Brand Strategy Key Findings – May/June 2012
America’s Civility Problem
Almost two-thirds of Americans say that the country has a major problem: a lack of civility. Some 55% expect the problem to get worse over the next few years, up from 39% who thought so in 2010.
Americans say that politics (80%), pop culture (75%), the media (74%), the government (73%), the music industry (71%), and the general public sphere (70%) are the most uncivil environments.
Actions Americans Have Taken Because of Uncivil Behavior
Parents Using Facebook to Keep Watch
Almost one-half of parents of teenage children (47%) say they have used Facebook to keep track of or learn more about their teens’ friends. One-third (34%) look up the parents of their teen’s friends. The numbers also show that parents’ use of Facebook is the highest during their teens’ years, but drops off rapidly after their kids reach the age of 20.
Some 12% of parents check out their teens’ dates on Facebook, with iPhone owners (20%) being more likely to do this than other parents.
Parents’ Attitudes About Technology
Source: CommuniSpace.com
Humor in Advertisements
Men are more likely than women to respond positively to humor in advertisements. While women also enjoy humorous ads, they enjoy different aspects than men.
A 2011 study by Millward Brown shows that men are more likely to enjoy ads with humor, distinctive creative styles, and sexual imagery, while women are more likely to enjoy ads containing children or a “slice of life” story.
Source: WPP.com
Print and Digital Magazine Readers
More than 184 million U.S. adults read magazines in print or online each month. And, on average, each magazine reader reads 8.1 different magazines.
One-half (51%) of print magazine readers also read at least some digital magazine content. About 90% of online magazine readers also read them in print. Almost one-half of all magazine readers (89 million) say they read both print and digital forms.
Of those who read online magazines, 51% say they like using features not available in print such as clicking on links to find more information on a given topic. Some 36% say they have clicked on advertisements.
Magazine Reader Profiles
Source: AffinityResearch.net
LGBT Consumers React to Corporate Policies
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered adults are most influenced in purchasing decisions by companies’ employee policies than advertising content.
While including gay/lesbian characters or storylines in ads can be persuasive, it has less effect than how the company acts as an employer and corporate citizen.
Almost one-quarter of LGBT adults (23%) have switched brands during the past year because they discovered products made by a competitor company that supports LGBT causes. In addition, 71% say they would remain loyal to a gay-friendly brand even if they found the same item at lower prices or with more convenience.
Factors that Make LGBT Adults More Likely to Consider Buying a Brand
Source: HarrisInteractive.com
Social Media Rising as Traditional Media Falls
A new study by BtoB shows 32% of marketers as “very” or “fully” engaged in marketing through social channels, compared to 21% in 2011. This study also projects that in 2013, about 53% of marketers will be hugely engaged in social media marketing, with 97% of all marketers using social media to some degree.
Marketers say that LinkedIn (83%), Twitter (80%) and Facebook (79%) are their main channels, in addition to YouTube (60%) and blogging (50%). However, when asked to name their most important channels, blogging jumped to second (behind LinkedIn).
The study found that almost three-quarters of marketers are reallocating as much as 10% of their budget for traditional media to the social efforts. Some 56% say they will be moving marketing dollars from paid search to social.
On the other hand, a significant number of marketers just aren’t sold on social media marketing: 46% of marketers surveyed in 2011 considered the channel not worth pursuing, as do 35% in 2012.
Source: BTOBonline.com
Bullets
- Some 25% of consumers who post product or service complaints on Facebook or Twitter say they expect to get a response within one hour; 6% expect a response within 10 minutes.
- Adults age 18-34 are three times more likely than those age 35-54 to post complaints about brands on the companies’ Facebook pages.
- Americans with household incomes of $100,000 or higher, are 19% more likely than those with lower incomes to click on online automotive offers.