Tag Archives: research

On Social, Brands Use Rewards, Customer Service to Foster Loyalty – eMarketer

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Most marketers think a Facebook “like” is an endorsement of content, while users more often view it as a show of loyalty

While loyalty programs have been popular in the US for years—with the average American consumer belonging to 18 loyalty programs according to loyalty marketing publisher COLLOQUY—whether these members are active is another story. “Points, coupons and freebies are great for grabbing initial attention,” said Krista Garcia, eMarketer analyst and author of the new report, “Social Loyalty: From Rewards to a Rewarding Customer Experience.” “But in the long run these promotions can’t make up for a lackluster customer experience.”

Through the use of social media, though, retailers and brands can identify and interact with their most profitable internet users. “Loyalty can be won through encouraging word-of-mouth and creating advocates, by raising a user’s social status, by surprising and entertaining shoppers in unexpected ways, and also by listening to customers’ needs and suggestions and responding in a mutually beneficial fashion,” said Garcia.

Best Ways Companies Can Build Consumer Loyalty According to US Internet Users, March 2012 (% of respondents)

The link between social media and loyalty seems to be on the minds of many, but user behavior on social networks is still misunderstood. Marketers in a Q4 2011 CMO Council survey weren’t just being overly literal when they interpreted a “like” as an indicator of agreeableness to content, they were missing by a long shot how customers truly viewed social relationships with brands. In actuality, consumers most often clicked the “like” button to show their loyalty. The next most popular reason users clicked “like” was because they were looking for incentives or rewards.

Reasons that Facebook Users Worldwide "Like" Brands on Facebook vs. What Marketers Think the "Likes" Mean, Q4 2011 (% of respondents)

“The ability to combine traditional loyalty programs with a social layer holds great promise for retailers and brands trying to strengthen retention,” said Garcia. “Starting with a compelling customer experience lays the foundation, then responding in real time, anticipating and meeting needs, and influencing a wider audience by creating sharable perks are part of the next generation of rewards.”

via On Social, Brands Use Rewards, Customer Service to Foster Loyalty – eMarketer.

Report: Hispanic ad spend at $4.3 billion in 2010

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The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies released its 2010 Report on Hispanic Advertising Spending, which finds spend rose 14% to $4.3 billion in 2010–reversing a two-year slowdown, increasing the aggregate Hispanic ad spend by over 2009 levels. In fact, Hispanic media spend by the Top 500 advertisers stood only $163 million below its peak in 2007 showing a strong recovery.

AHAA says for “Best-In-Class” companies, defined as U.S. companies with a Hispanic allocation of marketing dollars of more than 14.2%, the percent of ad spend allocated to Hispanic markets can determine a company’s overall revenue growth rate. Consistent ad allocations greater than 14.2% explain about half of the best-in-class companies’ revenue growth rate.

The AHAA study found with a confidence level of 99% that a Best-In-Class company allocating one quarter of its ad spend to Hispanic media over five years, would generate annual revenue growth of 6.7%.

The best advice underscores Roberto Orci, AHAA president and CEO of Acento Advertising, is to keep spend consistent, to keep products and services top of mind in recall and recognition: “This research underscores that companies can’t just pop in-and-out of the Hispanic market as a fad and see benefits – real bottom-line benefits come from consistent integrated approaches. Companies must get on the train or risk being left behind and becoming irrelevant.”

Among the best-in-class group: 
AFC Enterprises (Popeyes Chicken, Church’s Chicken, Cinnabon)
Allstate
AutoZone
Colgate-Palmolive
Collective Brands (Payless Shoesource)
DirecTV
Domino’s Pizza
Echostar Communications
Heineken
JC Penney
Rent-A-Center
SAB Miller
State Farm
Vivendi

After “Best-In-Class” marketers, the report noted different tiers of advertisers and categories:

Leaders:  companies which allocate between 6.4 and 14.2%;
Followers: allocate between 3.6 and 6.4%;
Laggards: Hispanic allocations of 1.0 to 3.6%; and
Denial: allocation of less than 1%.

Best in Class:
Three out of five — Subscription TV, Auto Insurance and Financial Services/Tax Preparation — catapulted a total spend of $400 million. The Beer category maintained its Best-In-Class standing and edged 1.2 share points in allocation to 15%. Direct Consumer Marketing was the only Best-In-Class category that decreased spend, reducing it by 33% over its pre-recession level of $118 million in 2006.

Leaders: 
The Automotive categories in (manufacturers and retailers) have shown an aggregate decrease of approximately $259 million since 2006. In contrast, all other 50 categories in aggregate have shown an upturn of $280 million or 8% in the same period. Among Hispanic allocation Leaders, the Telecom category grew the most, nearly $170 million or 51% since 2006. The Restaurants-QSR category also showed a significant increase of 30% or $70 million in incremental investment to arrive at $301 million in 2010. The Home Improvement & Builders category rebounded from the recession dip increasing 6% over its 2006 base of $91 million. Among 2010 Leader categories, only Government & Lottery and Retail Mass Merchandisers-Department Stores experienced decreases in overall spending.

Followers: 
Four categories among Followers increased their dollar spend since 2006, led by Packaged Goods especially Food manufacturers within it, which boosted their investments in Hispanic consumers by 44% compared to only 16% up among Non-Hispanic traditional media. Both the Automotive Manufacturer and Media & Entertainment categories experienced decreases in excess of $150 million each.

Laggards: 
The Pharmaceutical and Automotive Dealers-Assn categories experienced decreases in excess of $50 million each. The Financial Services category has increased its focus on the Hispanic segment with both the subcategories of Investment Firms and Banks-Mortgages showing healthy recovery.

Denial: 
Among the 13 Denial categories, all but three–Diet-Supplement-Vitamins, Insurance-Life, and Luxury Brand–experienced decreases in Hispanic allocation. The Private Investment category took the biggest loss among Denial with an approximate decline of $86 million.

More findings:
* The Hispanic advertising industry has remained constant at five to six percent of total advertising budgets, from 2006 to 2010.

* At $707 million, Packaged Goods advertisers, including Colgate, General Mills and Mars, are targeting Hispanic consumers, increasing $140 million in ad spend over 2009 and increasing their share of allocation to Hispanics by 1.6 points to 6%.

* The converging Telecom & Subscription TV categories, including Metro PCS, Verizon and AT&T,  follow closely with $502 million or 9% and $349 million or 13% Hispanic ad spend and allocation respectively, investing $850 million combined in 2010 and adding $415 million to Hispanic media over 2009.

* Hispanic ad spend in the Auto Insurance category increased by $97 million over 2009 to 12.5% allocation while Non-Hispanic spend decreased by $73 million over the same period.

* With a remarkable jump in Hispanic allocation from 0.5% to 9.8%, Fitness-Sports companies, including Bally’s (Harbinger Capital), became a reemerging category in the Latino community.

* From 2006 to 2010, the expenditures by Financial Services- Tax Preparation & Other category has grown by 9.6% to a 24% allocation of overall spend to Hispanic in 2010.

* During the same period, Beer advertisers, including Grupo Modelo, SAB Miller, and Anheuser InBev, have remained loyal to the Hispanic community as they allocated 15% or about $150 million to the Hispanic segment.

* The Financial Services categories have tripled their focus on Hispanic media since 2009 reaching $215 million in 2010. Similarly, all Insurance categories have experienced increases.

RBR-TVBR observation: A lot of these findings parallel general market ad spend as well. The general market experienced similar cuts and reallocations during similar time periods. But no doubt, consistently reaching out by branding and messaging the Hispanic market here in the US is a smart thing to do. The same can be said for other rapidly-growing multicultural groups such as Korean and Vietnamese. Both are experiencing a boom in media outlets right now as well, thanks to DTV multicast and cable channels. In larger markets, more than ever, the AM dial is becoming home to Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese programming.

via AHAA: Hispanic ad spend at $4.3 billion in 2010

Social Media’s The Place To Go | Nielsen

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According to a new Nielsen report, social media’s growth connects people with just about everything they watch and buy. Whether it’s a brand icon to connect with a company on LinkedIn, a news ticker promoting an anchor’s Twitter handle or an advertisement asking a consumer to “Like” a product on Facebook, people are constantly being driven to social media. The latest Nielsen insights provide some answers on exactly how powerful this influence is on consumer behavior, both online and off.

In the U.S., social networks and blogs reach nearly 80% of active U.S. Internet users and represent the majority of Americans’ time online. The value of the time consumers spend online and on social networks and blogs continues to grow, most visible through the influence on purchase decisions. For instance, 60% of people who use three or more digital means of research for product purchases learned about a specific brand or retailer from a social networking site. 48% of these consumers responded to a retailer’s offer posted on Facebook or Twitter.

Nielsen’s “State of the Media: The Social Media Report – Q3 2011″ presents a snapshot of the current social media landscape and audiences in the U.S. and other major markets:

Key Findings

  • Social networks and blogs continue to dominate Americans’ time online, now accounting for nearly a quarter of total time spent on the Internet
  • Social media has grown rapidly – today nearly 4 in 5 active Internet users visit social networks and blogs
  • Americans spend more time on Facebook than they do on any other U.S. website
  • Close to 40% of social media users access social media content from their mobile phone
  • Social networking apps are the third most-used among U.S. smartphone owners
  • Internet users over the age of 55 are driving the growth of social networking through the Mobile Internet

Although a larger number of women view online video on social networks and blogs, men are the heaviest online video users overall streaming more videos and watching them longer

  • 70% of active online adult social networkers shop online, 12% more likely than the average adult Internet user
  • 53% of active adult social networkers follow a brand, while 32% follow a celebrity
  • Across a snapshot of 10 major global markets, social networks and blogs reach over three-quarters of active Internet users
  • Tumblr is an emerging player in social media, nearly tripling its audience from a year ago

Social Networks and Blog sites rule Americans’ Internet time, accounting for 23% of time spent online, more than twice the amount of time spent on the number two category, Online Games. Time spent on the 75 “Other” online categories combined only accounts for 35% of Americans’ total Internet time.

Females make up the majority of visitors to social networks and blogs, and people aged 18-34 have the highest concentration of visitors among all age groups. Americans aged 35-49 are also avid visitors: 4% more likely than average to visit social networks and blogs than they do any other site and 27% of these sites’ audience.

The average visitor to social networks and blogs is female between 18 and 34. Her household income is less than $50,000 per year, and she has obtained a Bachelor’s degree. She is likely Asian or Pacific and likely lives in New England

Social networking as a whole skews female, and so do nine of the top 10 U.S. social networks and blogs, but LinkedIn and Wikia are the only sites in the category where the percentage of men visiting the respective site exceeds the percentage of total active male Internet users (47%). Facebook continues to reign as the top U.S. social network with over 140 million visitors during May 2011, nearly 3-times the audience of the number two site, Blogger, reaching 70% of active U.S. Internet users.

As app usage in the U.S. continues to grow, but not at the expense of the Mobile Internet. Mobile Internet usage, the use of a browser on a mobile device, is alive and well with the unique number of Mobile Internet users in the U.S. up 47% over last year. The Mobile Internet audience to social networking sites is up 62% during the same period, as publishers continue to optimize their content across a new generation of connected devices.

During May 2011, over 31 million people in the U.S.watched video content on social networks and blogs, viewing nearly 157 million video streams. Although over 4,000 more women view video on these sites compared to men, men are the heaviest users, streaming more videos and spending 9% more time watching.

Top 10 U.S. Social Networks and Blogs
Unique Visitors (000) Site Key Characteristic Measure
140,336 Facebook Share of page views by female visitors on facebook 62%
50,055 Blogger Household income of 41% of blogger’s audience $75k+
23,617 Twitter Demographic more represented on twitter than any of the 9 other social networks African Americans
22,417 WordPress Share of visitors to wordpress who have a bachelor’s degree 25%
19,250 Myspace Demographic that views twice as many pages on myspace than average Teens
17,786 Linkedin Internet users with a post graduate degree likely to visit Linkedin compared to average 3X as many
11,870 Tumblr Demographic more represented on Tumblr than on any of the other 9 social networks Female Teens
8,578 Six Apart Typepad With a higher concentration of Six Apart visitors than from any of the other top 9 social networks Pacific Region
8,397 Yahoo! Pulse With the highest concentration of pulse visitors versus any other part of the country New England Region
7,601 Wikia Age group more represented on Wikia than on any of the othe 9 social networks 18-34
Source: Nielsen, May 2011

Facebook has become synonymous not only with social media, but with Web use more generally, as Americans spend more time on Facebook than on any other site.

Top 10 U.S. Web Brands by Total Minutes (Billions; Home and Work; May 2011)
Brand Billions of Minutes
Facebook 53.5
Yahoo! 17.2
Google 12.5
Aol Media Network 11.4
Msn/Windowslive/Bing 9.5
YouTube 9.1
Ebay 4.5
EA 4.3
Apple 4.3
Microsoft 3.4
Source: Nielsen, May 2011

Consumers frequently trust the recommendations of their peers, making social media an ideal platform for influencers to spread their ideas and purchase power. Research by NM Incite shows that 60% of social media users create reviews of products and services. In fact, consumer created reviews/ratings are the preferred source for information about product/service value, price and product quality, says the report. Offline, active adult social networkers are more likely than the average adult Internet user to be found at political rallies, professional sporting events and working out at the gym.

According to Nielsen and NM Incite, When Compared To The Average Adult Internet User, Active Adult Social Networkers Are…

  • 26% more likely to give their opinion on politics and current events
  • 33% more likely to give their opinion on TV programs
  • 19% more likely to attend a professional sporting event
  • 45% more likely to go on a date
  • 18% more likely to work out at a gym or health club
  • 75% more likely to be heavy spenders on music
  • 47% more likely to be heavy spenders on clothing, shoes and accessories
  • 53% of active social networkers follow a brand
  • 32% of active social networkers follow a celebrity

To sign in for the complete report and additional information from Nielsen, please go here.


QR Codes Best in Magazines, Newspapers & Packaging

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A new comScore study on mobile QR (Quick Response) code scanning readable by smartphones, found that 14 million mobile users in the U.S., representing 6.2% of the total mobile audience, scanned a QR code on their mobile device. A mobile user that scanned a QR code was more likely to be male (60.5% of code scanning audience), skew toward ages 18-34 (53.4%) and have a household income of $100k or above (36.1%).

Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile “QR codes demonstrate just one of the ways in which mobile marketing can effectively be integrated into existing media and marketing campaigns… ”

A demographic analysis of those who scanned a QR code with their mobile phone in June revealed an audience that was more likely to be male, young to middle-age and upper income. More than half of all QR code scanners were between the ages of 18-34. Those between the age of 25-34 were twice as likely as the average mobile user to engage in this behavior, while 18-24 year olds were 36% more likely than average to scan. More than 1 of every 3 QR code scanners had a household income of at least $100,000, representing both the largest and most over-represented income segment among the scanning audience.

Demographic Profile QR Code Scanning Audience  (Total Mobile Audience U.S. Age 13+)
Audience QR Code Audience (000) % of QR Code Audience Index (Code Scanners)
Total Audience: Age 13+ 14,452 100.0% 100
Gender:      
   Male 8,743 60.5% 125
   Female 5,709 39.5% 76
Age:      
   13-17 1,076 7.4% 108
   18-24 2,402 16.6% 136
   25-34 5,317 36.8% 211
   35-44 2,827 19.6% 117
   45-54 1,798 12.4% 68
   55-64 594 4.1% 28
   65+ 437 3.0% 22
Income:      
   <$25k 1,193 8.3% 54
   $25k to <$50k 2,597 18.0% 79
   $50k to <$75k 2,756 19.1% 96
   $75k to <$100k 2,689 18.6% 125
   $100k+ 5,217 36.1% 13
Source: comScore MobiLens, June 2011

The most popular source of a scanned QR code was a printed magazine or newspaper, with nearly half scanning QR codes from this source. Product packaging was the source of QR code scanning for 35.3% of the audience, while 27.4% scanned a code from a website on a PC and 23.5% scanned codes from a poster/flyer/kiosk.

Source of Scanned QR Code (Total Mobile Audience U.S. Age 13+)
  QR Code Audience (000) % of QR Code Audience (Mult. Sources)
Total Audience: Scanned QR code with mobile phone 14,452 100.0%
Printed magazine or newspaper 7,138 49.4%
Product packaging 5,101 35.3%
Website on PC 3,957 27.4%
Poster or flyer or kiosk 3,393 23.5%
Business card or brochure 1,940 13.4%
Storefront 1,850 12.8%
TV 1,693 11.7%
Source: comScore MobiLens, June 2011

Among mobile users who scanned a QR code on their mobile devices in June, 58.0% did so from their home, while 39.4% did so from a retail store and 24.5% did so from a grocery store.

Location When Scanning QR Code (Total Mobile Audience U.S. Age 13+)
  QR Code Audience (000) % of QR Code Audience (Mult. Sources)
Total Audience: Scanned QR code with mobile phone 14,452 100.0%
At home 8,382 58.0%
Retail store 5,688 39.4%
Grocery store 3,546 24.5%
At work 2,844 19.7%
Outside or on public transit 1,827 12.6%
Restaurant 1,095 7.6%
Source: comScore MobiLens, June 2011

For additional information from comScore, please visit here, or for additional insights into QR Code usage in Europe, please visit the comScore Data Mine here.

Latino Men Want Specific, Accessible Health Information, Study Says – Fox News Latino

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A new study from Utah State University found that Latino males want health information but in a more specific and accessible format.

Researchers for the study sought to identify needs-based health strategies to more effectively reach Latino men.

Focus groups made up of Latino men investigated their health concerns, barriers, motivators, and access to health information and health services.

One concern, the study found, was that Latino men were not very interested in prevention.

“Some of the things we should do that I try is to exercise, eat as healthy as possible. I try to keep my heart clean, eat less grease,” one of the men told researchers. “But a lot of times we don’t do anything; we just go on.”

The study also looked into ways of solving traditional problems like men not seeking out health care until its too late.

“Additionally, the researchers wished to determine if a church-based design might help reach men who might not be responsive to more traditional health education or public health routes,” the study abstract read.

To that end, they learned that church-based health education was a way of reaching Latino men who were regular attendants to church.

The men also strongly desired more Spanish-speaking health care providers and were acutely interested in low-cost health care.

Latino men are a historically understudied group. Some of the men in the study hoped that more attention and awareness regarding their health would pay dividends in the long run.

“I think that we just need to hear it more,” another participant said. “We all know, and we want to do better, but then we don’t.

“But the more we hear it, the more we are reminded,” the participant added. “And then eventually, you know, I hope..

via Latino Men Want Specific, Accessible Health Information, Study Says – Fox News Latino.