The overall RII fell to 84 from 87 in the fourth quarter of 2008, and is indexed on a score of 100 for the fourth quarter of 2007. The overall figure is a composite score based on reported changes in key business metrics (RFPs, projects and staffing levels), as well as changes in business owners’ perceptions of the health of their business. This quarter’s drop was fuelled by average decreases of 7-8% in staffing levels, booked revenue and RFPs/Proposals.

Says Brownell: ‘Staffing level decreases had lagged behind revenue decreases in previous quarters. But this quarter, they were highly correlated. It appears that much of the industry waited until 2009 to reduce staffing.’ He adds that traditionally, industry downsizing has occurred toward the end of low purchasing periods, implying that the latest change may signal a bottoming out of downward trends.

The latest round saw the participation of a record number of MR professionals, 211 – previously the base has averaged around 150 per quarter. Survey participants receive a detailed report on the findings.

Respondents include end users (clients), full service firms, field services and panel companies and interviewing is conducted online via a survey hosted by Authentic Response. Reporting was completed by Cooper Roberts Research.

MRA (the Marketing Research Association) is online at www.mra-net.org .

 

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

Virtual worlds -- game-like Web environments where users can create avatars in a fantasy landscape and interact with other users -- have become particularly popular among young children. Currently, eMarketer estimates that there are 6 million kids age 3-11 who visit virtual worlds at least once a month, representing 37 percent of that Web demographic. By 2012, there will be 8.7 million kids 3-11 using virtual worlds -- or 50 percent of the entire kids´ online universe.

Teens are also fans of virtual worlds, though the penetration numbers are lower. In its new report, "Kids and Teens: Growing Up Virtual," eMarketer estimates that 3.7 million kids 12-17 log on to virtual worlds each month. That represents 18 percent of the teen Web population. By 2013, a quarter of the teen demo will be regulars in virtual worlds vs. 54 percent of the 3-11 group.

According to the report, the adult market has yet to gravitate to the virtual world segment in meaningful numbers. Therefore, potential virtual businesses have focused on the youth market. eMarketer cited a report by Virtual Worlds Management reporting that as of January, there were 112 virtual worlds aimed at the under-18 crowd live on the Web. Another 81 were said to be in development.

However, advertising is nascent in this space (most kids worlds rely on microtransactions for revenue). And given the current economy, many analysts predict a shakeout

That’s also the assessment of eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson, who authored the report. “The rate of development in virtual worlds targeted to the youth audience will slow as economic pressures mean less money for venture capital and for advertising to support new worlds,” she said. “But there is no denying that creating avatars and exploring virtual worlds are growing activities for many children and teens.”

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

The figure is a lackluster 4 percent in the "travel or travel services" and "banks or financial services" categories, and a mere 3 percent when it comes to "clothes or shoes," "eating out or restaurants" and "personal care products." It´s lower still for "cell/mobile phones and services," "cars or trucks" and "groceries or food" (each at 2 percent) and lowest of all for "prescription or OTC drugs" (1 percent).

The numbers are more robust when respondents apply the looser standard of whether they "sometimes" use social media for guidance on purchase decisions in these categories. Still, the highest figure is a modest 24 percent for the "travel or travel services" sector, with "clothes or shoes" a percentage point behind.

In light of such numbers, it´s not surprising that just 16 percent of the social-media users surveyed said they´re more inclined to buy brands that advertise on social sites. Then again, most are not hostile to advertising on those venues: 63 percent agreed that the presence of ads is "a fair price to pay" for being able to use social sites.

When the survey (fielded in March) asked users of social media to say what motivates them to engage with such sites, the foremost reason (cited by 54 percent) was "´staying connected´ -- to friends and family, as well as meeting new people."

The growing prominence of social media is reflected in the finding that 34 percent of this survey´s respondents are using the sites and features more often now than they did a year ago. But it´s also the case that some people give social media a try and then lose interest. Thus, 18 percent of respondents said they now use social media less often than they did a year ago.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

"The power of consumption of the Brazilian C class was already growing at close to a 30% annual rate before the global crisis," says research director Rosangela Bolze.

Ms. Bolze and Damiana Buosi were partners in an eponymous research company bought recently by London-based M&C Saatchi. Together they have 40 years of experience in market research, working currently with Unilever, Citibank and Natura, among other clients, in Latin America and Europe. All that experience will be vital to helping one of Brazil's newest agencies grow in extremely tough times.

News of the arrival of M&C Saatchi in Brazilian territory surprised the local and regional industry. "We have always believed that the time to gain market share is during crisis periods, when the competition is fearful and underinvesting," says Geoffrey Hamilton-Jones, president of M&C Saatchi, Sao Paulo. "Purely from a geographic and economic viewpoint, Latin America represented a big gap in our ability to work with international clients on a global basis."

Worldwide CEO Moray MacLennan adds: "We admire the creativity and vitality of advertising professionals in Brazil and Latin America. Having a presence there improves our chances both of working with major Brazilian companies as they expand internationally and with major international companies as they expand in Brazil."

Further expansion in Latin America to places like Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico hasn´t been ruled out.

But the first order of business is securing the beachhead, and that requires engaging a middle class that has been affected by the recession but hasn´t been squashed and is still a fertile ground for marketers. "With offer of long-term credit, this consumer has had access to inspirational, automobile, electro-domestic goods and internet access," says Ms. Bolze. "Casas Bahia, one of the main home-goods stores, was a pioneer and had success positioning itself in the lower-income segment and has become, in fact, an international case of success."

The consumer desire of the C class has been linked to the home -- renovation or decoration -- and to improving the environment and quality of life of the family. So cleaning products and foods like soda, ready-to-drink juices, yogurts and ice creams were among the products that grew.

Here´s one example: 57% of the washing machines in Brazil are "tanquinho," a semi-automatic and economical type of washing machine, according to data from Latin Panel, a Latin research firm. Seeing this, Unilever just launched a line of products in the country that are specially designed for doing laundry in these machines, which allow the use of the same water three times. It´s a soap called "OMO Multiação Tanquinho" and there´s another product for rinsing, "Comfort Concentrado Tanquinho." This allows the C segment to access a premium brand like Unilever´s and take care, at the same time, of their home economy. All the research made prior to this creation from Unilever came from Ms. Bolze, though the agency responsible for the campaign was Brazilian Neogama/BBH.

It is difficult to estimate how much this crisis will affect the growth of the Brazilian C class. Nonetheless, according to Ms. Bolze, there is an irrefutable truth: "This segment that had access to consumption and already tasted the sweet will never be the same. It will continue to be more selective in consumption, looking for quality, efficiency and added value. And it is here where companies will have to find alternatives so as to not miss out."

Aixa Rocca is Argentine and lives in Buenos Aires. After studying advertising she became a journalist and has worked for FIAP Ibero American Festival and Adlatina. She is also an amateur photographer and co-director of a new freelance-journalism firm called S.A. Journalists.

Whatever the numbers, bravo to any agency that is investment spending in this economy. Look at the classic business case of Kellogg vs. Post - in the depression of 1929, Kellogg doubled their ad spend while Post cut back...look at share reports in the year 2009 to see which tactic paid off.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

Unilever global consumer market insight director of Surf and Skip, Anna Madeiros, says: “The development of Mindbubble will help us to creatively and rapidly evolve a new product offering, all the while engaging with and reinforcing our commitment to our target market – women.”

Increasing numbers of brands, from Nokia to BP, are using digital means to create ongoing relationships with target consumers.

Community sites targeted at women were one of the early web success stories, with iVillage, now owned by NBC-Universal, and Hearst’s Handbag close to celebrating their first decade as mass market popular sites.

Since then brands such as Mothercare and Nestlé have sought to create their own community sites such as Gurgle.com.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

Dallas-headquartered Savitz Research offers a bilingual/bi-cultural research division created to help clients understand and address the special needs of the Hispanic market.

In his study, Hispanic and non-Hispanic respondents were asked to assign a numeric value to five rating labels - excellent, very good, good, neither good nor poor, and poor.

Using a scale of 0-100, with 100 being the highest, it was found that Hispanics were consistently giving higher marks to each label (except in the case of ‘poor’) with an average difference of 5.9.

Savitz, who is also Professor of Marketing Research at the University of North Texas, says that the results have significant implications on multicultural advertising and marketing, as well as on which products and services should be offered to Hispanics.

‘Hispanics are taught from an early age that it is in poor taste or inappropriate to openly criticize or berate when asked their opinions,’ Savitz explains: ‘More research is needed to measure the effect of the ´cultural lift´ on various categories and other factors.’

Web site: www.savitzresearchsolutions.com .

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

Australians shrug off bad news: TNS

MORE than half the Australian population is largely ignoring the media doom and gloom merchants about a faltering economy, with some even actively fighting downbeat predictions by experts, according to a new report from the international consumer research group TNS.

In a study just released titled State Of The Nation, TNS has split Australian consumers into six key spending segments, or "consumer archetypes" in research parlance, with just two groups, representing 43 per cent of the population, making deep cuts to their spending habits. The rest are either becoming slightly more cautious or just simply turning to outright defiance about the recession and pushing back against the "doomsayers".

"If you look at all the coverage in the papers and other media there is a sense of doom and gloom out there and in actual fact we do see people seeing quite a lot of optimism in terms of how they are reacting," says TNC's consumer director, Chris Kirby.

Those most affected by the economic crisis are two groups TNS calls the worriers (17 per cent) and the analysts (26 per cent). Mr Kirby says they are chopping back their budgets either out of runaway fear or contained concern for what they are hearing and reading in the media. But the remaining groups - the escapists (12 per cent), fighters (9 per cent), protectors (22 per cent) and challengers (14 per cent) - are discounting the gloomy economic reports and pressing on with smaller adjustments to their lifestyles.

"Certainly the escapists are the ones ignoring it by saying they don´t care. The fighters are saying they´re aware of it but are fighting against the mood, while the challengers are saying they´re are aware of it but see it as an opportunity. The worriers and analysts are probably connecting a bit more with the media."

The latest study from TNS does raise a number of challenges for companies in how they adapt their commercial strategies for the downturn - do they go all out with the most obvious tactic and slash prices to trigger demand or take a more prudent approach by offering "value" rather than heavy discounting?

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

UK Consumer Confidence Increased to Eight-Month High in June

By Svenja O’Donnell

July 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. consumer confidence rose to an eight-month high in June as shoppers became more hopeful that the economy will emerge from recession, Nationwide Building Society said.

An index of sentiment rose to 58 in June, from 54 the previous month, Britain’s biggest customer-owned lender said in an e-mailed statement today. TNS surveyed 1,000 people for Nationwide between May 18 and June 21.

“There has been much talk by industry commentators suggesting that the worst of the recession may be over, which appears to have fed into consumer sentiment,” Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s chief economist, said in the statement. “More people expect the economic situation in six months’ time to be better than believe it will be worse.”

The economy shrank at the slowest pace in a year during the second quarter and may now be stagnating, the National Institute of Social and Economic Research said yesterday. Bank of England officials have shown concern that the recovery may falter as banks keep restricting lending to consumers and companies.

Optimists on the economy outnumbered pessimists for the first time since the survey began in 2004, Nationwide said. The gauge of sentiment on whether now is a time to make big purchases also increased, to 104 from 103.

Labor Market

A measure of hiring for permanent jobs shrank at the slowest pace in a year in June, KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Federation said in a separate report today. The gauge of permanent staff appointments by job consultants increased to 48.6, from 41.7 in May.

The British Chambers of Commerce said yesterday that while the worst of the recession was over, a recovery was “not yet guaranteed.” U.K. factory production unexpectedly fell in May for the first time in three months.

Unemployment is continuing to rise, with the BCC expecting the number of jobless people to rise by another 1 million to 3.2 million by the middle of next year. More than half of people surveyed by Nationwide expect there will be fewer jobs by the end of the year. Expectations about the present situation worsened, falling one point to 17, Nationwide said.

Shop-price inflation eased for a third month to 0.7 percent in June from 1.3 percent in May, the British Retail Consortium said in a separate report today. Annual gains in food prices fell to 5.6 percent, the least in 14 months, from 6.4 percent in May, the BRC said.

To contact the reporter on this story: sodonnell@bloomberg.net.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

Nielsen: Kids Flock to Web

- Mike Shields

Over the past five years, the kids' Web universe has swelled by 18 percent, compared to a 10 percent growth rate seen in the relatively mature general Web population, per Nielsen. As of May, the kids 2-11 audience had reached 16 million, or 9.5 percent of the active online universe.

That growth spurt is particularly noteworthy since it has taken place during a period in which the number of kids under 14 in the U.S. declined by 1 percent -- from July 2004 to July 2009, per the U.S. Census Bureau.

But even more impressive is this group´s heavy surge in usage when compared to the rest of the Web. Kids are all but living online. Time spent among kids has soared by 63 percent over the past five years, while overall time spent across all age groups is up 36 percent, per Nielsen.

According to Nielsen, kids 2-11 spent nearly seven hours online per month five years ago vs. 11 hours a month in 2009, with boys spending slightly more time on average than girls. That disparity is perhaps most evident in online video viewing, as boys accounted for 61 percent of video streams among kids on the Web.

However, the kids online video landscape -- once dominated by TV players Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney -- is changing, as options for kids and digital media buyers abound.

Adweek is a unit of the Nielsen Co.

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.

Few see themselves as 'old,´ no matter what their age

Factual data only is sourced from the original attributed article. The data is then enhanced by additional research and comment.