Buzz Sells
Marketing experts estimate that the average consumer is exposed to 1,500 advertisements each day and, as a result, is immune to most of those messages. However, studies show that people will listen to and act on recommendations made by their friends, family and work associates. Sales of several common items can be traced back to this word-of-mouth process called buzz.

Consumers Eat Their Age
Food choices are primarily determined by lifestyle and habit. Often times, those choices are a function of age as shown in the chart below. While taste, price and convenience continue to be of utmost importance, a new factor — brought about by our multitasking society — is whether it can be eaten using one hand.

Consumer food experts suggest that habit will cause a generation’s eating choices to stay with them as the generation ages. For example, as Baby Boomers move further into their 50s, bottled water, granola bars and sports drinks will remain in demand for this group.

Minority Travelers
Travel by minority groups increased significantly between 1997 and 1999. Trip volume jumped 16% for Blacks to reach 69.6 million; 11% for Hispanics to total 71.2 million; and 7% for Asian-Americans to reach 30.4 million. The Travel Industry Association attributes this to increased minority-targeted advertising and ethnic promotions. The following chart provides other findings about these travelers.

Census 2000 Reveals Race Categories
The Census 2000 reveals how America’s minority populations are growing faster than the White, non-Hispanic population. Projections into the next few decades indicate that this trend will continue. The 2000 count included various classification changes and, for the first time, people were able to classify themselves as a member of more than one race.

Overall, the U.S. population is expected to double by 2100. By comparison, the population was 5.3 million in 1800 and 75.9 million in 1900.

Research conducted by Wolfram Woerdemann and Andreas Buchholz, co-authors of the book “What Makes Winning Brands Different,” shows that consumers can be grouped into five categories (or portals) that describe their motivations. Marketers are encouraged to build the company’s image around the emotion that triggers a consumer to make a purchase.

Nutrition and Diet Guidelines
Most (91%) people think that research on nutrition will help them live longer and better. However, a majority does not want the government to tell them what to eat, and thinks Americans are obsessed with the fat in their diet. The chart below provides details on these opinions and others as they relate to today’s nutrition and diet guidelines.

Web Sites Should Be Quick and Easy
Nearly 70% of online consumers say they leave web sites when they cannot quickly find what they are seeking. Many of these users also say they do not have patience for disorganization or unnecessary “bells and whistles.” See the chart below for the specific reasons viewers give for leaving a web site.

Executives Are Wired
The perception that executives rely on their staff to surf the internet or do other computer work, is gone. A recent survey by Harris Interactive for The Wall Street Journal Online shows that 98% of top executives use a computer and have internet access at work. This survey included 1,000 largest U.S. companies; only 12% were technology businesses.

Executives spend a total of 12 hours each week online from the office and home. At work, they spend eight hours on the computer, one-third of these are online. Ninety percent say that the internet keeps them up-to-date on business issues and makes them more productive. The chart below details their online activities.

Patients Want Online Services
A recent survey shows that 57% of online Americans think that the internet is at least “somewhat likely” to help reduce frustrations encountered in visiting the doctor.

The following chart shows online services that patients want their doctors to adopt.

How are doctors using e-mail now? Ninety-three percent of doctors use the internet from work or home however, only 13% of them are in contact with their patients via e-mail. Other current uses include communicating with professional colleagues (55%), other (36%), support staff (34%), and health plans or IPAs (9%).

Aging Accepted in Theory Only
A recent survey conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide shows that 90% of American adults are satisfied with how they look, and 60% believe that inner beauty is more important than appearance. Of the women interviewed, only 25% consider physical attractiveness to be essential to them.

Other research findings show that these outlooks don’t necessarily coincide with Americans’ fight against aging. For example, 71% of women aged 45-54 use hair coloring to hide their gray, and cosmetic surgery procedures jumped from 367,000 in 1992 to 1 million in 1999.

Bullets

• During 1999, more than six million Americans spent nearly 52 million days on overnight hiking/backpacking expeditions.

• America’s favorite flavors for food and drink are cinnamon, garlic and vanilla.

• Twenty-four percent of new supermarkets that opened in 1999 included natural food aisles or sections.

• Twenty-five percent of men have not seen a doctor in the past year compared to 8% of women.

• In 1975, most (62%) Americans preferred a male boss and a much smaller percentage (7%) favored a female one. Today, 22% would choose a female boss, while 48% still prefer a male.

• Adults over the age of 50 control 80% of all financial assets in the United States.

• Children eat only 200 million of the 720 million pounds of peanut butter sold in the U.S. each year. Adults eat the other 520 million pounds.

• For every 100 American households, there are approximately 79 dogs and 68 cats.

• U.S. advertising agencies say the most effective online tools for branding are e-mail sponsorships (40%), online audio/video ads (39%), interstitials (14%) and banner ads (7%).

• According to Gallup, Americans say their most productive time during the day is between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. in the morning; 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. is the most energetic hour.

• Americans read an average of 17 books per year.

• Forty-two percent of Americans have been bitten by a dog.

• Mature travelers (people age 55+) accounted for 31% of all domestic travel during 1999, up 5% from 1994. One trip equals spending one or more nights away or traveling at least 50 miles, one way.

• Over 20% of shoppers routinely and deliberately lie to retailers who request personal information.

• The number of wireless users aged 10–24 will almost quadruple to 43 million by 2004.

• Ninety percent of 16 to 22 year-olds combine surfing the net with other activities such as listening to music, watching television or talking on the telephone.

• Over one-third of American adults purchased art during 2000. The average expenditure was $500 per person.

• Packaged goods introductions in the U.S. jumped 21.2% to reach 31,432 in 2000, up from 25,928 in 1999. Only 6.6% of these 2000 introductions were for items offering breakthrough features or benefits. Categories with the highest number of new products include tea, chocolate candies, soap and body cleansers, air-freshening candles and snack bars.

• In 1998, 2.3 million marriages and 1.1 million divorces took place in the U.S.

• Over-the-counter medications comprise 60% of all medications used in the U.S.

• Over half (56%) of generalist MDs and 60% of specialists (i.e. cardiologists, oncologists) say their ability to provide good healthcare has gotten worse in the past five years.

• One in 10 U.S. workers under the age of 30 is actively trying to start a business.

• The top six “world class brands” are Waterford Crystal, Rolls-Royce, Craftsman Tools, Crayola, Bose Stereo and Discovery Channel.

• More than one-third of print media journalists select the internet as their first source to gather information. Twenty-five percent choose their company’s library or archives.

• By 2013, 40% of Americans will pay their bills online.

• During 2000, 206 billion letters were delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, while 536 billion e-mails were sent.

• The top five states with households owning computers are Alaska (67.0%), Utah (66.8%), New Hampshire (64.3%), Colorado (63.2%), Oregon (61.2%). The bottom five are West Virginia (43%), Oklahoma (42.1%), Louisiana (42.0%), Mississippi (38.7%), Arkansas (38.5%).

• Most (58%) small- and medium-sized businesses (plus government and nonprofit organizations) currently use e-mail for employee communications.

• The average American man owns seven consumer electronics devices. The most popular of these are the personal computer, cell phone, personal digital assistant and digital videodisk player.

• In 2000, wine consumption grew 5% to reach 2.02 gallons per person.

• According to American Sports Data, annual turnover over rates at health clubs are 30% – 40%. 
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