Stay-at-home working moms have conflicting views
Apart from different schedules and daily routines, working moms and stay-at-home moms are more different than we think - at least when it comes to their views. The second annual “Voice of Mom” poll, conducted by ClubMom, a national membership organization for moms, found that working moms and stay-at-home moms hold varying perspectives on a variety of topics ranging from raising children to the war in Iraq.
The poll finds that almost all moms would choose family over careers. Only 8 percent of moms report that if money were no object they would still work full-time and 60 percent say they would work part-time.
One thing almost all moms agree on is that motherhood is a hard job (81 percent). As suspected, working moms and stay-at-home moms believe theirs is the harder job. Two in five working moms (42 percent) say that being a working mom is harder, while 46 percent of stay-at-home moms feel that theirs is the more challenging job.
Furthermore, moms believe that their personal choice is what is best for their children. More than half of working moms say that children of working moms do just as well as the children of stay-at-home moms (57 percent), while 58 percent of stay-at-home moms disagree, saying the children of working moms would be better off with their moms at home.
In turn, stay-at-home moms think their children are doing better than working moms and are more likely to give their children an “A” on the following: sense of values (67 percent of stay-at-home moms vs. 56 percent of working moms); overall sense of well-being (68 percent of stay-at-home moms vs. 55 percent of working moms); schooling and academics (67 percent of stay-at-home moms vs. 56 percent of working moms).
In spite of their differences, both working and stay-at-home moms believe that society values working moms more. Interestingly, stay-at-home moms are more likely to agree with that statement (62 percent) compared to working moms (55 percent).
Moms have made peace with their decisions to work or not work outside the home and are happy with their choices: 65 percent of working moms say they had planned to work prior to having children; 66 percent of stay-at-home moms say they had planned to stay at home with their children. Moms who planned to work but are now stay-at-home moms are more satisfied with their lives: 43 percent give themselves an “A” when it comes to their overall satisfaction with life (vs. only 33 percent of moms who planned on staying at home but ended up working).
By and large, stay-at-home moms (75 percent) and working moms (70 percent) agree that having children has made their marriage much stronger. Surprisingly, when asked to pinpoint the biggest strain on their marriage since having children, stay-at-home moms are more likely to complain about “less time alone to spend with their spouse” (42 percent of stay at-home moms vs. 34 percent of working moms).
Overall, stay-at-home moms tend to give their overall satisfaction with life, their health, and their marriage higher grades than working moms.
Working moms think they are doing a better job as an employee than as a mom: 60 percent give themselves an A on their job as an employee vs. only 45 percent who say their job as a mom deserves an A.
In addition to how they grade themselves, working moms and stay-at-home moms differ on social issues. Working moms are more in favor of sex education in public schools (80 percent) vs. stay-at-home moms (65 percent). Stay-at-home moms, however, are more in favor of the war in Iraq (64 percent) compared to working moms (41 percent).
Highly confident in their family and work choices, America’s moms nevertheless appear to be deeply conflicted about balancing family and work life. The majority of working moms find balancing work and family difficult (66 percent). More than one-third of working moms (36 percent) feel guilty for not being able to give either their job or family a 100-percent effort. One out of four (25 percent) say they often have to leave their child or children waiting because they can’t get away from work.
Working moms feel more guilty about missed time with family, rather than time away from work. Very few complain of missed job opportunities or promotions because of obligations at home (9 percent). Even fewer (6 percent) are jealous of the careers of their friends who don’t have children. In addition, only 15 percent say they think their colleagues resent it that they can’t work late due to family duties.
Interestingly, some moms prefer to have a male boss over a female boss (31 percent) because a male boss “doesn’t let emotions get in the way of work” (45 percent).
The poll, conducted by Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research, Inc., is based on a national survey of 1,003 mothers. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent and was fielded between February 17 and 21, 2005 via RDD methodology.
Clothing logos lose their luster
The power of fashion brands continues to decline, especially for major league sports, according to the Brand Keys Fashion Index, a national survey of fashion and apparel brand labels and logos conducted by Brand Keys, Inc., a New York research firm.
For the first time since 2002, “Favorite Sports Team,” the perennial brand label/logo leader among men and women in all age segments, showed an overall decrease of 13 percent in importance to consumers. Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, brands that had always appeared on the Brand Keys Fashion Index Top 10 list, did not make the cut this year.
When asked how important apparel brand logos and labels are to consumers now versus “a few years ago,” the majority of respondents (66 percent) reported that they are now less important. Of the 7,500 survey respondents, almost 9.5 times as many said logos and labels were now either “much less” or “less” important to them than said they were now “much more” or “more” important.
“Increasingly apparel brands do not generally resonate with the values of consumers and as marketers do not support their brands in appropriate ways, you can’t really expect to find that the brands are more important to consumers,” says Robert Passikoff, president, Brand Keys, Inc. “If you disappoint your consumers, you’re bound to see disappointing returns. Look at the disappearance of the MLB and NHL brands from this year’s list. The MLB steroid scandal did a lot of damage to that brand, and the NHL didn’t even show up. You can’t disappoint your fans much more than that!”
More than two-thirds of the 7,500 men and women surveyed reported that clothing logos and labels are now less important to them. Specifically, as of spring 2005, women were 8.25 times more likely to say that logos/labels were now less important to them, while men were 11.3 times more likely to say that.
Examining the results by age, the oldest group (ages 45-59) was the most likely to say that the importance of logos and labels had declined (76 percent). Only 6 percent of this group said they had become more important.
Even among the youngest age group (21 to 34), over twice as many respondents said logos and labels are now less important. “It appears that even among traditionally fashion-conscious younger adults, a rejection of the use of one’s clothes as a statement about oneself continues to spread,” says Passikoff.
Of those brands that have traditionally made the Brand Keys Fashion Index Top 10 list, Ralph Lauren moved up in importance among all age groups. Tommy Hilfiger, which had fallen from the list in 2003, returned to this year. The Gap disappeared from the Top 10 list among both men and women in all age segments. “The Gap is a brand that has had significant difficulty identifying a meaningful positioning. Over the past few years they have wanted to stand for something more than consumers are willing to believe,” says Passikoff. The Gap brand announced it was ending its Sarah Jessica Parker campaign and announced singer Joss Stone will become the new face of the brand. “The age of the spokesperson isn’t the issue. It’s finding someone who can better communicate the basic Gap values. They may now have it right for once,” Passikoff says.
First-time brands to make the list included: Isaac Mizrahi, Kate Spade, and Dockers. “There seems to be a return to some brands that reflect ‘basic’ consumer values. These include J. Crew and L.L. Bean as well. The economy has a bit to do with some of the brands that are showing up on the list, but not entirely. That’s a small part of the reason the J. Crew and Mizrahi brands appear where they do. It’s all about values that matter and Lauren has been wonderful at identifying those,” Passikoff says.
Since 1998, Brand Keys has conducted national biannual Customer Loyalty Index surveys of the leading brands, currently assessing 28 product and service categories. This is a telephone survey conducted among a sample of 16,000 men and women throughout the United States. All respondents are between 21 and 59 years of age.
Beginning in spring 2002, a series of questions on the value or importance that consumers place on the brand name logos, labels and trademarks of the clothes they wear was added.
First, the respondents were asked to indicate the importance to them personally of the brand name logos, labels and trademarks of the clothes that they wear, compared to how important they were to them “a few years ago.” The respondent choices were as follows: much more important, more important, about the same, less important, or much less important.
Second, the respondents were read a list of 50 brands (including the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, and their “favorite sports team”), and for each, were asked the importance to them now, compared a few years ago, of wearing clothing that carries that particular brand’s label or logo. Almost half of the Customer Loyalty Index respondents (7,500) were asked this series of questions. For more information visit www.brandkeys.com.
Consumers receptive to marketing events
Live-event marketing experiences where consumers interact with products, brands or “brand ambassadors” face-to-face are effective ways to influence consumer audiences, according to results of a survey by Jack Morton Worldwide, an experiential marketing firm. Based an online survey of 2,574 consumers, ages 13-65, in 25 U.S. markets, the results show that this marketing medium resonates across demographic and product categories, with high influence among groups such as women, young people and Hispanics.
More than two-thirds of all consumers say experiential marketing would be extremely or very influential on their overall opinion of brands and products. Seventy percent say that participating in a live-event marketing experience would increase their purchase consideration, and 57 percent say it would result in quicker purchase. However, 73 percent of all respondents had never before participated in a live-event marketing experience, indicating an opportunity for marketers to differentiate.
The influence of experiential marketing is strongest among often-targeted youth and female consumers: nearly 80 percent of teens say experiential marketing would increase purchase consideration, while 65 percent say it would lead to quicker purchase; 72 percent of 18-to-23-year-old consumers say experiential marketing would make them more receptive to the brand/product advertising - 59 percent say it would lead to quicker purchase; 60 percent of women say experiential marketing would be more likely to lead to actual purchase of a product/brand, vs. TV advertising (26 percent) and Internet advertising (14 percent); 84 percent of women say they’d bring family or friends to a live marketing experience, and 75 percent say they’d tell others about the experience.
Seventy-four percent of Hispanic women and 66 percent of Hispanic men would be more likely to consider purchasing a product after participating in an experiential marketing event. And 81 percent of Hispanic females indicated participating in a live marketing event would make them more receptive to future advertising. However, Hispanics are also the ethnic group most underexposed to event marketing: 78 percent of all Hispanics surveyed had never before participated in a live marketing event.
The effectiveness of experiential marketing was also tested against 14 product/service categories. In 11 out of 14, consumers said their preferred means of learning about new products/services was by experiencing it for themselves or by hearing about it from someone they know, as opposed to TV, radio, print, mail or the Internet.
Live marketing experiences were also shown to be a way to increase marketing ROI: 75 percent of consumers say that participating in a live marketing experience would make them more receptive to the product/brand’s advertising; 75 percent of consumers said they would be extremely or very likely to tell others after participating in a live marketing event; eight out of 10 consumers who had actually participated in experiential marketing in the past said that they had told others about their experience.
Spending on experiential marketing has grown to an estimated $166 billion in 2004, a 9 percent increase over 2003, according to an industry trade publication.
Data was independently collected by a third-party research partner between March 11 and March 21, 2005. A white paper reporting the results, Experiential Marketing: A Consumer Study, is available online at www.jackmorton.com.
Organic, no-/low-sugar products still going strong
As various diets quickly move into and out of vogue, and consumers search for a weight loss magic bullet, two good-for-you consumer packaged goods (CPG) segments - organic and no-/low-sugar - stand out from the rest for their ability to generate especially strong and sustained growth, according to research from Chicago-based ACNielsen.
The carb-conscious segment (products with label claims such as “for your low-carb lifestyle”) actually topped the list of 11 good-for-you segments tracked by ACNielsen for generating the highest growth in the first 12 weeks of 2005 - up 20.2 percent vs. the same period last year. However, that increase was off sharply from the segment’s peak one-week growth rate of over 200 percent in mid-June of 2004. In fact, sales within the carb-conscious segment have been slowing steadily ever since. For the one-week period ending March 19, 2005, sales of such products actually declined (-2.5 percent) compared with the same period last year. It was the first one-week sales loss for the segment since ACNielsen began tracking carb-conscious products in 2000.
On the other hand, the organic and no-/low-sugar segments have proven much better able to sustain strong sales growth, as indicated in the table.
“Clearly, many consumers want to lose weight and eat more healthily overall,” says Alice Fawver, senior vice president, marketing, ACNielsen U.S. “The sales numbers show that people will flock toward diets that promise results. However, keeping people on such diets has proven more challenging. The good-for-you product segments that are enjoying the most sustained success are those that offer health benefits without requiring a whole new way of eating.”
Besides the organic and no-/low-sugar segments, those generating consistent year-over-year sales gains include the flax/hemp seed, whole grain, no-/reduced-lactose, and no-/reduced-calorie segments.
While the growth rate for the no-/low-fat product segment has been in the low single digits, it is the largest good-for-you segment, with sales topping $32.6 billion in 2004. Therefore, even modest percentage gains translate into significant dollar volume gains. Good-for-you segments meeting with less success include the no-/reduced-sodium and soy segments. The grocery channel dominates sales in all 11 good-for-you segments, with dollar volume shares ranging from 88.7 percent (no-/low-sugar) to 96.9 percent (organic) for the 12 weeks ending March 19, 2005. For more information visit www.acnielsen.com.
Arbitron profiles radio habits of Chinese-Americans
Arbitron Inc., New York, has released the results of its first-ever surveys of radio listening by Chinese-language consumers in the Los Angeles and New York metropolitan radio markets. Conducted during the winter 2005 radio survey, the two local market surveys found that 56.2 percent of radio listening by Chinese-speaking Asian-Americans is to Chinese-language radio. The leading English-language formats for these listeners are adult contemporary (6.4 percent), news (6.2 percent) and pop contemporary hit radio (5.2 percent).
The surveys also found that, over the course of a week, 82.5 percent of Chinese-speaking Asian-Americans in New York and Los Angeles, age 12 and older, listen to the radio. These consumers spend an average of 16 hours each week with the medium. In addition, 53.6 percent of the Chinese-speaking Asian-American audience attended some college and 23.1 percent live in households with incomes greater than $75,000.
In the New York metro survey area, an estimated 78.5 percent of all Chinese-speaking Asian-Americans, age 12 and older, listen to the radio during a survey week (Monday-Sunday, 6:00 a.m. to midnight). These 380,300 persons spend an average of 16 hours each week with the medium. The top five radio stations for Chinese-speaking Asian Americans in New York are shown in the first chart.
In the Los Angeles metro survey area, an estimated 88.3 percent of all Chinese-speaking Asian-Americans, age 12 and older, listen to the radio during a survey week (Monday-Sunday, 6:00 a.m. to midnight). These 291,500 persons spend an average of 16 hours and 15 minutes per week with the medium. The top five radio stations for Chinese-speaking Asian-Americans in Los Angeles are shown in the second chart.
Based on the survey, Arbitron estimates that there are approximately 484,500 Chinese-speaking Asian-Americans, age 12 and older, living in the New York Metro Survey area, representing 3 percent of total persons 12+ population. In the Los Angeles metro, there are approximately 330,000 Chinese-speaking Asian Americans, age 12 and older, representing 3 percent of Los Angeles’ total 12+ population.
There are three full-time Chinese-language radio stations in the Los Angeles area and one in the New York metropolitan area.
The survey took place during the winter 2005 Arbitron survey period (January 6-March 30, 2005) among Chinese-speaking consumers, age 12 and older, in the Los Angeles and New York radio metros. The New York survey had an in-tab sample of 669 Chinese-speaking individuals and the Los Angeles survey had an in-tab sample of 599.
Arbitron used a Chinese-language version of its standard radio diary to track the listening habits of Chinese-Americans in these two markets. The study was done on behalf of MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting. Arbitron also tracks the consumer, lifestyle and media habits of all Asian-Americans through its Scarborough Research joint venture with VNU, Inc.
For most households, the first contact was a bilingual (English/Chinese) pre-alert postcard. The remaining households were contacted first by phone. Recruitment interviews were conducted in English, Mandarin or Cantonese, based on the preference of the interviewee. All persons 12+ in eligible households were asked to take part in the one-week survey. However, only those persons identified as Chinese speaking were included in the final estimates.
The respondents received the Arbitron survey and instructions by mail. The diary and all ancillary materials were bilingual (English/Chinese). Respondents used an English/Chinese version of the Arbitron radio diary. Arbitron processed all data according to the policies for the syndicated radio measurement service, with the additional ability to handle written Chinese entries.
Radio listening data have been projected to the marketplace based on estimates of the Chinese-speaking Chinese population in the Los Angeles and New York radio metros. For more information visit www.arbitron.com.