Bullets January 2013

Bullets

Business to Business

• 75 percent of business to business companies do not measure or quantify social media engagement. 56 percent of companies that quantify social media engagement only count comments and followers. (http://goo.gl/JTpdC)
• According to Themailhaus.wordpress.com, 47% of U.S. households read catalogs, and only 19% discard them without reading. The amount of customers who trust direct mail over email has actually grown from 29% in 2008 to 36% in 2012. (http://goo.gl/Iv5)
• The digital video audience is growing in both number and time spent viewing content. The latest eMarketer projection shows that by 2014, nearly three-quarters of all US internet users will watch video online at least once per month. Much of the content being viewed is increasingly ad-supported, which puts an ever-greater focus on the metrics used to measure results. (http://goo.gl/IwhBH)
• Shoppers who interact with sales associates are 13% more likely than those who don’t interact to make purchases in-store. (GroupM Next: 314-682-2055)

 Brand Strategy

• While marketers may strive to have website visitors fill out a whitepaper download form, or self-identify via the “contact me” button, the reality is that potential buyers are researching your company and products far in advance of their willingness to identify themselves. Studies show that up to 75% of research is done prior to self-identification. (http://goo.gl/TRqdb)
• 22% of online Americans say that they click on search engine ads, finds The Search Agency finds in a survey conducted by Harris Interactive. The results show a fairly significant degree of variation on a geographic level, with the proportion saying they click on search ads far higher in the South (29%) than in the Northeast (20%), West (19%), and Midwest (17%). The study also finds that 18-34-year-olds report being more likely to click on search ads than those aged 35 and older (30% vs. 18%). (http://goo.gl/ScgI4)
• More than three in four consumers say most of the claims that brands make in advertisements are exaggerated, according to a study by Lab42. Specifically, among surveyed consumers, 57.4% say advertising claims are “somewhat exaggerated,” and 19.0% say they are “very exaggerated,” Lab42 reported. Only 2.8% of consumers surveyed say the claims in various ads are very accurate: (http://goo.gl/cmtah)
• Edelman’s 2012 global “goodpurpose” study found a growing number of consumers considered “social purpose,” the leading purchase driver when quality and price were equal. And, increasingly, consumers worldwide didn’t see a contradiction in brands profiting from supporting causes. Seventy-six percent said it was OK for brands to make money as a result of social purpose, a 33% increase from 2008. (http://goo.gl/PtAsi)

Energy

• Small buildings comprise nearly 90 percent of the nation’s commercial buildings and use 50 percent more energy per square foot than larger facilities in part due to inefficiencies, according to the most recent Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (http://goo.gl/0cntL)
• Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money. (fueleconomy.gov)
• Wind power currently supports 75,000 good quality, well-paying jobs. The U.S. Department of Energy found that with the right policies in place, by aiming for 20% of our electricity needs fueled by wind power by 2030, industry could support roughly 500,000 jobs in the U.S., with an annual average of more than 150,000 workers employed directly. (http://goo.gl/5FycK)
• 2012 was the hottest year in history. The average temperature across the contiguous United States in 2012 was 55.3° (3.2° above normal). This ranks as the warmest year since records began in 1895. (http://goo.gl/CkRB2)
• As of January 2013, the Energy Information Administration reports that exports have risen 217% in the last 10 years, most recently rising to nearly three million barrels per day. The amount of products exported amounts to over 16% of what Americans consume every day. (http://goo.gl/WfTqg)

Healthcare

• Employees who exercise three or more times per week earn 6 to 9 percent more money than those who do not exercise. (2012 study by Vasilios Kostease, PhD, Cleveland State University)
• Adults who frequently engage in mentally stimulating activities are 63% less likely to develop dementia than those who rarely do such activities, a New England Journal of Medicine study discovered. A University of Michigan study found that adults who play a mentally challenging game every day for several weeks can dramatically improve their memory. (http://goo.gl/rVS67)
• Job stress is estimated to cost U.S. industry more than $300 billion a year in absenteeism, turnover, diminished productivity and medical, legal and insurance costs. And 52 percent of Americans report that they have considered workplace stress a significant factor when looking for a new job, declining a promotion or leaving a job altogether. (http://goo.gl/G8SdB)
• Researchers found that sedentary people placed on an exercise program voluntarily began smoking less, drinking fewer alcoholic and caffeinated drinks, and eating healthier. They also did more household chores, used their credit cards less often, and kept up more diligently with study and work obligations. (http://goo.gl/HqbYm)

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