Americans Support Christian Businesses and Brands

According to a new Barna survey, 43% of American adults say they’re open to buying a particular brand if they’re made aware that the company is run based on Christian principles. Most respondents (51%) say they don’t care. Only 3% say an overt Christian faith expressed by brands turns them away. “In other words,” the survey report says, “a product or service managed according to Christian principles generates a positive-to-negative ratio of 14 to 1.”

One-third of all USA adults (37%) say they’d be more likely to knowingly purchase a particular brand if the company embraces and promotes the Christian faith (with 22% expressing the highest level of interest possible on the 5-point scale).

Consumers in the Midwest and South were most likely to express interest in both iterations of Christian business. Nearly six out of ten consumers in the South and half of buyers in the Midwest were more likely to support a business operated by Christian principles. In the West and Northeast, only one-third of customers expressed a preference for a Christian-operated business. Yet, even when asked about the most overt type of faith-based business, only small percentages of customers in the West (2%) and Northeast (3%) said they would be less likely to do business with such an enterprise.

Other demographic segments favoring businesses incorporating Christian elements were women, Boomers (ages 46 to 64), Elders (ages 65-plus), married adults, parents of children under age 18, political conservatives, and Republicans. College grads were slightly less interested than average in Christian companies, though income was not a defining factor for or against.

Young adults (ages 45 and younger, but especially those under the age of 25) were among the least interested in Christian-oriented brands.

One company that didn't need to be told the above research is Chick-fil-A. Read a profile by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "At Chick-fil-A, biblical principles shape business." You may also be interested in seeing CNN's "10 religious companies (beside Chick-fil-A)."

What are the implications of this research for your brand and the marketing strategy for your products?

Read the report in full.

2010 Global Brand Simplicity Index

Somersault’s brand & marketing strategist, John Sawyer (@johnasawyer), recommends as reading to ponder Siegel+Gale's (@SiegelGale) just announced first annual Global Brand Simplicity Index™. It answers in the affirmative the question “Does simplicity matter?” The survey of more than 6,000 consumers across 7 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia uncovers the points of complexity and simplicity in people's lives. It also explores the emotional and economic value people place on having a more simplified experience with brands in different industries.

The Index generates a rating of each brand on the simplicity/complexity of their interactions and communications relative to their industry peers. It lists the following implications from the findings:

  • Communicate directly, clearly, and without jargon
  • Save consumers’ time with increased convenience and accessibility
  • Reduce consumers’ stress by providing savings/value
  • Make it easy for consumers to use and interact with your brand
  • Enable consumers to get more from life: deeper relationships, easygoing lifestyles

Read the PDF report.

Study: Gens X, Y Rely On Personal Research, Less On Loyalty

MediaPost’s MarketingDaily reports that the AMP Agency, a Boston-based branding firm, has completed a study of consumers, "Inside the Buy," that suggests that actually very few consumers between the ages of 25 and 49 are moved to purchase by habit, or sentimental considerations for a brand. It stresses that online information and reviews is what consumers rely on to make their decisions.

The study, based on a Fall 2010 poll of 865 Gen X and Y consumers, looks at what happens in the "consideration phase" of the purchase path, where the Web and what AMP found to be a "new/modern path" to purchase hold sway. The quantitative and qualitative study also addressed a changing view of brand loyalty. The firm found that just 3% of consumers say they are loyal to a particular brand and never buy anything else.

The study, which looks at five product categories -- baby products, consumer electronics, food and beverage, health and beauty, and fashion -- finds that the very idea of loyalty has changed for 97% of consumers. "New consumer behavior is redefining what we view as 'contemporary loyalty'," said Allison Marsh, VP, Consumer Insights at AMP Agency. "With more information, consumers have seized control and are more open to the wide choices in the marketplace."

Read this in full.

How Nike's Visual Tricks Made the Oregon Ducks Look Fast (Despite Defeat)

Fast Company’s Co.Design (@fastcodesign) has an article that describes Nike's attention to visual branding techniques. "Oregon is one of the fastest [college football] teams in the nation, and we wanted them to look fast," says Todd Van Horn, Nike's top football uniform designer. So Nike crafted the look accordingly.

Visually, the colorway of the uniforms is meant to bring your eyes to the fastest moving parts of the player's bodies -- the hands, and in particular the shins, which move twice as fast as the thighs do while running. The bright yellow socks, which blended seamlessly into the cleats, drew attention to that fact.

Read the article in full and think how the principles used in this situation might apply to your brand.