ExchangeWire Research’s weekly roundup brings you up-to-date research findings from around the world, with additional insight provided by Rebecca Muir, head of research and analysis, ExchangeWire. In this week’s edition: A digital detox; Increased digital marketing spend; Rising popularity of branded content.

A digital detox

This week, a new report was launched by Ofcom. Titled ‘Communication Market Report’, it highlights that people are looking to switch off and limit the amount of time they spend online in favour of time spent with friends and family.

One in three adult internet users (34%) in the UK (15 million), have sought a period of time offline, with one in ten (11%) doing so in the last week. Time spent away from the web varies. A quarter (25%) took a day away from the internet, 20% took a week off, and 5% went web-free for a month.

Feelings about being offline varied. While 33% say they feel more productive, 25% say they enjoy life more, 16% admit fear of missing out, and 15% say they feel “lost”. Jane Rumble, director of marketing intelligence, Ofcom highlights: "The internet has revolutionised our lives for the better. But our love affair with the web isn’t always plain surfing, and many people admit to feeling hooked. So, millions of us are taking a fresh look at the role of technology in our lives, and going on a digital detox to get a better tech-life balance."

To combat the negative aspects of online down-time, Ofcom suggest that brands invest in online messaging apps, which are particularly important in maintaining relationships with 16-24 year-old consumers. Use of messaging apps by this age group has increased by 15% from 2014 to 53% in 2015. Furthermore, 15% of 16-24 year-olds are most likely to keep in touch with friends through social media, compared to just 10% of adults.

Increased digital marketing spend

Research and Markets published their Global Digital Marketing Spending Market 2016-2020 report, which predicts global digital marketing spend will increase by 9% over this period. The report is based on leading brands, including: P&G, General Motors, Comcast, and Verizon.

Social networking sites account for an estimated 36% of the time spent on digital media and are predominantly used on mobile devices. The key driver to growth in this market will be increased penetration of smartphones, which the reports predicts will continue to grow significantly, long past 2020.

While the report predicts increases in digital marketing expenditure, it also highlights that one obstacle to this growth will be a lack of short-term ROI. Digital marketing is a long-term strategy that can take up to two years to increase sales and customer loyalty. However, companies want to quantify ROI as soon as possible, which is unrealistic.

Rising popularity of branded content

In Polar’s quarterly benchmarks report we learn that globally branded content views have more than doubled (2.2x) quarter-on-quarter, with APAC leading the charge with an increase in views of 4.5x. Global CTR rates are also increasing year-on-year. During Q2 2015 CTR is 0.29%, Q2 2016 showed a ratio of 0.31%.

The total number of views to branded content continues to rapidly increase in 2016. Since Q2 in 2015, total views increased by more than 220%. Compared to last quarter, views increased by 49%, and continue to demonstrate strong quarter-on-quarter growth trends. Furthermore, an eight-week branded content campaign achieves 90% of its views within its first month, and 48% of all views take place in the first week. Over half (59%) of these views take place on desktop, while 28% are on mobile and 13% on tablet.