Viral efforts need to include the real world.
Most people use word of mouth, either giving or receiving advice about brands. But influencers, who have sway over others and often engage with multiple audiences, are especially attractive to marketers who want to spread brand news quickly.
The Nielsen Company released a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2007.
Yahoo! Telemundo today announced the Top Trends in Search, as told through the millions of Yahoo! Telemundo searchers. Yahoo! Telemundo’s Top Trends in Search reveals a portrait of a politically-charged culture with celebrity and diet obsessions, a fascination for tech gadgets and a passion for soccer and baseball.
Hong Kong- Rising oil prices, the spread of the sub-prime credit issue in international markets, and the slow down in the US economy are all taking their toll on the confidence of the world’s consumers. According to the latest Global Consumer Confidence Study conducted by The Nielsen Company, more than a quarter of global consumers expect a global recession in 2008, resulting in a dip in confidence in 21 of the 48 markets Nielsen surveyed.
In the 1980’s, branding guru Alan Siegel, Chairman of Siegel & Gale, introduced the concept of “Corporate Voice” to create communications programs that unified a company’s diverse exposures and built a distinctive, focused, coherent identity that would rise against all background noise.
Verse Group releases a groundbreaking paper challenging “positioning” as the cornerstone of marketing. New research provides convincing evidence that brand stories are more effective.
Hispanics in the United States are feeling a range of negative effects from the increased public attention and stepped up enforcement measures that have accompanied the growing national debate over illegal immigration.
A survey just released by Avanze, Inc. of San Diego, California in partnership with ImpreMedia provides an updated look at the state of mind of the Hispanic electorate, less than one month before the kickoff of the 2008 election cycle at the Iowa caucus. The survey polled Hispanic registered voters in the top five U.S. Hispanic states on issues that they consider key in their decision making on Election Day 2008.
Televisa Publishing’s analysis of BIGresearch’s October 2007 Consumer Intentions and Actions (CIA) study reconfirms that Hispanics are big Holiday spenders. According to the October CIA, Hispanics will be spending an average of $594.52 on gifts for the holidays, compared to $619.51 for the general market. Hispanics plan to purchase most of their holiday items at discount stores, followed by department stores, and clothing or accessories stores. Interesting to note, Hispanics are more likely than the general market to shop at department stores (61% vs. 58%), clothing or accessories stores (47% vs. 36%), and electronic stores (37% vs. 34%).
By most indications, the economic outlook for 2008 is bleak. The housing and mortgage markets have melted down. Home foreclosures have soared to record highs.
