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From World Advertising Research Center

Traditional forms of communications like word of mouth, direct mail and newspapers enjoy higher levels of trust among US consumers than social media and other online services.

ICOM, part of Epsilon Targeting, argued in a study that social networks, internet forums, blogs and similar tools have added considerable complexity to the world occupied by more established channels.

Based on a survey of 2,569 adults, it reported 57% of people regarded friends and family as a reliable source of information, falling to 26% for newspapers and 22% for corporate websites.

Television posted a score of 20%, with brochures and flyers on 18%, radio on 16%, email on 12%, third-party internet sites on 11% and mobile phones on 9%.

Web 2.0 portals generated relatively modest figures, coming in at 8% for blogs, forums and Facebook, and just 7% for YouTube and Twitter.

When asked to name preferred providers of news and updates relating to personal care, food and cleaning products, 36% of the panel chose direct mail, with newspaper inserts on 29%, the net on 12% and email on 10%.

“The coveted 18-34 year olds prefer, by a wide margin, to learn about marketing offers via postal mail and newspapers rather than online sources such as social media platforms,” the study said.

It added: “The preference among 18–34 year-olds for receiving marketing information from offline sources led by mail and newspapers is two to three times greater than online sources such as social media.”

Elsewhere, 40% of contributors selected DM in the financial sector, as did 38% for insurance, 35% for charity campaigns and 28% concerning travel.

The last of these markets was the only one to see another type of media assume the lead, as the web registered a rating of 19%.

Taking credit cards as an example, 70% of participants agreed branded email had an influence on purchase decisions, a perception that stood at 60% for mail shots, 41% for internet display and 19% for TV spots.

In terms of recall for these financial products, however, 33% mentioned television commercials, with DM on 27%, email on 22% and web banners, pop-ups and equivalent formats on 19%.

“The upshot is that regardless of the demographic, marketers need to deploy a multichannel campaign for topmost customer engagement,” ICOM argued.

“Social media, like many forms of communication, should be incorporated as one component of a broader strategy.”

Equally, while emerging mediums like Foursquare, GoogleBuzz, Loopt, Blippy and Groupons deserve attention, brands must ensure they have a presence in all of the areas frequented by their target audience.

“The proliferation of channels presents marketers more opportunity than ever to engage customers, understand their desires and meet their evolving needs,” the report concluded.

“At the same time, it challenges marketers to abide ever more fervently by the first commandment of marketing: know thy customer.”

Data sourced from ICOM; additional content by World Advertising Research Centre  staff, 27 August 2010

From Gallup.com

The majority or U.S.  workers are completely satisfied with their relations with coworkers, the flexibility of their hours, and the amount of work required of them. Of 13 job characteristics rated, they are the least satisfied with their on-the-job stress, followed by their pay.

Apple, Method and Virgin Atlantic are among the companies which have successfully moved beyond traditional marketing and towards creating genuine “product experiences”.

Christopher Stutzman, a principal analyst at Forrester, argued in a report that several fundamental shifts in popular habits will require a transition away from tried-and-tested models.
“Marketers rely too much on communications to build their brands,” he said. “While consumers are tuning out marketing messages, they are actually seeking out more product experiences.”

A survey of 4,000 US shoppers found just 25% trusted in-store and magazine ads, falling to 22% for newspapers, TV and brand websites, 17% for radio and paid search, and a low of 7% for online banners.

Separate polls of a similar panel revealed 27% did not know how they first heard about something they had bought recently, while 25% cited in-store ads or special offers and 18% mentioned word of mouth.

Television and newspapers posted totals of 16%, with websites and direct mail returning scores of 11%, and a range of internet tools from banners to social networks on figures of between 1% and 4%.

62% of americans research products on the net and buy in stores

Elsewhere, 62% of Americans preferred researching potential purchases on the net and buying in bricks and mortar outlets, and 53% agreed sampling in stores or at home had helped them to choose a brand.

In response to these trends, firms like Apple have excelled by designing goods “with marketing in mind”, as exemplified by the iPod and iPhone, which demonstrate the power of “baked in” advertising.

Dyson’s new bladeless fan also combined “innovation of form and function” with superior performance, as was the case for the organisation’s pioneering vacuum cleaner.

Bladeless fan doesn’t look like a fan

“Visually the product speaks to the consumer because it looks nothing like a fan The bladeless design makes it simple for the consumer to translate how it is both safer and easier to clean,” said Stutzman.

Method boasts an equally clear “brand mission”, making eco-friendly household goods packaged more like health and beauty brands and that are extremely easy to use, as epitomised up by its latest laundry detergent.

“The product is designed to speak to the consumer in a new way, saying ‘I’m not your typical homecare product that you need to hide in your cabinet’,” Stutzman argued.

Barcode scanning app ShopSavvy offers information about items stocked by 20,000 retailers in 11 countries and has quickly garnered 1m users, meaning the digital space cannot be neglected.

Sherman Williams has turned their product into a service

Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap application has enabled the coatings supplier to “turn its product into a service” by assisting customers in finding matching colours and local stores selling the range concerned.

Zippos lighter iPhone app was argued by Stutzman to represent a “strategically brilliant example” of how a simple idea can create genuine engagement.

“Not only does the lighter app deliver on the company’s brand promise to ‘create a wind proof flame’ better than their actual products, but it put a virtual Zippo product in the hands of millions of non-users,” he said.

Virgin Atlantic took this a step further with its “Day in the Cloud” scheme, a “virtual scavenger hunt” for its passengers in the air and netizens on the ground, which was run with Google.

“Had they waited to reach out to passengers until they got home, the event wouldn’t have generated anywhere near $1m in earned media,” said Stutzman.

Kraft’s online community for Philadelphia Cream cheese, focusing on “real women”, has also attracted 700,000 unique visitors, received 5,000 user-generated recipes and contributed to renewed sales growth.

From World Advertising Research Center

An increasing number of brand owners are seeking to exploit the opportunities afforded by m-commerce, with the iPhone and iPad among the main tools attracting interest.

Adobe, the software provider, conducted a survey of 446 companies, 75% of which had their headquarters in the US, and a majority being drawn from retailers, advertising agencies, IT specialists and the media category.

Nearly 80% of contributors expected to employ this channel for marketing and purposes, declining to 62% for e-commerce, 50% for product information, and 40% for customer service.

In terms of strategy, 80% of respondents either already had or were developing a dedicated mobile site, 50% said the same for an iPhone app, and 35% following such a route for the iPad.

Another 30% currently used text and picture messaging, and around a quarter had established applications for Google’s Android operating system.

Mobile websites drove almost a fifth of all internet traffic, falling to 8% for iPhone apps and less than 5% for the variety of further alternatives.

With regard to displaying products, 81% of enterprises are hoping to have “360-degree spin” features in place by the end of this year, 75% expressed a desire to offer brand comparisons and 74% wished to stream live video.

Custom design and catalogues were mentioned by 73% and 64% of participants respectively, with the number of firms that had succeeded in rolling out these tools are typically at least 40% lower to date.

Looking ahead, 23% of organisations intended to introduce advertising, promotions and bar-coded coupons, while only 9% provided this facility at present.

Just 5% offered the ability to on mobile handsets, and 19% planned to add this functionality this year, totals that were similar for comparing prices available in store and online.

Coda Research, the consultancy, has predicted that revenues generated through this channel should rise by 65% in the US each year to 2015, climbing to $24bn and a 9% share of e-commerce sales.

eBay anticipates mobile device sales of $1.5 billion in 2010

eBay, the auction portal, anticipates that its sales from mobile devices will reach $1.5bn in 2010, while Amazon, the retail giant, reported returns of $1m for the 12 months to June 2010.

Globally, ABI Research has forecast that shoppers will spend $119bn via wireless gadgets in 2015, with Japan set to retain its status as one of the sector’s leading major markets.

From the World Advertising Research Center

From e-marketer.com

Word-of-mouth may not translate to loyalty.

Social media is a hot topic in marketing circles, but many consumers are also discussing the trend, which accounts for nearly 23% of time spent online in the US, according to Nielsen.

An April 2010 survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the Online Publishers Association (OPA) found that social media sites were the most talked-about on the web, ahead of portals and top media sites that are members of the OPA in discussions on a wide variety of channels.

All those conversations, whether in person, via email, on the phone or elsewhere on the web, however, don’t make social site visitors loyal—internet users expressed the least loyalty for such properties, compared with portals or OPA member sites. They were also most likely to say social sites were not a very good fit for their information and entertainment needs.

The OPA’s findings are in line with the annual customer satisfaction report from ForeSee Results that found Facebook among the most disliked sites on the web after its many disagreements with its own user community and several privacy debacles.

According to the OPA, negative feelings about social sites may also apply to the brands that advertise there. Only 8% of internet users felt social media site advertisers were reputable, compared with a 21% average for content sites. They also felt advertising on social sites was less relevant and the companies that did so were less respected.

The answer for brands is to continue a greater focus on non-advertising marketing activities, engaging on the social media user’s terms. And marketers should remember that while loyalty to individual social properties may be low and site users dissatisfied, the activities that have come to define social media— connecting with friends and family and sharing information and content with a trusted group—will remain important in the lives of millions of internet users and continue to provide avenues for brand engagement.

For compete data charts and story, go to e-marketer.com

There has been a major “paradigm shift” in consumer behaviour in the US, with the recession changing people’s views on value.

Deloitte, the consultancy, conducted a survey of 2,077 main household grocery buyers in America, finding that 84% were examining their spending in every category to try and save money.

A further 79% believed they were “smarter” shoppers than two years ago, and 65% said a decrease in overall expenditure had not exerted a negative impact on their quality of life.

Some 81% of the sample agreed it was “fun” to see how much they would be able to reduce bills using vouchers and loyalty cards.

Two-thirds of participants were more regularly reclaiming coupons, a total that includes the 39% using the web to track down special offers.

Around 60% of contributors also described themselves as having become more “price conscious” in the last 24 months.

In contrast, only 15% were “buying to please myself” with a greater degree of frequency, 11% placed a particular emphasis on new products and 7% exhibited stronger levels of attachment to brands.

In all, 75% of the panel suggested the financial crisis had caused them to realise “which brands I really care about are which ones are less important to me.”

Elsewhere, 80% thought own-label goods were simply repackaged variants of better-known alternatives and 74% were “more open” to experimenting with lines manufactured directly by retailers.

Only two or three brands they could not do without

A majority of consumers said there were only two or three brands which they “could not live without”, and that private label items were of the same or superior standard to more established rivals.

Deloitte argued there are now four distinct audiences which have emerged in the US, adding that each of these groups has unique requirements.

The biggest of these was the “spectators”, comprised of young, high-earning and well-educated adults that had no need to reform prior spending habits.

According to the study, this cohort has a “well-balanced, opportunistic take on resourcefulness” which means its members often make savings out of choice rather than necessity.

“Planners” made up 21% of the potential customer base.

The group’s shared preferences include cooking from scratch rather than eating prepared meals, suggesting they are interested in a wide “product mix.”

At the other end of the spectrum are “sacrificers” – making up 22% of the total base – who are typically on a low income and who have seen their wealth decline in the last two years.

While this group displayed a “certain pride” in carefully managing money, this came at a “steep emotional price” in the form of disappointment at being forced to trade down.

One key way people fitting this profile are trimming costs is through opting for larger pack sizes, even though they were the least likely to have children.

“Super-savers”, 21% of grocery buyers as assessed by Deloitte, were characterised by a “deliberate and concerned effort to increase use of coupons and multiple store shopping”.

Women are the most sizeable portion of this demographic, which generally experienced feelings of “empowerment” and “great pleasure” by containing household budgets.

The battle over surplus margins

“We see a fundamentally changed consumer marketplace paradigm, one in which consumers and marketers do battle over surplus margins, where surplus margin is the difference between the regular price and the discounted effective price,” Deloitte added.

From World Advertising Research Center

From World Advertising Research Center

Consumer groups that are typically regarded as “minorities” by marketers will grow to become the majority of the US population over the next three decades.

At the ARF’s Audience Measurement Conference – covered in more detail here – Dr Robert Groves, director of the US Census Bureau, argued several seismic shifts are now underway in the country.

Census forecasting growth from 310 million to 439 million

“Between 2010 and 2050, the US population is projected to grow from 310 million to 439 million – an increase of 42%,” he said. “And one in five US residents will be aged 65 or older in 2030.”

Moreover, Groves suggested that by 2042, groups that are generally categorised as “minorities” – like Hispanics, Asians and African Americans – will make up the largest number of people living in the US.

As a forerunner of this trend, the 2010 Census is aiming to reach 309 million individuals in six different languages, in the form of English, simplified Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Language assistance guides to be provided

While this is expected to cover 97.8% of potential contributors, a further 59 “language assistance guides” will help respondents speaking Punjabi Romanian, Tigrinya and a range of other languages.

Even then, its overall penetration will come in at 99.7%, and in a bid to engage the remaining possible participants the Bureau will look everywhere from grassroots organisations to multinational corporations.

In just one example of the future challenges that will face researchers, an attempt by the Bureau to provide bi-lingual surveys has resulted in highly specific difficulties.

“Some people start filling out the Spanish column, move to the English, and switch back to the Spanish,” said Groves.

The marketing campaign for the Census started in January, the first stage of a $350m effort that is unique in its goal of impacting “absolutely everyone.”

Despite the contrasting backgrounds of the consumers featured in the Census, other factors may play a more decisive role in segmenting the population, according to Groves.

“Socio-economic conditions are our greatest differentiators,” he said.

Television advertising continues to resonate with US consumers in a number of unique ways, according to a new report.

The Television Bureau of Advertising, the industry body, and Knowledge Networks, the research firm, surveyed 1,562 people in the country in order to gain an insight into their habits and views with regard to media.

Overall, TV was estimated to boast a daily reach of 89.5% among Americans over the age of 18 years old, the study revealed.

This figure stood at 67.5% for the internet, 60.6% for radio, 38.6% for newspapers, 28.6% for magazines and 14.3% for mobile.

Typical viewer spends 319 minutes a day watching TV

In terms of usage levels, the typical participant spent 319 minutes a day watching TV and 159 minutes surfing the web, with the other channels assessed coming in at least an hour behind on this measure.

Turning to advertising, 60.8% of respondents agreed TV spots were the most “authoritative” form of corporate communications.

This compared with 15.4% who said the same for newspaper ads, while 10.8% afforded magazine ads such a status.

Radio registered a score of 8.6%, while perceptions fell to just 4.4% for the internet, indicating the overall dominance of traditional media in this area.

TV rated most exciting

Television spots were argued to be the most “exciting” by 83.4% of contributors, with magazines in second place on a considerably more modest 6%, and the web in third on 4.5%.

Elsewhere, 85.7% of the panel said TV commercials had the greatest degree of influence, while 78.1% asserted that spots shown on this medium also had more persuasive power than other forms of advertising.

When learning about new products, 71.1% of the sample again handed TV the primary role, with newspapers on 8.9%, magazines on 7.3%, and online on 7.8%.

“By every measure, television reaches more consumers every day than newspapers, magazines, radio, the internet and mobile media,” Susan Cuccinello, the TVB’s svp of research, said.

From World Advertising Research Council

Marketing budgets are starting to rise in the US, but changing consumer habits and preferences mean new processes are required to measure return on investment accurately.

In a survey of leading executives conducted in February this year, Forrester, the research firm, found that 37% of participants were planning to boost their spending levels this year. A further 35% of the sample expected to maintain their communications expenditure in line with 2009, while 27% had experienced a reduction in funding over the same period.

More broadly, Forrester suggested that the main challenge facing brand owners at present was not determining their overall adspend levels, but allocating resources in the most effective way.

Increased collaboration is necessary

The shift to digital platforms and other types of emerging technology is also requiring increased collaboration between marketing, IT, and finance departments. As such, companies need to ensure they invest in the latest tools allowing for “media mix optimization” to replace out-dated systems which were put in place prior to the digital age, Forrester said. Procter and Gamble, General Mills, and other FMCG manufacturers originally pioneered this approach, which then spread to almost every major product category during the last decade.

However, the explosion of social media and the rise of mobile devices such as smartphones had provided another major “input” which now must be considered. More specifically, one key metric which should be attracting the attention of marketers is Customer Lifetime Value, or the revenues generated over the typical duration of a brand’s relationship with an individual customer. This is often separate from a customer’s Brand Value, as typically ascertained by a range of more traditional metrics.

While the advent of new software should allow more accurate tracking in all of these areas, it is incumbent on industry professionals to ensure they drive this success.

“The idea of doing more with less is now a long-term business strategy versus a short-term mandate.” according to Chad Mitchell, an analyst at Forrester.

From World Advertising Research Center

From World Advertising Research Center

 A majority of marketers around the world do not believe that their agencies are sufficiently “results driven”, a new market survey has revealed.

 The Fournaise Marketing Group, a consulting group, interviewed 1,000 executives in various markets, and discovered that 65% thought their agencies were not paying enough attention to return on investment. Such a perception reached a peak of 70% in developed markets including the US, Western Europe and Australia.

 More specifically, 74% of participants argued that agencies did not have the tools and insights in place that would enable them to focus their campaigns on the right target audience.  A further 71% of contributors suggested that their creative partners were too “awards driven”, and more interested in improving their portfolios than boosting brand sales.

Agencies need capability to produce comprehensive tracking studies

 Seven out of ten respondents similarly believed that the inability to produce comprehensive tracking studies and other such data limited the effectiveness of the strategies formulated by agencies.

 Over 35% of agencies were described as being “result drivers” which emphasized improving their client’s  revenues and pursued whatever approach ultimately achieved that aim. A further 43% were “result pretenders” that presented themselves as being committed to proving the payback on marketing expenditures, but did not have the processes in place to support these claims.

There are still ‘dreamers’ out there

 Finally, some 22% of agencies were depicted as “dreamers” who lived in the old Adland” and had completely failed to adapt to the demands of the new media age