|
By the end of 2011, 80% of Internet users (and Fortune 500
companies) will be involved in a virtual world, according
to Gartner, Inc. A virtual world is a computer-based simulated
environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact
via their characters, called avatars. Users guide the avatars
through the virtual world, interacting with other avatars
in activities such as talking, playing games and shopping.
Marketers are now using some of these virtual places to test
new products and gather market research as indicated in the
following chart.
Very few Americans would do well on a test of political knowledge,
per Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. For example,
only 69% can name the U.S. Vice President, down from 74% in
1989. A similar percentage could name their state's own governor
- 66% in 2007 versus 74% in 1989. Almost all Americans (94%)
follow the news. On average, they get news from 4.6 sources.
Those with a high knowledge (50%) tend to use at least seven
sources. The chart below shows that audience members of some
news programs and services (after controlling for demographic
and political factors) are more likely than audience members
of other news programs and services, to have high political
knowledge.
Downloading unauthorized music from the Internet is not as
bad as shoplifting, according to most Americans. The following
chart shows other activities of which Americans disapprove.
Most young Americans age 14-24 (87%) say advertisements they
see on TV are memorable, compared to 15% who think Internet
banner ads are memorable and 12% who say newspaper or magazine
ads are memorable. More than one-half (53%) think some TV
ads are better than actual TV programs. The chart below describes
the ads this age group likes to watch.
Advertising spending in gay and lesbian print media jumped
5.2% in 2006 to reach $223.3 million. One-half (49.0%) of
the ads portrayed or addressed gay and lesbian consumers,
which is down slightly from 2005, but represents a four-fold
increase since 2002.
Circulation for these print media companies reached 3,777,488
in 2006, up 10.4% from 2005. Product categories with the biggest
increase of ads in gay and lesbian print media during 2006
were long distance/cellular (up 76.5%), beer (up 58.5%), and
travel destinations (up 47.6%). The major decreases were in
TV/cable (down 73.1%), gay magazines (down 76.6%), and gay
Internet sites (down 73.1%).
About 16% of US Internet households watch TV broadcasts online,
according to The Conference Board and TNS. The chart below
describes which types of programs/shows are watched in this
manner. Consumers claim they do so because it is convenient
and helps them avoid commercials. An analysis of TV and online
video viewing habits concludes that the Internet's primetime
block occurs between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays. This dovetails
into TV's primetime schedule of 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., offering
marketers an opportunity to adapt their strategies and messages
accordingly.
One in four patients (39%) prefer a doctor who uses technology
to manage their care, compared with 30% who prefer their doctor
rely on traditional methods. Some 36% say that technology
has improved how they manage and maintain their health; the
chart below shows which patient activities have been affected.
During the first half of 2007, the cost of health insurance
in the U.S. rose an average of 6.1%, almost twice as fast
as the 3.7% increase in wages. Premiums for family coverage
have jumped by 78% since 2001, while wages have only increased
19%.
On average, workers contribute $273 a month towards their
family health coverage packages, up from $248 last year. These
continual and dramatic increases in costs help explain why
only 60% of US firms currently offer health benefits, down
by nine percentage points since 2000. A recent survey by the
US Census Bureau showed that 47 million people had no health
insurance in the United States last year, up from 44.8 million
in 2005.
During 2006, Mississippi became the first state in which
at least 30% of its population was considered obese (30.6%).
Obesity levels increased in 31 states from 2005 to 2006 -
with no state posting a decline. Colorado, the least obese
state at 17.6%, increased from 16.9% in the prior year. Some
41 states now have obesity levels over 20%.
Countrywide, nearly 119 million adults (65% of the population)
are currently overweight or obese. The direct and indirect
costs of obesity are more than $117 billion per year.
While there are some exceptions, the states with the highest
poverty levels have the highest proportion of obese residents.
The following chart provides details.
BtoB Magazine reported that US business-to-business advertising
spending reached $14.39 billion in 2006, up 1.4% from $14.19
billion in the prior year. When it comes to Internet advertising,
online display ads made up nearly 10% of b-to-b ad spending
at $1.4 billion. This reflects a 17% increase from 2005 levels.
A review of only the top 100 b-to-b advertisers shows they
increased expenditures at twice the overall rate: spending
$6.76 billion in 2006, up 3% from the prior year.
About six in 10 corporations (61%) now have blogs, with 6%
boasting five or more. Most companies (63%) began blogging
because they sensed pressure to participate in this new medium,
while the other 37% say they started in order to fill a specific
need such as communicating with their clients. Whatever the
impetus for starting, 84% of corporate blogs target their
customers and potential customers.
The blog entries are posted by CEOs (63%), executives (49%)
and marketing personnel (47%), with assurances that 94% of
entries are written by the person whose name is attached to
the post.
Most companies (76%) say they have had an increase in website
traffic since beginning their blogs. Some 86% feel that blogging
will be more important in 2008 than it has been in 2007.
About 53% of marketing executives responding to a recent
survey by BtoB and Eric Mower and Associates, said they have
experienced a business crisis that resulted in negative news
coverage, declining sales or reduced profitability. About
the same number (57%) reported that their company does not
have a crisis response plan currently in place.
Of the 43% of companies that have developed a plan, 10% worry
about their ability to carry it out, and only one-half have
trained spokespersons ready.
Some 23% of respondents who went through a crisis said it
took three months to a year for their brand to fully recover,
while 13.3% said recovery took more than two years and 17.7%
said they have not yet recovered after two years.
Causes for these companies' crises vary. A majority of survey
respondents (55.7%) said layoffs, shutdowns or business foreclosures
created the crisis. Some 45.2% blamed operational or services
failures, 33% cited legal or ethical problems and 32.2% pointed
to a competitive attack, such as negative word-of-mouth or
messaging by others who have a vested interest in damaging
the company.
Bullets
- Hispanics (52%) are more likely than Blacks (49%) and
much more likely than Whites (35%) to say it's important
to volunteer time to make a difference in their community.
- The most common types of negative comments that teachers
hear students make are sexist (40%) and homophobic (33%).
- Some 26% of Baby Boomers started their own business because
they were financially unable to retire.
- The average American drinks 30.3 gallons of beer per year,
up from 30.0 gallons in 2005.
- Some 65% of Americans drink alcohol. Forty percent choose
beer as their preferred beverage, compared to 34% who like
wine and 22% who choose hard liquor.
- While most people age 14-24 use technology regularly,
only 20% of them consider themselves "technology lovers."
Top activities for this age range are listening to music
(70%), watching TV (65%), hanging out with friends (65%),
and spending time online (56%). Almost one-half (47%) instant
message each other about what's on TV at that moment. More
than one-half learn about new bands on TV (55%) and the
radio (55%), compared to 36% who find them from Internet
research.
- The average age of motorcycle buyers increased from 33.1
years in 1990, to 40.2 years in 2003. There was only a 0.8%
increase in the number of motorcycles purchased in 2006
compared to the prior year. This indicated a slow down since
the number purchased had risen 8.0% in 2005 and 6.2% in
2004.
- Americans with portable devices allowing them Internet
access say they have checked e-mail in bed (59%), from the
bathroom (53%), while driving (37%), and while in church
(12%).
- Women (16%) are more likely than men (13%) to say they
are addicted to e-mail.
- In 2006, two-thirds of Americans (64%) said they had less
respect for professional athletes than they did 10 years
earlier.
- The proportion of Americans who do volunteer work decreased
in 2006 for the first time since September 11, 2001. The
percentage decreased to 26.7% in 2006 from 28.8% in 2005.
- More than 76% of Americans think that the media is at
least somewhat biased in its reporting. They say that FOX
News (39.6%) and CNN (18.3%) are more biased than other
news networks.
- Some 70.7% of Americans believe that politicians don't
have people's best interests at heart.
- Americans say they could live without gym/exercise (38%),
chocolate (28%), entertainment media (iPod, magazines, TV)
(19%) and meat (15%).
- Ten years after graduating from college, women do not
earn more than men in any occupation. Women in architecture
and engineering earn 95% as much as men; in computer science
they earn 94%; in medical or legal professions they get
67%; and in business and management careers they receive
69%.
- One-quarter of Americans (25.8%) live alone.
- There are 900 outdoor cafes in New York City, up 50% from
2002.
- About 1% of Americans click on Internet advertisements,
and do this approximately once per month.
- When consumers are unsuccessful in an online search, 13%
switch to a different search engine, down from 27% in 2002.
- Women make up just over 50% of the US population, but
make over 80% of the consumer purchasing decisions (consumer
spending accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. GNP). Women
also own 40% of all stocks.
- Seven in 10 moms use search engines to research online
purchases, 57% use search engines to research offline purchases.
Some 89% of moms use the Internet at least twice a day,
and 90% have been using it for more than seven years.
- One-half of young adults age 18 to 34 get information
about new products/services via word of mouth (from family
or friends), compared with 39% of those 55 to 64, and 30%
of those 65 and older.
- Almost one-quarter of people (22%) say they will do more
online shopping to save gas due to rising prices.
- Today, more consumers say that TV (36%), compared to the
Internet (33%), is the most essential medium to them. In
2002, 39% named TV while 20% chose the Internet.
- Online shoppers age 18 to 24 (48%) are more likely than
average shoppers (39%) to choose a debit card as their preferred
payment method.
- "American Idol" is the TV show most commonly discussed
at work. Some 37% of workers say they talk about it, up
from 35% in 2006.
- The average teen or tween earns about $30 per week with
about 43% going towards fashion items.
- As of July 2007, there are 1,124 city or county ordinances
in the U.S. that ban smoking in public places. This is up
from 30 in 1999.
- People are 57% more likely to become obese if a friend
is obese, 40% more if a sibling is obese, and 37% more if
their spouse is obese.
- One in seven companies (14%) provides paid paternity leave
to soon-to-be fathers.
- Almost one-half of patients (45%) want the ability to
e-mail their doctors with questions, but only 11% of doctors
offer this service.
- Some 15% of Americans have used an in-store health clinic,
and another 41% say they would use one if one was nearby.
- Almost seven in 10 U.S. hospitals (69%) have implemented
electronic health records.
- Children start to make their own choices about health
and wellness products at age 10.
- About 80% of physicians say they consider patients' out-of-pocket
costs when prescribing medicines. Some 40% consider costs
when recommending diagnostic tests and 51% consider it when
suggesting hospitalization for treatment when an outpatient
procedure is an option.
- Men are more likely to choose their mother (50%) than
their father (35%) as their parenting role model.
- Almost one-half of motorcyclists who died in an accident
(47%) in 2005 were age 40 or older.
- About nine million devices, such as cell phones and GPS
systems, were connected to cellular networks in North America
in 2006. This number is expected to reach 66 million by
2011.
- The majority of men (55%) and women (77%) business executives
are less willing to take a job that requires heavy business
travel than they were five years ago. Men (48%) and women
(67%) are also more likely to negotiate for less travel
with a new job.
- Some 71% of CEOs say they have done business with someone
they met during a golf game; 21% say they never turn off
their cell phones when playing.
- Almost one-half of executives (48%) say their administrative
assistant is very important to their success; only 13% say
their assistant is somewhat or very unimportant to their
success.
- The average person gets 21 spam e-mail messages per day.
It takes 16 seconds per message to identify and delete those
e-mails, down from 30 seconds in 2004.
- Some 11% of large companies and 16% of small companies
offer employees paid sabbaticals. Another 29% of large companies
and 21% of small companies offer unpaid sabbaticals.
- Most professionals (86%) read and respond to e-mail messages
during meetings, even though only 37% of executives think
this is appropriate behavior.
- If U.S. companies continue building massive data centers
in the numbers expected, the country will need about a dozen
new power plants by 2011 just to keep the data flowing,
according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
- Two-thirds of Americans who would like to start their
own business (66%) say they would choose Oprah as their
business partner over Donald Trump.
|
