••• environmental research
Green for saving, not for spending
Enviro-conscious behaviors have gone mainstream; purchasing faces price barriers
Key aspects of “green” culture – from organic purchase to recyclability – have gone mainstream in ways few could have imagined 20 years ago. U.S. consumers are turning to digital devices for environmental learning and to share their green experiences but, at a time of slow economic recovery, paying significantly more to be environmentally friendly simply doesn’t compute for most people, according to the Green Gauge from Nuremberg, Germany, research company The GfK Group.
The Green Gauge study shows that 73 percent of U.S. consumers have purchased a product made from organic materials in the past 12 months. Categories that have seen notable increases since 2007 in organic buying include food, household cleaning, apparel and pet food and supplies. Additionally, 93 percent of Americans say they have done something to conserve energy in their households in the past year and 77 percent have done something to save household water.
Digital media is helping to amplify this green awareness. Almost 30 percent of smartphone users have turned to an app in the past year to help reduce their environmental impact – a figure that jumps to 44 percent for Generation Z (ages 18 to 22) and 38 percent for Generation Y (ages 23 to 32). Most-cited types of apps used include public transportation timetables and home energy monitors. In addition, 18 percent of consumers say that social networking sites are a major source of green information for them (up four points from 2011), with another 33 percent citing it as a minor source.
But green awareness and engagement do not necessarily translate to green purchasing. Compared to 2008, the proportion of U.S. consumers willing to pay more for environmentally-friendly alternatives has gone down in a variety of key areas, from cars that are less-polluting (down from 62 percent to 49 percent) to energy-efficient light bulbs (down from 70 percent to 60 percent).
“Green awareness is indeed pervasive – but consumers can perceive ‘green’ claims as a negative in some contexts,” says Timothy Kenyon, director for the Green Gauge survey. “For example, while terms like organic and recyclable have strong positive resonance, they are often associated with higher prices. Understanding consumers’ triggers and the limits of their commitment to green action is essential for marketers and researchers alike.”
www.gfk.com
••• restaurant research
Five stars for Five Guys
Why America’s favorite burger joint doesn’t need to advertise
Five Guys Burgers and Fries (Five Guys) is continuing to gain ground and fans across the country, according to a survey from Market Force Information, a Boulder, Colo., research company. In a quick-service restaurant industry survey of more than 7,600 U.S. consumers, Five Guys is the favorite burger chain.
Five Guys taking top honors proved consistent with the brand’s rapid growth, as well as the popularity of its food and atmosphere. West Coast favorite In-N-Out Burger, which is also known for having passionate patrons and strong word-of-mouth buzz, ranked second among consumers. Rounding out the top five were Fuddruckers, A&W and relative-newcomer Smashburger.
Market Force first calculated the favorites based on pure number of votes and then factored in the number of locations for each chain for a more level view of the results. The results were also analyzed geographically to see which chains are most popular in various regions of the country, including the Northeast, Midwest, South and West.
When looking at the results to determine how the burger brands fared in four different regions of the country, Five Guys still dominated, ranking first in all regions. From there, the regional leaders diverged, although Fuddruckers, a relatively small chain, placed in the top four across all regions.
What factors do diners like most about their favorite burger joint? Many seem to vote with their palates rather than their wallets. Case in point, the three top-ranking burger chains – Five Guys, Smashburger and In-N-Out – all rated toward the top in key categories such as food quality/taste, friendly service and cleanliness. In fact, Five Guys received the highest marks across all of the major attributes except value, a category that was captured by In-N-Out and Whataburger.
Conversely, of the restaurants that were studied, McDonald’s ranked last for food quality/taste and A&W ranked last in the remaining categories, including friendly service, value, cleanliness and atmosphere.
“Five Guys has created a cult-like brand following by excelling in the areas that matter most to its diners – high-quality food, customer service and cleanliness,” says Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer at Market Force. “Five Guys does zero advertising but by delivering consistently great customer experience, they’re able to build a word-of-mouth buzz that continues to bring new customers through the door.”
www.marketforce.com
••• customer loyalty
Points toward a payday
Saving money proves top priority for loyalty card participation
Americans are participating in loyalty card programs more now than ever and the reason is not surprising, according to a survey conducted by Polaris Marketing Research Inc., Atlanta, and supported by Research Now, Plano, Texas.
Respondents were asked how many customer loyalty programs they participate in, with five or more loyalty programs being the majority. The highest-rated reason why Americans join is to save money/get discounts (93 percent).
The second highest-rated reason was for the reward offers (91 percent), confirming the demand for customers to receive some type of offer first (whether it’s discounts or free stuff) before they become loyal to that specific brand or company. In fact, “I am a loyal customer to that brand/company” was the second-to-last reason for participating in a loyalty program (66 percent).
Further, when respondents were asked if having a specific brand/company loyalty card influences their decision to purchase a product or service, more than half responded that it “influences me a little” (53 percent). Men were significantly less likely to be influenced by having a specific brand/company loyalty card than women (57 percent vs. 50 percent).
www.polarismr.com
••• social media research
Interest in Pinterest
Pew study shows how ‘creators’ and ’curators’ document life via photos
Photos and videos have become key social currencies online. According to a study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Washington, D.C., 46 percent of adult Internet users post original photos or videos online that they have created (called creators) and 41 percent of adult Internet users take photos or videos that they have found online and repost them on sites designed for sharing images with many people (called curators).
The creator group is made up of those who have shared photos they have taken themselves (45 percent of Internet users have done that) and those who have shared videos they have created themselves (18 percent of Internet users have done that). If a person did either one of those two activities, that person was considered an online image creator.
The curator group is made up of those who have taken photos they found online and posted them on a site that is used for sharing images with others (35 percent of Internet users have done that) and those who have taken videos they found online and posted them on a video-sharing site (25 percent of Internet users have done that). If a person did either of those two activities, that person was considered an online image curator. Overall, 56 percent of Internet users do at least one of these creating or curating activities and 32 percent of Internet users do both creating and curating activities.
This survey marked the first time that the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project has asked questions about Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr, which have made curating activities easier because they are organized for easy image- and video-sharing. The rise of smartphones is also a major part of the story because the phones' cameras make it easy to take and share pictures online.
Twelve percent of online adults say they use Pinterest, which is dominated by women. Nearly one-fifth of online women use Pinterest. Twelve percent of online adults say they use Instagram, which is dominated by young adults. Some 27 percent of the Internet users ages 18-to-29 use Instagram. Five percent of online adults say they use Tumblr. Some 11 percent of young adults use this social blogging service.
www.pewinternet.com
••• physicians research
Doctors within (cyber) borders
M.D. social networking index reveals contrasting global trends
What do physicians in America, China and Russia have in common? Over 80 percent of them connect with colleagues via professional social networks and 95 of physicians worldwide agree that they are not interested in engaging with pharmaceutical companies via social networks. But the similarities end there, according to the M.D. Social Networking Index from San Mateo, Calif., research company Epocrates Inc. and M3 Global Research, Washington, D.C.
The Index, which aims to uncover professional social networking trends and disparities among physicians in the U.S. and internationally, showed a broad variety in using social networks professionally and motivations for using social networks for professional purposes. U.S. physicians are more insular and have less desire to use social networks to connect with their counterparts overseas (only 37 percent of American physicians compared to almost 82 percent of international physicians). American physicians’ primary professional use of social networks is to connect with colleagues, conduct research and prospect for jobs. Conversely, international physicians use social networks as a tool to share knowledge and are nearly twice as likely as U.S. physicians to trust the information received. While many physicians see value in patients connecting in a virtual social environment, U.S. doctors are twice as likely as their international counterparts to recommend that patients use social support groups.
Additionally, physicians across the globe face a range of workplace rules when it comes to accessing social sites. International physicians are three times more likely to be prohibited from accessing social networks at their place of employment than their U.S. counterparts. Although most American doctors are allowed access to social networking sites in the workplace, 50 percent experience restrictions. The countries with the most flexibility in accessing social networks while on the clock are Russia and Germany, with 71 percent and 66 percent of respondents reporting no restrictions, respectively.
But ultimately, physicians want clarity from their professional social networking. Physicians need simple and transparent guidelines about professional social network usage from governing bodies and want to know with whom they are connecting. American doctors are among the least satisfied with the social networking regulatory guidance provided by their nation’s governing body. Rounding out the bottom three least-satisfied are Russia and South Africa. Most respondents agree that some form of identification should be required on professional networking sites, with more than 30 percent of U.S physicians supporting third-party verification and one-third of international physicians advocating the use of real names.
www.epocrates.com/medinsight
••• children
The global view
Children around the world are connected, informed, concerned
The world is shrinking and kids’ views and horizons are expanding. A study of kids, conducted by The Marketing Store Worldwide, a Chicago branding agency, shows that kids around the world today are surprisingly worldly and share much more in common than we may initially think.
The New Definition of Childhood Global Kids Study researched over 4,000 children ages 6-to-12 years in 12 countries (U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, China and Australia). The online study aims to capture what it’s like to be growing up in the world today through kids’ own eyes and the eyes of their moms.
“Kids throughout the world increasingly see themselves as a part of a global community,” says Simon Marshall, executive vice president and managing director of The Marketing Store North America. “We found that easier access to technology and information through new media channels has helped foster a common set of experiences and values that are ringing true for most kids no matter where they are.”
Global Kids are active and grounded. They are highly engaged, busy and also value learning. When shown a list of more than 30 activities, ranging from reading to camping to sports to crafts, Global Kids said on average that they participated in 25 activities. And in a world assumed to be obsessed with money and celebrity, Global Kids placed “being smart” and “getting a good education” near the top of socially desirable attributes – and in the U.S., above fame and fortune. Globally, “getting a good education” and “being rich” are close to a tie.
Global Kids are plugging in at younger ages. The vast majority of Global Kids frequently use electronic entertainment or communication devices, including digital cameras (93 percent), video-game consoles (84 percent), digital music players (78 percent) and cell phones (77 percent). And they are engaging in a wide range of activities, from playing games (92 percent) to doing schoolwork (76 percent) on these devices.
According to their moms, most Global Kids (69 percent) know a lot about what’s happening in the world. And this worldview is reflected in their wishes for the future. When Global Kids were asked what they’d do if they had the power to change three things in the world, fewer kids focused on their narrower, more immediate experience like improving school lunches. Kids largely wished to change things having to do with big issues like the environment, economy and social civility.
Finally, the gender gap is closing for Global Kids. A closer look at their activities and values shows that traditional gender stereotypes are not holding up. When it comes to electronics, both boys and girls on average own the same number and types of devices and use them similarly. Boys and girls named the same sports as their top-three in which to participate: swimming, football/soccer and cycling. Boys are increasingly participating in many traditionally-female leisure activities, such as cooking, gardening and shopping. And when it comes to spending money and allowances, girls have nearly closed the “wage” gap.
www.globalkidsstudy.com