Cord Cutting Craze
Wireless/cellular only homes, which grew by 20% in 2008, now account for 18% of all U.S. households.  One-third of the wireless-only households have never had a landline, while the remaining two-thirds are cord cutters. Not surprisingly, cord-cutter households tend to be younger and are more likely to rent/lease their home.  Expect the wireless-only trend to grow, as homes continue to drop their landlines and young adults start new households with wireless phone service only.

Smartphone Surge
Both the Blackberry and the iPhone saw tremendous growth this year, reaching penetration rates of 6% and 2%, respectively.  The two wireless devices have attracted very different customers, however.  While the Blackberry appeals to a somewhat older, suburban consumer looking for a proven technology, the iPhone attracts a younger, urban consumer looking for the newest technology.

Mobile Media Malaise
Growth of cellular phones with streaming video or MP3 music players slowed in 2008, with penetration levels similar to those seen last year.  Among current owners, use of advanced services, such as streaming video and audio, decreased this year – a potential red flag.

Fiber Optic Future
Fiber optic TV grew at a measured pace, with penetration up 50% this year — from 2% in 2007 to 3% in 2008.  By comparison, cable and satellite usage was flat over the last year.  Look for dramatic future growth, with fiber optic TV penetration hitting 10% within the next two years and attracting an exceptionally affluent customer base.

Nielsen’s tip for telecom marketers: stress the value of your products.  Consumers will continue to seek out the latest “bells and whistles,” but they’ll be weighing the costs and the benefits more carefully than ever.

View Nielsen Claritas’s complete report.

The IAB recently announced a 15.2% year-over-year growth rate for Internet advertising for the first half of 2008. When you dissect the 15.2% number, some interesting details emerge. Out of nine industries tracked, only four have grown from last year. In and of itself, this finding would fall in line with all of the other negative things we’re hearing about the prospects for advertising.

However, look at the list of the four growth industries: CPG, Auto, Telco and Computing. Do you see what I see? These industries have consistently been the big overall ad spenders for a long, long time. Companies within these four industries make up 42 of the Top 100 national advertisers, and 52% of the advertising spend. And note that the two largest ad-spending industries, i.e. CPG and Auto, have been largely absent from the digital world until very recently. When you combine these four industries, their online ad spending grew 29.8% on a year-over-year basis from the first half of 2007.

The implications of all this? If the big ad spending industries continue to embrace the online medium more aggressively, chances are good that new, significant waves of growth are in the works for the interactive space. In his recent forecast, Jack Myers makes this interesting statement: “We are in the dead center of a two-decade industry transformation that began with the launch of Google in 1998. It will be 2012 before the industry of the future – the 21^st Century model of the media and advertising industry – will begin to prosper.” While new technology trends typically get all the buzz, I have this sneaking suspicion that some of the leading advertisers that make up big ad-spending industries may be out-innovating all of us, and we will see new online market mojo well before 2012.