Buckley on Technology: Search goes social at Bing: 4 "must see" links fr...

Buckley on Technology: Search goes social at Bing: 4 "must see" links fr...: I've spent a great deal of time over the course of the past several months talking about the search industry’s ongoing efforts to stay c...

Digital Wallet Use in the US Exceeds 35%

More than a third of mobile users in the US using some form of digital wallet in this piece by MediaPost.

JiWire: 37% Of Cell Owners Using 'Mobile Wallet' Services (by Mark Walsh)

More than a third (37%) of mobile consumers have used some type of “mobile wallet” service in the last three months, according to new findings from location-based mobile ad company JiWire. The report appeared to define the term loosely as any type of mobile payment made at the point of sale.

Of those who have not used mobile wallet services, 8% said they would like to, and 14% didn’t know what a mobile wallet is. The JiWire data roughly corresponds to a December 2011 report from comScore showing that 38% of smartphone owners had used their phones to make some kind of purchase.

A recent poll of mobile experts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 65% expect most people to have fully adopted use of smart-device swiping as their everyday means of paying by 2020. Previous Pew research showed that more than one-third of smartphone owners have used their phones to do online banking services like paying bills or checking a balance, and that 46% of apps users have purchased an app through a mobile device.

Still, there is debate surrounding how quickly mobile wallets will catch on widely. Google, for instance, was said to be considering a revamp of its approach that would include revenue sharing with partners Verizon and AT&T to help spur adoption of its Google Wallet app.

Separately, the JiWire report indicated that half (49%) of mobile users comparison shopped via mobile while in retail stores during the first quarter. Furthermore, 15% compared prices to the store’s own Web site, and 13% searched for mobile coupons. People between the ages of 25 and 44, and men (53%) are most likely to check prices via mobile while shopping.

Tablet owners were twice as likely as non-owners to comparison shop in-store and purchase on a mobile device instead, at 10% versus 5%. Nearly half (47%) of smartphone users have a tablet, up from 32% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

JiWire, which serves ads to more than 30,000 Wi-Fi locations in North America, also looked at usage by C-level officers. It found that 70% use location-based apps on a weekly or daily basis, and more than half of business executives use apps on a daily basis regardless of position or company size.

Travel, weather and social networking apps are the most commonly used types for business travelers. For the same group, booking reservations is the most important service while on the go, followed by finding nearby business services.

Almost half of JiWire’s audience is now connecting to the network via smartphones (31%) or tablets (14%). The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch remain the top three device, although the iPhone was the only one of Apple devices to gain ground in the first quarter, up 2.3%. Android was the only smartphone platform to see an increase in users, growing 3.2%.

The JiWire findings are based on data from 315,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as surveying more than 5,000 randomly-selected customers across its Wi-Fi media network between January and March.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/174101/jiwire-37-of-cell-owners-using-mobile-wallet-s.html?edition=46583#ixzz1uIlp0o7B

Augmented Reality Dynamic Modeling

Great use of Augmented Reality - example of dynamic modeling in 3D (via Mashable) 

Augmented Reality Sandbox Simulates Water in Real Time [VIDEO] 

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In one of the coolest examples of augmented reality use we’ve seen, researchers at UC Davis have created an AR sandbox which overlays a real-time, virtual, colored topographic map on sand surface.

As you change the actual topography of the sandbox, creating mountains, basins and riverbeds, a Kinect 3D camera combined with a projector overlay it with a virtual layer of visual information, including flowing water which adheres to the terrain configuration you’ve created.

It works in real time, meaning you can — for example — connect a body of water and a dry basin with a channel and see it fill with water.

The project is powered by a PC with an Intel Core i7 CPU and a Geforce 580 graphics processing unit, with the GPU doing most of the heavy work.

The final goal for the project is to create a self-contained AR system which could be used for educational purposes, for example as an exhibit in science museums.

#ar #augmentedreality #innovation #3D 

Research: Control & Empowerment Driving Mobilized Era of 'Extreme Shopping'

Mobile devices facilitating consumer knowledge and driving shopping behavior via MediaPost.  

Study: Control And Empowerment Driving Mobilized Era of 'Extreme Shopping' by Steve Smith

According to a new research report from GfK, half of smartphone and tablet owners use their devices for price comparisons while shopping. The mobilized consumer has become a new, highly informed and empowered shopping force in the retail arena, and people are using their mobile tools to achieve a sense of control over the purchase process. The most mobilized of shoppers are leveraging their device at every key stage of the purchase process, from research to peer recommendations, value-seeking to the purchase itself.

Not only are half of advanced device owners using them for shopping now, but 44% are looking for coupon opportunities on the devices and 17% have already purchased a product via mobile platforms. Clearly, this m-shopper class is also fully engaged in social networks as part of the process, since a third of smartphone or tablet owners have “liked” a retail brand on Facebook.

According to GfK, this new process of “extreme shopping” is being driven by a greater sense of control. Owners of smartphones and tablets say they feel “more in control than ever before” of the shopping experience, because these devices help them choose the best products, shop more efficiently and find a broader range of information sources.

The often-discussed but rarely quantified phenomenon of mobile “showrooming” is quite real, the GfK research shows. About a quarter of respondents said they have scoped out products in physical retail venues only to make their purchase of them online and via their smartphone.

GfK says the mobilized “extreme shopper” is not only affecting the bigger-ticket items that seem to require deeper research. “Our research shows that the mobile trend is substantially impacing food and beverage, health and beauty, and even lawn and garden,” says Rob Barrish, SVP Digital Technology, GfK, who presented the research this week at The Market Research Technology Event in Las Vegas.
Younger mobile users are the driving force toward Extreme Shopping. GfK finds that among 18- to-34-year-olds, 34% report using a smartphone or tablet to engage shopping, compared to only 10% of the 50-to-65 segment.

GfK analysts argue that the challenge to retailers can be embraced as an opportunity to deepen relationships. Brands need to facilitate the learning process and help consumers achieve greater efficiencies and sense of new empowerment in the marketplace that “extreme shoppers” appear to enjoy. GfK argues that the segment of people who are “extreme shoppers” today will be the typical consumer in coming years.

The GfK research was based on 1,088 interviews in mid-March of this year.

Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/173929/study-control-and-empowerment-driving-mobilized-e.html?edition=46464#ixzz1tvEj8IB2

Great piece on smartphone penetration and content consumeption via eMarketer

The ‘Smartphone Class’: Always On, Always Consuming Content

MAY 2, 2012 

Consuming content in frequent, small portions means more touchpoints for marketers

Armed with fast, high-powered smartphones, a new class of consumers, 100 million strong and growing, is rerouting the path to purchase and redefining cultural norms in the US.

Members of the “smartphone class” stand apart from other Americans in the way they shop, communicate, consume media—even how they use their spare time. Its members define themselves by their connectedness and their sense of empowerment through unfettered access to real-time information.

“What others do with a PC, they do with their smartphones,” said Catherine Boyle, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “The Smartphone Class: Connected Consumers Transform US Commerce and Culture.” “Their phone is their workplace, entertainment center and their marketplace. They watch videos in coffee shops, social network at concerts, play games in waiting rooms, scan barcodes in stores and shop with their smartphone from anywhere at any time. Their behaviors are rerouting the traditional path to purchase and they are proving to the rest of America that spare moments can be productive ones, too.”

eMarketer estimates nearly 116 million Americans will use a smartphone at least monthly by the end of this year, up from 93.1 million in 2011. By 2013, they will represent over half of all mobile phone users, and by 2016, nearly three in five consumers will have a smartphone.

The smartphone class is not defined by age, gender, income or race. Instead it is defined by its members’ shared behaviors. Understanding the common behavioral traits that unite the class makes members easy to recognize and underscores the influence this class of consumers is having on how Americans communicate, consume media and shop.

One of those behaviors is to always be “snacking.” The smartphone class doesn’t tolerate dull moments; members turn to their phones for instant gratification. Depending on their mood in the moment, gratification might mean completing a quick task or finding a fun distraction. For marketers, this rising content consumption means an increasing number of touchpoints where they can reach consumers. eMarketer forecasts double-digit growth in mobile gaming as well as music and video consumption among the smartphone class through 2015.

“Snacking on mobile in small amounts throughout the day can be as lucrative to brands as it is gratifying to members of the smartphone class,” said Boyle. “The five minutes grazing on news in the morning, the 15 minutes playing a game at lunch and the two minutes watching a video at the grocery store are all opportunities for marketers to get a message across or close a sale.
”

Facebook Slowing Growth, Twitter Higher Growth Rate

Story from eMarketer showing the still strong growth in Twitter and Facebook hitting saturation point in 2013.  

Facebook's US User Growth Slows but Twitter Sees Double-Digit Gains

The social networking giant’s US user base dwarfs that of Twitter, but Twitter maintains more rapid growth

As recently as 2010, growth in US Facebook usage was well into the double digits, at 38.6%, eMarketer estimates. But with 116.8 million US internet users already logging on to the site at least once monthly that year, growth rates were bound to plateau.

By 2011 Facebook user growth rose a comparatively small 13.4%, and this year will be the first when growth rates drop to the single digits. Rates of change in the US will continue to decline throughout eMarketer’s forecast period.

On Twitter, by contrast, growth is stronger. Last year’s 31.9% increase in users outpaced that of 2010, when growth was at 23.5%. Similar to Facebook’s trajectory, Twitter’s growth rate will also fall in the coming years, but still remain nearly four times higher than Facebook’s growth rate in 2014.

Twitter’s size, which is fairly small, is one factor that makes such growth rates possible. Facebook already reached an enormous audience of nearly 133 million US internet users at the end of 2011, a figure that will surpass 150 million by 2014. Twitter, in comparison, had a US user base of less than 24 million at the end of last year. Still, between 2010 and 2014, eMarketer predicts, Twitter will about double its US user base, reaching 37.6 million microbloggers by the period's end.

eMarketer bases its estimates of Facebook and Twitter usage on an analysis of survey and traffic data from research firms and regulatory agencies; company releases; historical trends; internet and mobile adoption trends; and demographic and socio-economic factors.

Global Advertising Spend to Increase by 4.9% in 2012 to Over $465 Billion

Strong global growth in ad spend in this mention by Strategy Analytics.



Global Advertising Spend to Increase by 4.9% in 2012 to Over $465 Billion


Online advertising to increase by 12.8%; TV by 5.0%; print by 0.5%


BOSTON, MA - February 27, 2012 - Following 3.8 percent growth in 2011, global advertising spending is expected to grow by 4.9 percent in 2012 to $465.5 billion, according to the latest Global Advertising Forecast from Strategy Analytics.


Although total US advertising spending is expected to increase by less than the global rate, at 2.7 percent this year - to $152.1bn – it is a significant improvement on the 0.6 percent growth in 2011. The US also underperforms Europe as a whole, which is expected to grow by 3.7 percent to $136.3bn in 2012. (See Chart 1)


Ed Barton, Strategy Analytics’ Director of Digital Media Strategies, explains, “Major global-impact events led by the Olympics, the US Presidential Elections and the European Football Championships, as well as Japan’s continuing recovery from the earthquake, combine to paint a brighter picture globally in 2012 for advertising spending overall. Furthermore, we expect that total ad spend will surpass half a trillion ($500bn) dollars in 2014.”


Global advertising by media type
Looking at spend by media type reveals that global TV advertising is expected to grow by five percent in 2012 to $188.5bn, equivalent to 40 percent of all global spending. Global print advertising is expected to grow by half a percent, accounting for a 26.4 percent share. Other traditional formats including cinema and radio will grow by approximately four percent.


In contrast, global online advertising is expected to grow 12.8 percent to $83.2bn in 2012, accounting for 18 percent of global ad spending (See Chart 2).


Barton says, “Online advertising will continue along its growth trajectory fuelled by strong growth in emerging markets and increased spending volumes on social networking and online video advertising.”


US/Europe advertising by media type
It is a similar picture in the US with online advertising leading the way. Online is expected to grow by 6.7 percent this year to $27.4bn compared to 3.7 percent for TV and 2.9 percent for other traditional formats. Print is expected to decline by 1.5 percent.


In comparison, online advertising across Europe is expected to grow by 11.7 percent this year compared to 3.4 percent for TV and 2.4 percent for ‘other traditional’ advertising. Print is expected to decline by 0.1 percent.


Chart 1

Barton notes, “The US continues to be a leader in terms of the share of revenue generated by TV advertising - its share in the US this year will be approximately 41 percent compared to 35 percent in Europe and 24 percent in the UK. In contrast, Internet advertising tends to have a smaller share of spending than in other markets. However, the share of advertising dollars allocated to the Internet continues to grow and is projected to overtake print advertising in the US in 2016 – a year ahead of when this is expected to happen for the total global market.” 


Chart 2

Barton concludes, “Europe presents the sternest challenges to forecasting: structural macroeconomic issues based on unsustainable national and household fiscal deficits and the ever-present threat of a major shock in the form of a Eurozone default mean that the region is one defining incident away from all forecasting outlooks effectively being rendered irrelevant in a single stroke.


However, assuming that the Eurozone can build its way out of the current uncertainty, we are likely to see a situation characterized by some territories suffering a long term zero-to-negative growth environment where spending will remain very low (Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal). Stronger Western European economies (UK, Germany, France) will grow slowly with the occasional boost from one off drivers such as major sporting events. Growth, albeit from lower spending volumes, is likely to come from Eastern and Central Europe (Turkey, Russia) and the ongoing growth trajectory of online formats, in particular online video and social networking.”

Valpak Local Coupons and Deals "All About Coupons Infographic"

Great infographic on the coupon space and usage.

Valpak Local Coupons and Deals "All About Coupons Infographic"

Will a woman consider a man to be cheap if he uses printable coupons? Not really. In fact, some 90% of surveyed women said they'd go on a second date with a thrifty Timothy who pulled out a coupon to pay for dinner on the first date.

Coupons have had a profound impact on the lives of generations of Americans - ever since 1887, when an Atlanta businessman printed the first-ever coupon to get people to try his new product, Coca-Cola.

If you doubt the value of coupons today, consider that coupon use was set to climb 150% from 2009 to 2014, while the redemption value of coupons will jump an ever higher percentage.

Read more about the fascinating world of coupons in our coupon infographic below.

Americans streamed 43.5 billion videos in December 2011

Video marketing continues to climb in terms of consumer engagement.

comScore Says 105 million Americans Now Watch Videos Online Every Day

February 09, 2012 -- By Michael

Nearly one in three Americans watches online videos daily. That’s according to the latest comScore report, which shows that Americans streamed 43.5 billion videos in December 2011. That figure represents a 44% increase year-over-year.

comScore’s 2012 US Digital Future In Focus report indicates that 105.1 million Americans watch videos online every day, which is substantially more than the 73.7 million online video watchers documented in 2010.

YouTube, not surprisingly, remains the driving force behind the popularity of online video consumption.

Other notable finds from the comScore study include:

• The average length of videos watched has increased from 5 minutes to 5.8 minutes.
• The average viewer consumes 239 videos on a monthly basis.
• A staggering 4.8 trillion display ad impressions were delivered across the U.S. web in 2011 as brand advertisers continued to shift dollars to the digital medium.

“2012 promises to be an exciting year for the digital media industry as the explosion of available content and proliferation of web-enabled devices drive the evolution of the digital consumer, creating new opportunities and challenges for the entire digital ecosystem,” said Linda Abraham, comScore CMO and EVP of Global Product Development. “In order to be successful in this new paradigm, digital marketers must understand the key trends shaping the current marketplace and what that means for the future of their businesses.”

Mobile web vs app usgae

Interesting eMarketer article on mobile web vs app usage by consumers.  The important item is that usage around shopping is that mobile web wins out.

App or Browser? Depends What Consumers Are Doing

FEBRUARY 9, 2012 

Apps preferred for navigating and information gathering; mobile web for entertainment, searches

Mobile is more and more a go-to channel to reach consumers. With more than 75% of the US population now subscribing to a mobile phone service, according to eMarketer, and nearly 114 million consumers expected to access the internet via mobile this year, mobile is a no-brainer for marketers.

But since many marketers are just launching mobile programs, uncertainties abound, including whether consumers prefer mobile apps or the mobile web. While the debate rages over that question, a Jumptap study of ad requests served over the past year shows a slight lead for the mobile web. But ads served to both the web and mobile apps are growing at a similar rate.

In a press release, Jumptap points out that for marketers trying to decide whether to build an app or mobile site, the answer clearly depends on the audiences they’re looking to target: “One thing to remember is you don’t have to have either to advertise—even if an advertiser doesn’t have an app or a mobile website, they can still have a mobile landing page.”

A study by Yahoo! and Ipsos presents a different answer to the question of whether consumers prefer apps or the web. Their findings show that it depends what activity consumers are performing.

People overwhelmingly use a mobile browser for shopping, searching and accessing entertainment via their smartphones. But when they are navigating or acquiring information, apps are preferred.

US Mobile Ad Spend $2.61 Billion in 2012

Great summary below by eMarketer on the growth in mobile ad spend. Smartphone penetration, tablet growth, and geo-targeting driving spend.

US Mobile Ad Spending Soars Past Expectations

JANUARY 26, 2012 

Advertisers will spend $2.61 billion on mobile this year

  

The US mobile advertising market is growing far faster than expected, driven by the rapid ascension of Google’s mobile search advertising business, advertisers’ growing attraction to display inventory on tablet and smartphone devices, and the growing roster of mobile ad networks such as Google’s AdMob, Apple’s iAd and Millennial Media.

eMarketer estimates mobile advertising spending in the US reached $1.45 billion in 2011, up 89% from $769.6 million in 2010. This year, US mobile ad spending will grow 80% to $2.61 billion.

eMarketer previously forecast US mobile ad spending would grow 47% to $1.8 billion in 2012, up from $1.2 billion last year. The significantly higher revision is the result of several factors, most notably a stream of new market data made available in the past few months from major advertising publishers and research firms.

“Right now there are many researchers out there basically looking at nearly the same empirical data about the mobile marketplace and drawing completely disparate conclusions,” said Noah Elkin, eMarketer principal analyst.

“In order to form the most complete picture possible about the mobile ad market, we think it’s essential to evaluate multiple information sources, rather than a single set of survey data—especially as the market remains immature,” added Elkin.

eMarketer estimates US mobile search advertising more than doubled in 2011, when spending grew to $652.5 million, up from just $253.2 million in 2010. This year, advertisers will spend $1.28 billion on mobile search ads in the US, eMarketer estimates. eMarketer previously forecast mobile search advertising would reach $349.4 million in 2011 and $594.8 million in 2012. The revisions have helped put search in first place among mobile formats, with 49% of total mobile spending this year.

eMarketer estimates US mobile display ad spending, which includes spending on banner and rich media ads, will grow 93.5% to $861.7 million in 2012, after reaching $445.4 million in 2011. Spending on mobile video advertising will grow an estimated 122% to $151.5 million this year, up from $68.2 million in 2011.

eMarketer forms its forecast for mobile advertising spending through a meta-analysis of estimates from research firms that track mobile ad spending and impressions, reported data from major mobile advertising publishers, and other sources. eMarketer also conducts interviews with executives at agencies, brands and mobile advertising publishers who provide perspective on the development of the mobile advertising business as a whole, as well as the revenues for individual companies.

Inforgraphic: Optimize Your Tweeting for Click-thrus

Useful infographic via ReadWriteWeb and methods to optimize your tweets for retweeting.

[Infographic] Increase Click-Through Rates For Your Tweets

By Dave Copeland / January 25, 2012 

HubSpot's resident social media scientist Dan Zarella released a new report on how to get the highest number of click-throughs for your tweets.

Some of the information (presented below in a handy infographic) is stuff we already knew: Tweets between 120 and 130 characters tend to get retweeted more often than longer and shorter tweets and tweeting links at a slow rate gets more clicks, for example. But other findings - including click-through rates for tweets containing the word "daily is out" by paper.li users - were surprising.

Facebook IPO: Morgan Stanley's Deal Trophy

Great Wall Street Journal article on Morgan Stanley's big coup: to lead the Facebook IPO.

Hunting for Big IPO Game

Already-Dominant Morgan Stanley Tech Team Sets Sights on Facebook Deal

By ANUPREETA DAS

Last year, Morgan Stanley's technology bankers got wind that some directors of Pandora Media Inc. were wary of hiring the bank to lead the online radio company's public offering.

Michael Grimes, co-head of global tech banking at Morgan Stanley, and his team wore concert T-shirts of their favorite bands from their Pandora profiles, including the Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath, under blue blazers when making their pitch. A person present at the meeting said Mr. Grimes assured Pandora that his team only makes suggestions to clients and doesn't dictate what they should do. The bank got tapped for the deal.

Bloomberg News

Michael Grimes of Morgan Stanley

Now, with the chance to lead the much-anticipated IPO of Facebook Inc., Morgan Stanley's tech team is going after a much bigger prize. The offering is expected to raise as much as $10 billion in what could count as one of the largest U.S. public debuts ever.

For the past year, Morgan Stanley and rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have been viewed as leading contenders for the coveted "lead left" spot in Facebook's IPO prospectus, which goes to the bank with the most responsibility for the offering. Goldman was presumed to have an upper hand after arranging a private offering of Facebook shares last year, though its odds were seen as declining amid a flub in that process that led the bank to limit the deal to non-U.S. investors. After that, executives at the social-networking company became less enamored with the bank, according to people familiar with the matter.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

View Interactive

Often referred to as a boutique inside a big bank, Morgan Stanley's tech team helped take public roughly half of the 23 Internet companies that listed in the U.S. last year, according to Dealogic. It ranked tops for global and U.S. Internet and technology initial public offerings last year.

The $115 million it made in fees for U.S.-listed Internet IPOs last year was nearly twice the amount earned by its nearest competitor in terms of fee revenue, Deutsche Bank AG.

Facebook is expected to file initial documents for its offering soon. Bankers—who help companies decide how to price shares, tell the company's story and allocate shares to investors—have been waiting for word that they will get a role. Together, these financial advisers are expected to reap fees of as much as $220 million from the Facebook deal, though the company could negotiate lower fees because the deal is such a trophy.

More

• Morgan Stanley Names Fewer Managing Directors

The tap from the social-networking company to lead the deal could prove a boost for Morgan Stanley, which, like many of its rivals, has been struggling amid an upheaval in the trading operations and new regulations that have crimped profits.

The tech team's importance to Morgan Stanley came through during the bank's recent cost-saving moves. Though the firm laid off 1,600 employees in recent weeks and slashed bonuses for many others, its tech bankers are largely going to be spared, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Beyond fees, a thriving IPO business can help a bank attract brokerage clients and win business advising on mergers.

Enlarge Image

A lead role in a deal can put a bank in a prime position to get wealth-management business from newly enriched company employees.

For Morgan Stanley, a Facebook coup also could prove a boon for retail brokers and clients of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, the brokerage joint venture Morgan Stanley owns with Citigroup Inc.

Clients say one plus for Morgan Stanley's team, based in Menlo Park, Calif., is that it has been largely unchanged since the mid-1990s, after veteran deal-maker Frank Quattrone left for a rival shop in 1996, taking with him a team of bankers. The 45-year-old Mr. Grimes, who had joined a year earlier, helped rebuild Morgan Stanley's tech team through the dotcom boom and bust.

In 2005, Mr. Grimes was appointed a co-head of global tech banking, along with Paul Chamberlain, 48, another veteran of the bank.

"They've been in the same jobs, not leaving for other firms, not moving to New York, they've decades of experience and seen every tech cycle… that carries a lot of weight with clients," said Egon Durban, a managing partner at private equity firm Silver Lake Partners.

While Wall Street banks often group coverage of telecommunications, media and technology together, Morgan Stanley breaks out tech separately, which clients say gives the Morgan Stanley team focus.

At Qlik Technologies Inc., Lars Bjork, chief executive of the business-software company, said two Morgan Stanley bankers came calling on Qlik about five years before the company's 2010 IPO, long before their rivals. "There was no shortage of bankers," so when it came to choosing the lead underwriter, it boiled down to "who is spending enough time with you and knows you so well that they can tell your story as well as you can," Mr. Bjork said.

Morgan Stanley's track record isn't perfect. LinkedIn Corp. shares more than doubled on their first trading day, raising questions whether the bank had underpriced the company's stock. The opposite question has hovered around online game developerZynga Inc., whose stock price has largely remained below its $10-a-share initial offering price.

Mr. Grimes, a fast-talking and energetic California native with a degree in electrical engineering and computer sciences, is known to clients and colleagues as being passionate about technology—someone who Is never too busy to drive over to meet a young client for coffee, according to a former colleague. "He has a love of the game, and it comes through," the person said.

Clients say they appreciate the personalized attention they get. Early last year, Mr. Grimes flew around the country with Michael Smerklo, chief executive of software company ServiceSource International LLC, to meet potential investors before the company's IPO, said Mr. Smerklo, himself a Morgan Stanley banker a dozen years ago. When the stock popped 22% on the first trading day, "we were thrilled," he added.

—Aaron Lucchetti and Randall Smith contributed to this article

Write to Anupreeta Das at anupreeta.das@wsj.com