to spread the word about their programming. The original model we used (which is what most hosting sites like Blip, etc, do) gives content providers a certain percentage of the click throughs they get on their content pages or videos. This is usually so minimal, they make almost nothing!  We looked at where most of the revenue was coming from and found it was from the homepage or the content pages but not the individual creator pods. This led to us take a percentage of total revenue and put it into a pot. The amount you'd get as a content creator, depends on the percentage of the total page views were to your pod. For instance, if all the content got five million page views and you got one million of them, you would get 20% of the revenue pot. Something that we also do that's a bit different, is we only allow each content creator 2GB of space. If you want to have more than that on the system, then you have to take something off. This actually helps us keep fresh content on the site and makes the creators think about which videos are working the best for them and removing the ones that aren't.   Your site isn't currently mobile enabled as it uses flash? With 19% of phone owners in the US and 9% of all adults are on iPads watching videos online, is this an area you'll be optimizing for? By June 1 we'll be mobile ready. But this isn't really for that 9% but because we want to start making thirty minute informercials about our platform, our content and our creators. I'm a traditional marketing guy and I think TV is still important. I also know that when people watch TV they also use their mobile or iPad to look stuff up, so we need to be mobile optimized before we head down the television route. A lot of organizations are starting to become content creators. What advice would you give them in making videos? How can they best reach an audience with streamed video? Brands make the mistake of making content that shows how great they are instead of helping customers and potential customers. They are too focused on the sales pitch. Brands could, and should, educate in the areas they are expert in. For instance, Chase Bank (or any bank for that matter), could create a short, two minute video on "five ways to save for your child's education." They'd give real advice that people should use and could apply to them no matter where they bank.  As for distribution, they should put their content on multiple networks - YouTube, Daily Motion, Metacafe, etc. Also, don't just put it on your Facebook page but put it where your potential "fans" may be. In the case of the video on saving for college, maybe you could put it on the Facebook page of Universities or other fan pages that are appropriate for your content. Also be smarter about where you're engaging. You could do a blogpost but why not be the first to comment in long form on an article with high traffic, let's say AdAge.com. You'll get more comments and interactive and then you not only have the thought leadership there, but you can repurpose the post and embed one of your videos on your own site. What new trends and technologies are you seeing in video? How will this affect marketers? The biggest one that I see at the moment is ad skipping technology. I don't think it's fair. If I'm an ad network, I want to have my ad seen if I'm paying for it to be there. Also by putting the words "skip this video," it's like you're saying, "we, the network, recognize this is crap, so you can skip and don't need to watch because we think this brand is crap." The brand needs to be treated fairly. Instead of saying skip, it should say "Can't wait to get to my content. Take me there now." Or you have to type the name of the brand before you move onto watching your video. I don't like networks disparaging the brand who basically pay their bills. The bigger problem we are facing is that most brands are repurposing ads for the web. You should be looking at online ads as a thing to itself and not a second cousin to TV. It's a different type of audience so of course they want to skip the ads that are currently being served. Ads need to be content and be targeted better. What are your top three video tips? Keep it short. By the third minute, people often drop off so try to keep it under that. Keep your videos around a central theme and don't waiver. Come out with a consistent publication schedule.  I've found that repeat visits ground to a halt when videos are sporadic.

Kantar suggests that “a perceived lack of comprehensive content presents one of the major barriers to greater connected TV usage.” Poor functionality, such as having to use the remote as a web input device, the absence of some major broadcasters and the loading time of apps are also common complaints. “But, it is the irritation of ‘buffering’ when trying to watch a show through the broadband connection that causes greatest disillusionment for connected TV users.” Kantar’s report contradicts statistics released yesterday by YouGov which found that 35% of smart TV owners say the majority of their TV viewing is on-demand. This increases to 53% in the 18-24 age range. YouGov’s survey did find a degree of disinterest among smart TV owners, with 25% saying they had never used their device to go online. However almost half (47%) of all smart TV owners use their device to access the internet at least once a week. To find out more about internet ready TVs read Econsultancy's new Connected TV Smart Pack. It highlights market trends, key statistics and case study examples of companies using connected TV for marketing and provides an overview of the main players in this increasingly important sector.

Econsultancy's new Connected TV Smart Pack highlights market trends, key statistics and case study examples of companies using connected TV for marketing and provides an overview of the main players in this increasingly important sector. It includes statistics from Informa Telecoms and Media which suggest there will be more than 1.8bn connected TV devices in homes worldwide by 2016.   YouGov’s survey highlights the importance of internet connected TV for driving on-demand viewing. It found that 35% of smart TV owners (TVs that connect directly to the internet without the need of another device) say the majority of their TV viewing is on-demand, increasing to 53% in the 18-24 age range. The ability to offer clickable, targeted ads on smart TVs also appears to be having an impact on engagement. Only 14% of people say they pay attention to ads on TV but this doubles to 29% amongst 18-24 year old smart TV owners. One in four (25%) smart TV owners have never used their device to connect to the internet.  And only one third (37%) of people planning to buy a smart TV said that connecting to the internet was a reason for considering a purchase. However, 47% of all smart TV owners are using their device to access the internet at least once a week. Looking at which manufacturers stand to benefit most from the increased usage of smart TVs, it appears that Samsung is the standout winner. While 36% of smart TV owners have a Sony device compared to 33% who own a Samsung, almost two-thirds (62%) of people planning to purchase one in the next 12 months are considering Samsung.

Digital marketing in Brazil During 2011 alone, the internet population grew by 16%, with IAB Brazil estimating a total Brazilian online audience at more than 81m people (aged 16+). The number of mobile subscriptions dwarfs these figures at 240m at the beginning of 2012. (Brazil: Digital Market Landscape Report) Social media and engagement New Look's social media strategy is driving more valuable engagement, according to a new study by Stickyeyes.  The report found that price promotion (21.5%) is the most common tactic used by retailers to boost engagement on Facebook. Customer support was used by 14.8% of retailers, followed by product promotions (12%) and blogger outreach (10%).  Tactics which elicited the highest number of retweets:  Social media measurement Just 10% of UK businesses monitor social media ROI, according to stats from EPiServer.  29% of marketers had set up their company's social media accounts in the last 12 months, while 35% had been using social marketing for more than a year. Mobile commerce and affiliate marketing In March 2012, mobile devices accounted for 10% of traffic to online retail sites and 6.6% of sales.  Affiliate Window forecasts that, by the end of the year, approximately 14.5% of all transactions will have taken place through mobile devices. Connected TV According to Informa, there will be more than 1.8bn devices with inbuilt internet connectivity in use in over 570m homes by the end of 2016. Research has showed that around half of consumers are now using another device while watching TV at home and most of them typically discover content on personal devices such as smartphones and tablets (often accidentally), but want to watch it on their TVs. (Connected TV Smart Pack) Consumer online spending UK consumers spend 25% of disposable income online, according to stats from WorldPay. This is the highest percentage among European nations and is 2% more than the average US consumer. The Global Online Shopper Report found that the top three online spending categories for UK shoppers are clothes (36%), food (33%) and department stores (33%). Online spending as a percentage of disposable income: Mobile ad impressions InMobi has reported that impressions on its mobile ad network increased by 12% in Q1 (compared to Q4 2011), up to 9.5bn in total. Apple’s iOS had a 45.7% share of available impressions, down 2.7% on last quarter. Android now accounts for 26.1% of mobile ad impressions on the InMobi network, an increase of 4% on Q4. The top three devices in terms of ad impressions are also Apple devices, with iPhone accounting for 26.7%, iPad 11.9% and iPod 7.1%. E-commerce sales figures Amazon's Q1 results show that sales  grew by 34% to $13.18bn (£8.13bn), up from $9.86bn (£6.08bn) at the same time last year.  Overseas sales accounted for 62% of ASOS's turnover, according to its fourth quarter trading update. (via Internet Retailing) The company reported a 103% rise in overseas sales to £283.7m in the year up to March 31. UK sales rose by 7% to £197.8m. Total sales were up 49% to £481.6m. Apple Apple's Q2 results (for the 3 months to March 25) revealed that it shipped 46.9m iPhones and iPads and 4m Macs.  The company posted quarterly revenue of $39.2bn and quarterly net profit of $11.6bn. Apple sold 11.8m iPads during the quarter, a 151% year on year increase.  The EU cookie law 34% of retailers plan to use compulsory pop-ups for cookie opt-in according to stats from Eccomplished. 66% of the retailers surveyed are carrying out cookie audits, sllghtly higher than the 54% from our survey carried out in March.  34% are yet to do anything to comply with the EU directive.  

It coincides with the release of Econsultancy's Connected TV Smart Pack which includes market trends, key statistics and case study examples of companies using connected TV for marketing and provides an overview of the main players in this increasingly important sector. Rovi’s study found an 86% uplift in association with key brand statements for brands exposed on the smart TV platform versus non-exposed control samples. It also claims that 47% of connected TV viewers exposed to the ads said they would investigate the product in future, with purchase intent 2.5 times higher compared to a control sample who hadn’t seen the adverts. The ads used in this study were display adverts that launched a TV-friendly microsite when the viewer clicked on it. They were generally seen as non-intrusive because respondents felt they were ’contextually relevant’ to the platform. This is to be expected as the brands involved in the study included Twentieth Century Fox, Channel 4, Red Bull TV and BT. Content apps were found to be the most popular, with two in five connected TV viewers claiming to have watched the video featured on the brand’s microsite. But in reality the results of this study appear to good to be true, and should be treated with caution. Smart TV is still a developing industry and as such users are going to be more aware of the new features and what appears on screen. As connected TVs become more common the ads will blur into the background as they do on webpages and CTRs will inevitably drop - there is no way any ad platform will be able to maintain a 22% CTR. But that is not to say there is no value in connected TV. TV is still ‘king of the living room’, and the likes of Google, Samsung and Microsoft have all been working on connected TV products. The ability to deliver TV audiences on-demand content and link them directly to e-commerce store fronts through their TV set has massive potential for advertisers. As such, the connected TV industry is predicted to experience huge growth in the next few years.

Convergence This emerging, hybrid ecosystem is primarily based on the convergence of online and broadcast entertainment on a television screen. This convergence is generically termed 'connected TV' and most often refers to a wide range of connected devices that provide an internet connection and deliver web content to TV sets, such as set-top boxes, games consoles, media streaming boxes and Blu-ray players. According to Informa, there will be more than 1.8bn devices with inbuilt internet connectivity in use in over 570m homes by end-2016. While providing access to online content on television sets is not an entirely new concept, alternative content delivery systems, second screen apps and social network interactions make it one of the major developments that will shape the future of television this decade. Choice Traditionally, watching TV has been a lean-back, passive experience that involved a limited programming choice and casual channel surfing. Although consumers are now faced with a multitude of options and have more avenues through which they consume content than ever before, they still spend most of their time watching a small bundle of TV channels or shows. As consumers’ choices only continue to increase and content availability and penetration of mobile devices reach all-time highs, focus is shifting from challenges in content availability and delivery to difficulties in driving and managing consumption. Challenges may no longer lie in having enough choice, but rather in keeping so much choice from becoming a burden for consumers. The TV industry is gradually moving from a push to a pull model: consumers now expect advanced personalisation (choice of content and length), customisation (setup and delivery options), seamless content discovery and interactive social experiences around their favourite TV shows. Research has showed that around half of consumers are now using another device while watching TV at home and most of them typically discover content on personal devices such as smartphones and tablets (often accidentally), but want to watch it on their TVs. While many companies have started to make inroads in linking content discovery and consumption devices, the logistics behind seamless discovery and delivery are complex. Switching between online, TV and stored content has proven to be a frustrating experience for users and the market is still far away from offering a single intuitive search and navigation interface that is tightly interwoven with a powerful recommendation engine. Companion As social media activity has started to disrupt TV watching, many startups are capitalising on the increasing convergence of the two by launching companion apps with interactive social media features to drive engagement and TV ratings. Apps have become an important part of the holistic TV experience, as they recreate the water cooler effect and give viewers a reason to interact and engage. In the UK alone, over a quarter (26%) of consumers surveyed say they have commented on a programme on a second screen, with young adults (46% of those aged under 25) being the most likely to chatterbox. Figure 1: Percentage of people chatterboxing Chatterboxing: Watching a programme on the television (colloquially known as 'the box') whilst talking to others about that programme online, normally via a social media platform. Pay TV operators have also been looking at ways to incorporate social TV recommendations into their IPGs or to include social media elements in their shows such as live-tweeting, showing curated tweets or launching Facebook apps for live voting. As Twitter's UK general manager Tony Wong said: "Broadcasters are not the ones to choose whether to have social TV. It happens whether they like it or not. But they have a choice about how to harness that social TV energy". Cord-cutting You have probably heard this phrase multiple times this year. For those who haven’t, cord-cutting is the act of cancelling cable and satellite TV subscriptions, often used in the same context as cord-shaving (spending progressively less on TV packages as more content becomes available online) or cord-swapping (switching from one multichannel service provider to another for a better deal on high-speed internet and cable TV). But how real is this threat and how are pay TV operators responding? Informa forecasts that globally, 16.1m homes (only 2% of the global pay TV subscriber base) will have 'cut the cord' with their pay TV provider by the end of 2015. Under a fifth (16%) of the consumers surveyed by Chadwick Martin Bailey said they are 'highly likely' to cut back on cable next year, while more than half (57%) are 'unlikely' to do it. Driven by the increasing demand for access to premium content everywhere and consumption of long-form content on mobile devices, broadcasters and pay TV operators have responded by extending existing TV services to different devices. They are trying to explore different business models, such as either tying them to higher-tier offerings that include multi-screen services or offering standalone subscriptions for mobile or online access to content. While TV Everywhere might be the answer to the cord-cutting threat, TV networks and cable operators are on a collision course due to content licensing disputes. The challenge for TV operators is two-fold: channels are increasingly making shows available through their own apps to have more control over viewer data and become less dependent on cable operators, and content owners seek new distribution methods and additional revenues for unlimited access. News Corp. and Disney, for example, will only agree to license content to TV Everywhere if subscribers can also watch it through their joint-venture, Hulu. Competition and cooperation The connected TV market is set for explosive growth in the coming months and competition has already intensified. The convergence of online and broadcast entertainment is also creating a new breed of service providers trying to build market share. For example, technology giants such as Google and Apple are utilising their hardware and service platforms to offer a potential replacement for traditional Pay TV. And then there are the big consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers building content portals and working with developers based on a revenue-share model. As shown in the chart below, a recent survey conducted by Informa revealed that CE manufacturers stand to gain the most from connected devices, while traditional operators will lose ground overall. Figure 2: Who will gain/lose from connected devices While pricing and content rights will be key, the connected TV market will not reach its true potential unless all stakeholders collaborate to achieve DRM interoperability and standardisation in measurement instead of battling over profit margins. Partnerships can enable a better user experience for the consumer and win-win business models for all companies in the value chain. In other words, key players need more than a piece of software that runs – content discovery and engagement will be the most significant challenges moving forward. The Connected TV Smart Pack provides a snapshot of the fast-paced connected TV ecosystem. The 80-page report includes sections on: Market trends and developments. An overview of the key players in the industry. Case studies of compaies using connected TV for marketing. Third-party statistics and research.

About this report Econsultancy's Connected TV Smart Pack includes market trends, key statistics and case study examples of companies using connected TV for marketing and provides an overview of the main players in this increasingly important sector. The 80-page report is the fifth in a series of smart packs developed by Econsultancy that are designed to explore emerging trends and new areas relating to digital marketing. The document includes sections on: Market trends and developments An overview of the key players in the industry Case studies of companies using connected TV for marketing Third-party statistics and research Table of contents Introduction About this report About Econsultancy What… is connected TV? Why… is connected TV important? Market trends Content discovery in a multi-screen world Social TV and companion screen experiences redefine engagement The next generation of TV advertising TV Everywhere – the battle between TV networks and cable operators intensifies Who… should I know about? Connected TV platforms Social TV platforms Automated content recognition – audio watermarking and audio fingerprinting technology Advertising technology T-commerce technology Case studies Audi eBay Heineken Marks & Spencer MTV Red Bull Super Bowl XLVI The Guardian Unilever Glossary Appendix Third-party statistics and research Market size and trends Multi-screen and multitasking Social TV Advertising awareness and effectiveness Twitter – Social TV best practices Recommended reading Econsultancy blog posts Third-party resources Download a copy of the report to learn more. A free sample is available for those who want more detail about what is in the report. 

As reported by Variety, Foursquare, which launched in 2009 and claims some 20m registered users, hopes that UTA's relationships can help it establish new partnerships in the entertainment and related industries.  "We're excited to work with UTA to introduce the entertainment, music and media industry to the benefits of using foursquare to connect with our community of over 20 million people worldwide," Foursquare's director of media partnerships, Jonathan Crowley, told Variety. On paper it sort of makes sense. Services like Facebook and Twitter are very popular in the television, film and music industries, and brands that actively build campaigns around prominent television, film and music personalities and properties often use Facebook and Twitter to promote those campaigns. Foursquare clearly sees the potential for its service in these spaces, but it doesn't yet have the profile of a Facebook or Twitter. But this begs the question: why does a well-known startup like Foursquare need to pay a Hollywood talent agency to open doors? It's not as if Foursquare hasn't partied in Hollywood before. As Variety notes, the company has executed partnerships with names like Warner Bros., Bravo, VH1 and MTV. Numerous celebrities have signed up for the service as well, some as part of deals, and others 'organically.' As such, it's not as if Foursquare is a virtual unknown in Hollywood. What's more: what Variety says UTA will be selling for Foursquare ("a record label, concert venue and musical act could all coordinate with Foursquare in a way that can drive value-adds to fans including marketing and merchandising opportunities") is precisely the type of marketing campaign that Foursquare has been pitching for some time. Is Foursquare increasingly finding it difficult to sell these types of deals? If analysis of some campaigns is any indication, the answer might be yes. Which raises an important point for Foursquare and companies like it: social is still growing by leaps and bounds, but that doesn't mean the investments made in social will be spread around more widely. If anything, there's good reason to believe that the largest players (eg. Facebook and Twitter) will grow their pieces of the pie. After all, record labels, concerts venues and musical acts don't need Foursquare and companies like it to run social campaigns  -- they get far more reach and functionality through Facebook and Twitter. Not Facebook and Twitter? Increasingly, you'll have to offer more than the same tired social media campaigns, including those revolving around giveaways, coupons and contests. So where does this leave Foursquare? At the end of the day, outsourcing business development to a Hollywood talent agency isn't going to dramatically change Foursquare's propsects, and such a move is a red flag that other young companies duking it out in fast-growing but highly-competitive markets should take note of: when you can no longer close deals on your own, you may have too much cash and not enough to sell.