15 Things You Didn't Know About Marketing

Here are some trends reported from the Marketing News staff. My comments are in purple.

1. Twitter is not a teenybopper hangout. Only 16% of Twitterers are under the age of 25.

2. Marketers are all atwitter about Twitter, but consumers? Not so much. Only 8% of consumers felt Twitter was very effective for promoting products and ideas. Will that change? Stay tuned...

3. Short-term financial ROI measures aren't the be-all and end-all. There's still a place for softer metrics such as brand awareness and word of mouth.

4. Mobile marketing (i.e. cell phones) without the consumer's consent remains off limits.

5. Some "attention-getting" Internet ads can do more harm than good. You know, those annoying ones that disguise the "close" or "skip" buttons. We do our best to create NON-annoying ads for our clients.

6. All days aren't created equal on Facebook. Tuesday is the highest day for click-throughs. And did you know that Facebook was the busiest website of ALL on Christmas in 2009? I was on Facebook that day - were you?

7. E-mail marketing isn't dead. Open rates increased 18.2% in 2009's 2nd quarter.

8. Recent college grad? List experience on your resumé before your degree. It's what employers want to see.

9. On July 17, the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile delivered hot dogs to a home in Wisconsin - but not in a good way. It crashed into the house. No buns were hurt. Ha!

10. As of July 2009, there were more Internet users in China (338 million) than the ENTIRE population of the United States (309 million). Furthermore, 25% of China's population uses the Internet, while 70% of Americans are online.

11. iPhone apps, while cool, aren't the only thing you should consider for mobile marketing.

12. Hispanics are nicer than non-Hispanics in the U.S. when rating products. Hispanics give a 5.9% higher rating on average.

13. Sometimes a good deal doesn't need much paid marketing. Can anyone say, "Cash for Clunkers"?

14. Only 2% of TV viewing happens online and on mobile devices. Keep your eyes peeled for how that trend may change.

15. Fewer than 75 people had returned new cars under the Hyundai Assurance program as of September. Yet it was one of 2009's most buzzed-about promotions.

And if you want to know more, you can always give us a call! 309.693.1421

Celebranding

There's a science to choosing the right celebrity to pitch a product acording to Naperville-based research company Millward Brown Inc.

Taking measurements from 2,000 American adults, researchers used neuroscience to measure things such as familiarity and celebrity "buzz" to create Cebra scores. Then they made endorsement suggestions placing celebrities with the most appropriate brand. This is how celebrities ranked in Cebra scores (although this issue was dated December 30, 2009, the research was obviously done prior to Tiger's indiscretions):

1) Will Smith

2) Brad Pitt

3) Tiger Woods

4) Oprah Winfrey

Interestingly, Miley Cyrus and William Shatner both scored 61 out of 100. Who would have ever put them in the same category? Cyrus matched with L'Oréal and Starbucks, while Shatner's suggested pairings were GEICO and Dell.

Source: Marketing News, 12.30.09

That's so saddddd

Even Americans who are lucky enough to have work in this economy are becoming more unhappy with their jobs, according to a new survey that found only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work. According to the AP article, the recession is at least partly to blame:

· Fewer workers consider their jobs to be interesting.
· Incomes have not kept up with inflation.
· The soaring cost of health insurance has eaten into workers' take-home pay.

If the job satisfaction trend is not reversed, economists say, it could stifle innovation and hurt America's competitiveness and productivity. And it could make unhappy older workers less inclined to take the time to share their knowledge and skills with younger workers.

And yet, personally, this is a foreign concept to me. Whether working for myself - or someone else - I've also been passionate about my work. Maybe I've been blessed to have some really cool jobs (U.S. Senate campaign, Expert Witness referral company, international marketing firm) - or maybe I'm just able squeeze the best out of each opportunity. Either way, I consider myself very fortunate to put myself in the "satisfied" category ... nearly every single day.

So ... do you enjoy going to work every day?