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There is no doubt that U.S. store brands benefited greatly from the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The quality of today’s store brand offerings coupled with more value-conscious consumers looking to stretch their dollars ignited a sales boom. In the U.S., private label sales increased 1.8 share points from the end of 2007 to the end of 2008 to reach a 22.3 percent market share.

s most companies embark into their business planning cycle for 2012, many are still wondering what ought to be their next big play, trend, opportunity to differentiate and climb out of the recession. Would it be an iPad app? An increased focus on “green”, exploring emerging markets or introducing an all-natural low-calorie product? While all of these seem enticing and trendy, when it comes to the hard numbers around contribution, growth and key drivers of volume in America’s top markets, we come back to one answer: LATINOS ARE THE ENGINE FOR GROWTH. By Liliana Gil, Hispanic Market Expert, Media Contributor, Co-Founder XL Alliance. Available at HispanicCMO.com, HispanicPRpro.com and HispanicAccountPlanner.com

In an effort to inform and guide community change, the Los Angeles Urban League recently asked Nielsen to collaborate with them on the 2011 State of Black Los Angeles report to help define the consumer behavior, lifestyles, and media preferences of the Black community in Los Angeles. DOWNLOAD Report HERE.

El Pollo Loco, is firing up the brand this month through a multi-faceted campaign that includes new television and radio ads, new social media components and new in-restaurant signage.

Say goodbye to “Random Acts of Marketing” as integration, alignment, visibility and return on investment (ROI) all top the list of requirements for marketing performance improvement through 2011, reports the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council in its latest State of Marketing Report.

Industry analysts have estimated US bank revenue to grow by five percent annually, but, according to surveys conducted by PwC US, major regulatory changes and shifts in consumer spending, saving and borrowing behavior are likely to depress revenue growth, increase operating costs, and squeeze profit margins in the retail banking sector, which accounts for one-half of US bank industry revenues.

Brand preferences and customer loyalty often are measured by marketers as the “holy grail” and as benchmarks of consumer behaviors. In a new poll released today, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults confirmed attitudes that strengthen their loyalty to companies as well as their brand preferences.

To benefit from the insights analytics can bring, companies need to develop the right culture and leadership. Accenture explores ways to implement a culture of analytics and develop analytics leaders to help companies achieve high performance. DOWNLOAD Report Here.

With the online advertising industry in need of more rigorous tools and systems for understanding campaign performance, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has unveiled “Best Practices for Conducting Online Ad Effectiveness Research.” Written by Marissa Gluck of Radar Research and prepared in collaboration with the IAB Research Advisory Board, it provides online ad market stakeholders with a practical set of recommendations for standard operating procedures with respect to the use of ad effectiveness studies.

The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) filed comments today expressing strong opposition to a proposal from an Interagency Working Group of four federal agencies that calls for sweeping restrictions on food, beverage and restaurant marketing to children 17 years old and younger. The Working Group, composed of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, released its proposal on April 28th.