According to Coca-Cola executives, mobile marketing strategy is key to Olympic campaigns, especially when it come to reaching younger consumers. “Mobile is at the heart of many teens' daily lives, connecting them with their family, their friends and their world,” said Kim Siler, mobile brand strategy, global connections at Coca-Cola Co. “Mobile, in turn, is at the heart and foundation of our strategy for London 2012, amplifying those connections with music, relevant content and movement."

According to new research from Vindico, 80% of viewers abandon video advertising within the first half of ads. According to the research, full-episode players and video portal sites showed the highest rate of first-half abandonment. However, even though viewers did not complete ads, they were still exposed to the content. Vindico found that mid-rolls were the best format in terms of completion, with a 94% completion rate.

According to Media-buying firm Accordant Media, interest in RTB-based video ad inventory is on the rise worldwide.  Accordant Media found that advertiser interest in purchasing real-time, impression-level inventory has led to explosive growth in ad spending on real-time bidding (RTB) inventory, as worldwide real-time bidding inventory for banner and video ads across online and mobile placements grew 120% in the first quarter of 2012.

A new Viacom study on social media has revealed that viewers engage around seven different types of social TV activities per week. Viacom's national online survey looked at research from 1,500 Viacom Media Networks viewers aged 13-54. The research found that young viewers who watch TV with “others” score 85% among all respondents. Searching supplemental TV content was at 61%, while viewing TV show clips on social networks was at 58%.

According to an estimate by the U.S. Commerce Department, e-commerce sales totaled $50.27 billion in the first quarter, up 15.4% from $43.58 billion in the first quarter of 2011. It is the first time e-commerce sales have topped $50 billion outside the fourth quarter, the busiest quarter for online sales. This figure accounts for 4.9% of total retail spending in the quarter, up from 4.6% a year ago.

According to data released by Nielsen, apps are still the main way of accessing content on mobile devices, as the time spent on apps (versus mobile web browsers) has increased to 81% from 73% over the past year. The data revealed that the top five apps are Facebook, YouTube, Google Play, Google Search and Gmail, while the most dominant smartphone platforms are Android and iOS, accounting for 88% of downloads. Nielsen's data also indicated that the average time spent on apps per day has increased by two minutes to a total of 39 minutes a day. 

Social media is dramatically changing the way viewers are watching and talking about their favorite programs. According to a poll by Horowitz Associates,19% of viewers begin watching a show after reading about it on a social network or blog. The poll also revealed that viewers head online to get additional information about shows and content, as 23% of those polled said they had visited a website or used an app that provided more content about a show. Meanwhile, 39% of the respondents had used the internet to search for more information about something they saw on television.

According to BIA/Kelsey's 'U.S. Local Media Forecast: 2011-2016', the U.S's social media advertising revenue will reach $9.8 billion in 2016, up from $3.8 billion in 2011,  This represents a compound annual growth rate of 21%, rising to $4.8 billion in 2012, $5.9 billion in 2013, $7.0 billion in 2014, and $8.3 billion in 2015. Meanwhile, BIA/Kelsey expects the local media segment of U.S. social media advertising revenue to grow from $840 million in 2011 to $3.1 billion in 2016. 

According to the results of a new Associated Press/CNBC poll, half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad. The poll also revealed that ahead of the company's highly anticipated IPO, half of Americans say the social network's expected asking price is too high. Expected later this week, Facebook's Wall Street debut could value the company at $100 billion, making it worth more than Disney, Ford and Kraft Foods.  

According to a new study by RJ Metrics, Google+ is experiencing weak user engagement and minimal social activity. After selecting a sample of 40,000 random Google+ users, RJ Metrics (RJM) downloaded and analyzed every sample users' public timeline, which contains all publicly available activity. According to RJM's study, the average post on Google+ has less than one '+1', less than one reply, and less than one re-share. The study also revealed that roughly 30% of users who make a public post never make a second one.