Advertising insert readership is alive and well
Results from the Customer Focus 2006: Retail study from Baltimore marketing firm Vertis shows that, for the third consecutive survey, advertising insert readership levels are consistently at 85 percent or above. Additionally, the study finds Web-savvy individuals still rely on advertising inserts, as 88 percent of Sunday newspaper readers surveyed via the Web said they read Sunday newspaper inserts, while 79 percent of those surveyed by phone read them.
“In today’s Internet age and ever-changing retail landscape, the study’s findings show that advertising inserts are still being read at the same level and remain an integral channel for retailers to reach consumers,” says Jim Litwin, vice president, market insights, at Vertis. “Heavy Internet users are even more dependent on newspaper inserts than the average consumer. Also, women of all ages are an increasingly important demographic to target through inserts due to their purchasing power and retail decision making.”
The study finds consumers use advertising inserts of all forms to help decide where they shop or to learn about available segments. More specifically, 52 percent of those surveyed by phone and 71 percent of those surveyed via the Web use inserts to decide where they buy groceries. Additionally, 29 percent of those surveyed by phone and 41 percent surveyed by Web use inserts to decide where to shop for health and beauty care products, while 28 percent and 39 percent, respectively, use them for office supply decisions.
The Vertis Customer Focus 2006: Retail study, which surveyed respondents for the first time via both the telephone and Web, shows the following additional findings, which provide insight into the purchasing trends and importance of advertising inserts across a variety of retail sectors.
- Grocery ad insert readership is strongest among women: 77 percent of women aged 18-34 do the majority of the household’s grocery shopping. Since 1998, the percentage of women ages 18-34 reading grocery inserts has increased 14 percentage points. These women tend to like discount stores and have shown an interest in the grocery stores’ ethnic and organic departments.
- Home electronics purchasing trends: Since 2004, the percentage of adults planning to purchase a computer has grown seven percentage points - greater than any other product category surveyed. One of the fastest-growing groups who plan on purchasing a computer is women aged 35-49, rising 10 percentage points since 2004. These women also show a greater interest than the average adult in special financing offers for home electronics, such as delayed credit card payments. Forty percent of women aged 35-49 said advertising inserts influence their overall buying decisions, while television influences 20 percent.
- Women aged 18-34 are an important demographic for furniture retailers: 33 percent of these women said they plan to purchase bedroom furniture, 26 percent plan to purchase bedding and 24 percent plan to purchase living-room furniture. When these women were asked about their last furniture purchase, “lowest price” was the greatest consideration for 39 percent of them, increasing nine percentage points since 2002. Meanwhile, “highest quality” dipped seven percentage points since 2002. Additionally, the percentage of women aged 18-34 turning to the Internet first when ready to make a purchase has increased from 19 percent in 2004 to 27 percent in 2006.
- Home improvement and DIYers turn to inserts for price and selection: The percentage of do-it-yourselfers has grown nine percentage points since 2004, as Americans are increasingly more willing to take on home improvement projects. Specifically, this group has grown most (12 percent in two years) with women aged 35-49. Seventy-three percent of women aged 35-49 who read ad inserts compare similar home improvement inserts before heading to the selected store.
- Key target audience for prescription purchases and drug store visits: Of all the age and gender groups surveyed, women 50 and older had the highest average prescription purchases per month (four) for their households - clearly making them an important target for pharmacy retailers. Thirty-three percent of these women said advertising inserts were the number one medium that influences their general purchase decisions, followed by 20 percent who said newspaper advertisements influenced purchase decisions.
For more information visit www.vertisinc.com.
Oprah still rules as fave TV personality
For the fourth consecutive year, Oprah Winfrey in 2005 captured the No. 1 position in a Harris Poll seeking respondents’ nominations of favorite TV personalities. In the 12 years that Rochester, N.Y.-based Harris Interactive has conducted this survey, Oprah has always been one of the top three favorites. In fact, this is the sixth time she has been number one; in addition to the 2005 poll, she topped the list in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Jon Stewart continued his rise to the top as he and David Letterman swapped places in 2005; Stewart came in at No. 2, while Letterman dropped one spot to No. 3. Leno may consistently beat Letterman in the ratings game, but here the opposite is true. Leno tied for No. 4 with Fox News talk show host Bill O’Reilly, who was No. 8 in 2004. Ellen DeGeneres moved up one spot from No. 7 in 2004 to No. 6 in 2005. These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 960 U.S. adults (aged 18 and over) surveyed online between December 8 and 14, 2005 by Harris Interactive.
There were four new TV personalities who made it into the top 10 list in 2005, two for the first time and two from years past: Conan O’Brian jumped onto the list for the first time at No. 7, while George Lopez debuted at No. 9. Jerry Seinfeld made a return to the list at No. 8. His last appearance on the list was in 2000, but the release of his show on DVD may have spurred his return. Another sitcom star, Tim Allen, returned to the list. He last appeared in 1999 at No. 7; for 2005 he returned at No. 10.
The four people who dropped off the list in 2005 were Ray Romano (was No. 4 in 2004), Bill Cosby (was No. 6), Dr. Phil McGraw (was tied for No. 9) and Regis Philbin (was tied for No. 9).
While Oprah was tops with women and adults aged 65 and over, David Letterman was No. 1 for men. Among adults aged 18 to 24, who are an important demographic to advertisers, Conan O’Brien was the most popular. Not surprisingly, Bill O’Reilly was tops among conservatives, while liberals chose Jon Stewart as their favorite. For more information visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
Sports radio format listeners are active investors
A study from Scarborough Research, New York, shows that all-sports radio format listeners are 27 percent more likely than the average adult to live in a household that has a financial investment. Other radio formats that stand out to the investment set include classical (investors are 26 percent more likely than all consumers to tune into this format), all-news (26 percent more likely), news/talk/information (25 percent more likely) and educational radio (24 percent more likely). (For the study, investors are consumers who indicated that they or someone in their household has a financial investment.)
In examining different types of investments, Scarborough finds that all-sports radio format listeners have a diversified range of investment types. All-sports listeners are 44 percent more likely than the average adult to live in a household that has stocks or stock options. Additionally, these listeners are 43 percent more likely than all consumers to have a 401-k plan.
All-news radio formats are also popular among active investors. Listeners of all-news formats are 48 percent more likely than all consumers nationally to have stocks or stock options. “Banking marketers seeking to reach active investors have a prime target in sports radio listeners,” says Howard Goldberg, senior vice president, radio services, Scarborough Research. “Marketers can combine this with other insights - such as investor retail habits - to create local marketing plans that achieve measurable success.” For more information visit www.scarborough.com.
Bread makes a slow comeback in American diets
The U.S. bread market, flattened by negative health claims and fad diets, is rising, according to a report from Chicago researcher Mintel. The bread market’s reinvention in the wake of the low-carb craze, coupled with new positive food-pyramid claims, have given the category a new lease on life. The market, estimated at $16.1 billion in 2005, has seen a gain of close to $2 billion since 2000.
Whole-grain bread products have triggered a new marketing opportunity for manufacturers. With the new and reinforced health claims surrounding the category, these products are becoming increasingly more important to manufacturers. According to the report, more than 70 percent of respondents use whole-wheat bread - it is the most widely used segment of bread.
“Atkins and some of the other diets dealt quite a blow to the bread category,” says Chris Haack, analyst for Mintel Reports. “Now that the government says bread is an essential part of a healthy diet, manufacturers are trying to take advantage of the new findings by providing healthier bread alternatives. Whole grain is the future of the bread market.”
Companies are taking full advantage of reformulation and reinvention opportunities. Sara Lee has introduced a Heart Healthy Bakery line. Lender’s New York Style Bagels are now available in a variety of whole-grain varieties. And Interstate Bakeries Corporation (IBC), maker of the American staple Wonder Bread, has even launched Wonder Kids, a brand that claims the fiber of 100 percent whole wheat, and Wonder Whole Grain White Bread. IBC, along with other major companies, suffered a major hit due to the low-carb revolution - in fall of 2004, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
With positive movement toward innovative offerings, there might be yet another struggle on the bread horizon. According to the Mintel Global New Products Database, more than 1,000 new bread products have been launched since 2004. More than a third of report respondents stated that they are overwhelmed by current bread choices in their stores.
“Consumers are being flooded with choices, and companies are going to need to be very strategic about having their bread marketing stand out from the pack,” says Haack. “In addition to competing with other retail bread producers, they also have to compete with specialty restaurants that are also featuring bread products, such as Panera and Corner Bakery. Manufacturers need to make sure that they don’t get lost in the shuffle.” For more information visit www.mintel.com.
Consumers still wary of goods from China, Korea
Only one in eight respondents from the U.S. and key markets in Europe think highly of the quality of products made in China and Korea, a Synovate survey showed. A little over half (52 percent) of European respondents, however, think Japanese-made products are of high quality, an opinion shared by 41 percent of their American counterparts. Findings also revealed that one-third of the respondents polled consciously seek out goods made in their countries when they go shopping.
The survey was conducted in December 2005 among 6,011 respondents in the U.S., France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. The study focused on perceptions of value and quality of products made in these markets, as well as those made in China, Japan and Korea.
“Both China and Korea want to get into the mid- to luxury/high-quality markets because there are richer margins, especially Korea, which has been undercut on cost by the Chinese,” says Mike Sherman, Synovate’s executive director of consumer insights in Asia Pacific. “[Their] products may be seen as low quality, but they are also low cost, so the perceived value is significantly higher than quality.”
Japan fared better but its products have successfully made the evolution from perceived low quality to perceived high quality, he says. “In the ’60s, perceptions of Japan were the same as they are for China now. They were making cheap transistor radios and flooding the market. They made the evolution through hard work and innovation - step one was to design and build better products. For example, Sony was making these cheap transistors but then produced the Walkman and now Playstation - products they are known for around the world, products that have been copied by others.”
The quality of made-in-USA products is rated highly by 78 percent of American respondents, while only roughly two out of five Europeans subscribe to the same viewpoint (43 percent). Three-quarters (74 percent) of European respondents considered products made in their countries to be of high quality.
“Patriotism often drives American consumer sentiment,” says Tom Mularz, a senior vice president at Synovate. “Regardless of actual quality and value of goods made in other countries, Americans are fiercely loyal to their own domestic goods, especially older and less affluent consumers. From a cultural perspective, it is considered one’s patriotic duty to ‘buy American’ in America.
“China is also perceived as having taken many jobs from U.S. manufacturing, especially in industries such as apparel and electronics,” he says. “This leads to an overall relatively negative perception on both value and quality, as a reaction to the loss of these jobs.” For more information visit www.synovate.com.