••• hispanic research
Mobile coupon use up among Hispanic consumers
Discounts drive shopping decisions
The Coupon Intelligence Study, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Livonia, Mich., marketing firm Valassis, found that 92 percent of Hispanic consumers use coupons (vs. 90 percent of all consumers) and over 80 percent decide where to shop based on those print and digital offers.
With the Selig Center for Economic Growth projecting that the U.S. Hispanic market will reach an annual buying power of $1.7 trillion in 2020, retailers and marketers have an opportunity to drive sales by engaging this demographic with coupons and offers, says the report.
Stemming from the survey of 1,000 consumers, 15 percent of whom were Hispanic, the research found a strong link between this demographic and mobile-device coupon usage. Among the Hispanic consumers surveyed: 37 percent increased their use of mobile devices for securing coupons and deals since last year, significantly higher than 28 percent of all respondents; 81 percent decide where to shop based on paperless discounts delivered via mobile devices, significantly higher than 66 percent of all respondents; 67 percent search for mobile discounts while shopping in-store, compared to 46 percent of all respondents; 67 percent switched brands due to mobile discounts while shopping in-store, compared to 50 percent of all respondents; 53 percent of Hispanic shoppers check social media in search of coupons, vs. 37 percent of all consumers; and 61 percent visit coupon Web sites, vs. 53 percent of all consumers.
With a propensity for using print and digital savings, among the Hispanic consumers surveyed, 85 percent find print coupons in the freestanding insert or mail before shopping; 75 percent print coupons from the Internet before heading to the store; and 63 percent make a purchase based on a mobile notification while in-store.
••• diversity research
Study finds pay gap for female, minority board members
Missing on key committees
While minorities and females are represented on boards of directors of many major corporations in the U.S., they often have fewer leadership opportunities within those organizations. In a new study (Does Diversity Pay in the Boardroom?), University of Missouri and University of Delaware researchers found an average 3 to 9 percent gap in compensation.
“On average across all firms, minorities and females actually are paid more than the average board member,” says Matthew Souther, assistant professor of finance in the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business. “However, when those boards and leadership opportunities are scrutinized more closely, this higher pay is driven by minorities and females being more likely to serve on boards of higher-paying, more visible firms. Within these boards, they actually earn less on average than their peers.”
In their study, Souther and co-authors Adam Yore, assistant professor of finance, and Laura Field, professor of finance at the University of Delaware, reviewed more than 1,800 companies and 70,000 board members and their compensation. The researchers measured how well directors monitored the CEO, the vote totals that directors received to retain their seats on the boards, and each director’s qualifications that included education and professional experience.
The researchers found that minorities and females on boards of directors are more qualified when comparing education, experience and expertise. They also found that it’s uncommon for minorities and females to chair or serve on important committees such as audit or compensation committees. Committee chairs or directors who serve on important committees typically are paid additional money for their service.
Yore said most boards have a set compensation schedule that is paid to board members, and because larger companies have a better focus on diversity, it is not unusual to find minorities on boards of major firms. However, only 7 percent of directors are minority and 12 percent are female and therefore underrepresented relative to the population; because many minorities and females are not chosen to chair committees or serve on “power” committees, they often receive less total pay compared to their peers.
“The pay gap is not huge, so we think this might be some type of subconscious effect,” Yore says. “Yet, it is something that could impact a board because they could be missing a significant perspective by not having a minority or female on the board serving in a leadership role. We also found that the pay gap was larger for those who had served longer, which also is concerning as boards always want to attract and retain the best people.”
The researchers suggest that, in order to ensure equity, boards review how they appoint members to certain committees and leadership roles and ensure that their appointment policies help provide a balanced perspective for their companies.
••• mobile research
Worldwide, many mobile phones are just for phoning
Voice calls, SMS
Almost half of mobile phone users worldwide still only use their devices to make voice calls and send SMS, according to consumer research by GSMA Intelligence. The new Global Mobile Engagement Index (GMEI) measures the level of engagement of mobile phone users across a wide array of use cases and services. The index is based on inputs from the 2016 GSMA Intelligence consumer survey, which surveyed mobile users across 56 global markets representing 80 percent of the world’s population.
T
he GMEI classifies mobile user engagement into four tiers: Aficionados (the most engaged), Pragmatists, Networkers and Talkers (the least engaged). The research reveals that Talkers – those who only use their mobile phones to make voice calls and send SMS – accounted for 47 percent of adult mobile phone owners in 2016. However, this segment is forecast to shrink to 29 percent of the total by 2030 as users across the developing world become more engaged due to advances in mobile innovation, affordability and availability.
The GMEI calculates an engagement score for each of the 56 global markets covered in the consumer survey. The top 10 countries based on this score are:
Rank Country Score
1 South Korea 5.0
2 Qatar 5.0
3 USA 4.7
4 Saudi Arabia 4.6
5 Denmark 4.5
6 Finland 4.5
7 Australia 4.5
8 Spain 4.4
9 Sweden 4.4
10 Romania 4.3
The GMEI report offers a number of insights based on the latest research:
South Korea, Qatar and the U.S. were the three highest-scoring markets in terms of mobile engagement. Traditional SMS is still used more frequently than IP messaging in several mature markets, including France and the U.S. Millennials are not necessarily more engaged mobile users than older generations; in markets such as South Korea, more than a quarter of smartphone users are Baby Boomers (aged 51-69). There are some markets, such as Myanmar, where smartphone ownership is relatively high but user engagement is low, due to digital illiteracy and a lack of locally-relevant content. There are several African countries with high mobile user engagement in financial services; for instance, in Kenya and Tanzania, around four in every five adult mobile phone owners use their phones for mobile money services.
More than 70 percent of smartphone users globally watch free online videos on their phone (e.g., YouTube), and one in two smartphone users watch or replay live TV programs on their device. More than 70 percent of smartphone consumers use their device to research information about products and services but only one in two use it to order and purchase goods. And, there exists a gender gap in mobile Internet usage in several markets. In India, for example, female mobile phone owners are 43 percent less likely to use mobile Internet services than males.
••• advertising research
Ad agencies depend on data
Manage relationships, evaluate performance
More than 80 percent of advertisers currently use data to help them manage agency relationships and they expect the use of such data will grow because of the overwhelmingly positive results they have achieved, especially in the area of managing media budgets, according to a survey from the New York-based Association of National Advertisers (ANA).
The survey, called Using Data to Manage Agency Relationships: What’s Important to Marketers,” was conducted in August 2016 by the ANA in conjunction with Decideware, a provider of agency management solutions for marketers, to better understand how ANA members use data to manage agency relationships and how learnings can be applied to optimize client/agency performance.
The survey explored the use of data in broad categories of the client/agency relationship, including agency performance evaluations, tracking of agency hours, copy/creative testing, production costs and media efficiencies/budgets. “Data helps build better relationships between the client and agency, helping both parties focus on outcomes,” says ANA Group EVP Bill Duggan. “And at a time where there are transparency issues in the industry, the use of data enhances trust.”
Key findings include:
Data is frequently used for managing agency relationships, with 80 percent of respondents indicating that they “often or always” use data to manage agency relationships. Use of data to manage agency relationships is increasing, with 84 percent of respondents seeing it growing in their organization and none seeing usage declining.
Use of data for managing agency relationships delivers strong outcomes: 82 percent of respondents saw it contributing to better overall client/agency relationships; 90 percent saw it improving agency efficiencies; and 78 percent saw it improving internal efficiencies at the client’s organization.
Data is most important and most heavily used in managing media and billing/budgets and least important and least-used in the areas of creative and production. Among the 37 performance metrics evaluated in this survey, media-related metrics account for seven of the 10 highest-rated metrics for importance. The specific media-related metrics that rated highest were efficiency of media buys, delivery of total campaign audience goals, and media quality assessment.
Data should be seen as a “force for good” in client/agency relationships: The widespread and increasing use of data to help manage agency relationships is leading to more informed decision-making and improved efficiencies at both clients and agencies. Furthermore, the increased use of data is improving transparency and accountability.
Data use in media is critical: Data in media is the most important and most utilized of any category. With media transparency currently a major issue in the industry, the ANA encourages advertisers to assume greater internal stewardship of their media investments and to set up metrics to track performance.
Data in creative warrants more attention: Clients should pay more attention to the processes for briefing and copy approvals and use data to track progress, as the implications of not doing so include increased rework and potentially increased agency fees. Specific suggestions include tracking the number of rounds of revision that work undergoes prior to final approval, the average length of time that each approval step takes, and even “soft” metrics like the quality of the brief.
Clients should leverage data to improve their internal efficiencies: Seventy-eight percent of respondents work at companies whose use of data for managing agency relationships helps improve internal efficiencies at the client. Meanwhile, 90 percent work at companies whose use of data for managing agency relationships helps improve agency efficiencies. Certainly, both numbers are high, yet the double-digit gap between the two warrants consideration and suggests that there may be a potential opportunity for clients to further improve their internal efficiencies and processes.
Ninety-two client-side marketers were represented in the survey. Of those, 61 percent were senior marketers (director level and above) and 39 percent were junior marketers (manager level and below). On average, respondents have 18.3 years of experience in marketing/advertising. Fifty-three percent of respondents work at organizations which have an annual U.S. media budget of $100 million or more, while 47 percent work at organizations which have an annual U.S. media budget of less than $100 million. Those organizations are primarily B2C for 42 percent of respondents, primarily B2B for 13 percent, and equally B2C/B2B for the remainder.
••• financial services
Finance pros invested in their job
Report a positive outlook
Today’s finance professionals are optimistic about their companies’ performance and view themselves as strategic partners to the business with responsibilities that go beyond traditional finance and accounting roles. However, they are keenly aware of the organizational and technology barriers to success.
These findings, along with other insights into the finance function, come from a survey of more than 250 senior-level finance and accounting professionals commissioned by Host Analytics, a Redwood City, Calif., enterprise performance management (EPM) firm, and conducted by New York-based Radius Global Market Research. The study set out to better understand the role that finance departments play in today’s organizations and uncovered perceptions and trends about the role of finance and technology in businesses today.
According to the survey, 74 percent of finance professionals describe their relationship with other operational roles throughout the organization as “extremely good” or “very good.” And when it comes to finance’s role, when asked “Which of the following best describes the primary mission of the finance department at your company?” respondents answered: work with investors to maximize company value – 25 percent; produce timely and accurate financial records – 22 percent; ensure the correct allocation of resources – 19 percent; be a strategic partner to the business – 17 percent; drive operational excellence through the company – 12 percent; and ensure compliance with laws and regulations – 5 percent.
While the majority of finance professionals report strong relationships throughout the organization and eight out of 10 report a positive outlook on the year, there are technology and cultural influences that impact the finance team’s ability to achieve their mission.
From a technology perspective, 50 percent of respondents cited a lack of systems and tools and 48 percent cited difficulty in accessing the necessary data or reports. The non-technology-related factors cited by respondents were “lack of time,” “the organization does not value input from finance” and “high staff turnover.”
Technology continues to play a bigger role in the finance department with the continued, widespread use of spreadsheets and the rise of big data, EPM solutions and the adoption of cloud-based platforms.
Spreadsheets remain ubiquitous in finance departments with 43 percent of respondents reporting that Microsoft Excel plays a significant role. Today, Excel is also being used as an integral part of their strategic financial processes, with 57 percent of survey respondents using it to meet EPM requirements in planning/budgeting, financial reporting/disclosure and analytics, either on a standalone basis or in conjunction with other tools.
Based on the survey insight, cloud-based EPM interest and adoption continues to grow as 41 percent of respondents currently have a cloud-based EPM solution, 29 percent are evaluating them, 23 percent plan to move to the cloud in the next few years, 5 percent are planning to move to the cloud in the next two to three years and only 2 percent reportedly have no intentions to move to the cloud. But that doesn’t mean the use of Excel will end anytime soon, with 46 percent saying it will continue to play a role in their EPM processes in the next three to five years.
According to the survey, the two biggest concerns in moving to a cloud-based EPM are performance and security. However, businesses are getting used to the idea, with 88 percent citing they are more comfortable today with it than they were two to three years ago.
Along with moving to the cloud, finance professionals are also turning to non-financial big data from sales, marketing and the supply chain to help with the planning process. When asked, “In what time frame does your company plan to use big data or non-financial data in the planning or reporting process?” 28 percent reported they currently use it and 71 percent plan to use it over the next one to three years.
This research was completed by over 250 executives in the accounting and finance field, randomly recruited by Radius Research from a large pool representative of the market. Forty percent of the executives surveyed for the study were C-level, with 35 percent being directors and 26 percent being vice presidents and/or controllers. Participants came from a range of industries including services, manufacturing, retail, software developers/vendors, health care, non-profit and education, with 19 percent of the respondents working at companies with $1 billion or more of revenue.