Sector Expertise
Consumers and their supplements, part two
In my previous blog post, I mentioned some information regarding interesting new findings on dietary supplements; cautionary findings in particular. Potential risks are more understood these days, tipping the risk/benefit scale from “it can’t hurt” to “maybe I better think twice.”
Has that message reached the “common consumer”? Are people really concerned about potential side effects of their daily intake of vitamins?
Survey says, “yes”.
Consumers and their supplements, part one
Europeans eat nutritious food. Americans pop pills. Or, that’s what some of my industry friends on the continent like to think. Are we really that bad? A quick fix for a bad diet?
I’ve been a supplement taker on and off for years, albeit randomly. Someone sneezes on the train, grab some Vitamin C. Have leg cramps, reach for the Calcium. I’m not sure what prompted a month of sipping noni juice – maybe I was feeling exotic.
I’ll be speaking this year at Focus on the Future , and wanted to “supplement” my company’s consumer food behavior survey with one on vitamins/minerals/herbals. What do people look for? Are they loyal to a brand? Are they faddists or do they swear by particular nutrients? And does anything worry them about taking supplements? Continue reading
Notes from AdTech: Chicago
AdTech is two days of conferences, workshops, discussions and exhibitors dwelling on the latest research, application, and thinking around effective online marketing. Again, we had the industry thoughtleaders and local agencies and clients participating, including Cam Balzer from Threadless, arguably the most successful community-driven business; Adam Curry, former MTV VJ turned episodic video messaging; Gian Fulgoni, Chairman of comScore; David Moore, founder and CEO of 24/7 Real Media; and the various minds of the leading online marketers in the Midwest. This year’s AdTech was highly informative so let me share some quick hits.
Twitter answers “what are you thinking”, not “what are you doing”
When you log-in to your Twitter account, you are boldly asked the question “What are you doing?”. To answer this apparently innocent question is announcing your response to tens of millions of possible listeners around the world. But no pressure – it’s not like bad judgment could get you sued or get you fired.
However, be it the intentions of the Twitter team or not, the service has evolved to answer a much different question: “What are you thinking?”
As exciting as it was to get constant updates of your friends drinking coffee or boarding a plane, the boom in Twitter popularity and usage as a business tool stemmed from it naturally becoming a thought aggregator. Watching anyone’s Twitter stream is a candid look at a person’s thought process – probably the most cohesive method to do so in history: A worldwide, trending funnel of voluntary thoughts in a public, harvestable, qualitative environment.
What does this mean?
From a business standpoint, it means the ability to have our finger on the pulse of enormous amounts of important brand data we would never see normally. We have an unparalleled opportunity to monitor discussions, follow brand adoption, get a holistic view on the competitive space, test audience responsiveness, measure sentiment, and more.
What does this mean for YOU?
It means your social media needs to work harder. If you are currently using Twitter or any engine in the social space to push advertisements or notify the world you are drinking coffee – take a step back and think about ways to catch that great data that is currently passing you by.
You can start by looking at some Twitter business apps, read about how some top companies are utilizing micro-blogging or, of course, call your interactive agency and tell them your social media needs to work harder.
Gen Y Poised to Change B2B Marketing
Our recent national study conducted with Bart Zehren and PeanutLabs finds that Gen Y’s propensity for social and interactive communication is changing the B2B buying process. We encourage you to join us at the International DMA09 Conference and Exhibition October 20th where we will unveil detailed insights from the research.
Until then, there are a few interesting outcomes to keep in mind. For example, we found that only 4 of the 13 tools younger professionals are using to research business products and services fall within traditional media categories. The research further demonstrates that while these traditional methods have a place in an integrated marketing strategy, their use is declining. In anticipation of the changing behavior of these up-and-coming buyers, marketers need to move now to increase their digital proficiency and re-allocate their marketing mix.
Insights into how to incorporate emerging marketing technologies and channels will be further demonstrated during our DMA presentation by panelist Pam Evans, Senior Marketing Manager, Web Marketing, Worldwide Software Group, IBM. She will speak to how Gen Y and early adopters are driving a transformation in the way marketers must reach prospects by identifying how their influence is re-defining the landscape.
One big difference is that Gen Y engages online to harnesses the value of conversation as media and trying to control the conversation will be counterproductive and potentially harmful. Other large lessons learned from this discussion will be which rational brand web elements truly support this new customer’s choice.
Dick Strassburger, Integrated Media Director at Colman Brohan Davis will round out the conversation with revealing details on consumption, including facts on how social network usage among these professionals has increased 152% year over year, and that video is emerging with the largest potential to connect with this audience.
Dark clouds of crisis have a shiny silver lining called alternative energy
There are strong signs of a rebound for the alternative energy sector, but how soon will green jobs start impacting the U.S. job market? Though the U.S is surrounded by economic, security, and climate crisis – can green technologies really save us from ourselves?
Some say alternative energy could spark the next “industrial revolution”. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get dirty. Click here for a must-read article from Manufacturing.net that just may provide some fuel for thought!
