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In January 2013, 1 birth is expected to occur every 8 seconds in the United States and 1 death every 12 seconds.

See the population clock.

Also see the interactive Census Dotmap.

The US population will be considerably older and more racially and ethnically diverse by 2060, according to projections by the US Census Bureau. These projections of the nation’s population by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, which cover the 2012-2060 period, are the first set of population projections based on the 2010 Census.

“The next half century marks key points in continuing trends — the US will become a plurality nation, where the non-Hispanic white population remains the largest single group, but no group is in the majority,” said Acting Director Thomas L. Mesenbourg.

Baby boomers, defined as persons born between 1946 and 1964, number 76.4 million in 2012 and account for about one-quarter of the population. In 2060, when the youngest of them would be 96 years old, they are projected to number around 2.4 million and represent 0.6% of the total population.

Read this in full.

Also see our previous blogposts,

·         “Insights into Fastest-Growing Population Segment in the USA”

·         “The Millennial Consumer”

·         “Boon For Ebooks? Older Americans Using Internet at Unprecedented Levels”

·         “New Website for Demographic Info”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial, our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Research tab.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial, our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (@ecpa), in conjunction with Dickinson Press as the sponsor, has announced the winners of the ECPA | dp Book Cover Awards. A total of 101 covers were submitted from 19 publishers for the 6th annual program.

Launched in 2007, the awards aim to educate, promote, and recognize superior cover design in Christian publishing. This year, the program presented two awards: one for design and one for research-based marketability.

Highlighting the art aspect of book covers, the ECPA Book Cover Design Award focuses on the design merits of a book cover, including the level of conceptual thinking, the quality of the execution, and appropriateness for the market. Design winners are:

·         The Hole in Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung; designed by Josh Dennis (Crossway); in the Small Publisher category

·         Daddy, Is That Story True or Were You Just Preaching? by James W. Moore; designed by David Carlson (Abingdon Press); in the Mid-Sized Publisher category

·         Love Does by Bob Goff; designed by Connie Gabbert (Thomas Nelson); in the Large Publisher category.

Highlighting the science aspect of covers, the Research award is based on the consumer-buying research of the Research Institute for Social Change, which measures consumer motivations as it relates to cover design and book sales. Covers were judged and analyzed on how well their design elements match characteristics of their intended audience. Research winners are:

·         Spark by Jason Jaggard; designed by Kristopher Orr (WaterBrook Press); in the Small Publisher category.

·         What Every Man Wishes His Father Had Told Him by Byron Forrest Yawn; designed by Koechel Peterson & Associates (Harvest House Publishers); in the Mid-Sized Publisher category

·         Soul Detox by Craig Groeschel; designed by Curt Diepenhorst (Zondervan); in the Large Publisher category.

Also see our previous blogposts:

·         “The 2013 Christianity Today Book Awards”

·         “The 2012 Leadership Book Awards”

·         “ECPA Announces 2012 Christian Book Award Finalists”

·         “Christian Book Award Winners for 2012”

·         “2012 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award Winners Announced”

·         “ECPA Announces 2011’s Best Book Covers.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically design your book covers.

Learn about SomersaultSocial, our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard, especially the Innovation tab.

trendwatching.com (@trendwatching) is predicting 10 consumer trends for the coming year. How will the following affect your publishing agenda?

1. PRESUMERS & CUSTOWNERS: As consumers will embrace even more ways to participate in the funding, launch, and growth of (new) products and brands they love, expect pre-ordering, crowdfunding, and consumer equity to compete with traditional consumption in 2013...

2. EMERGING²: While the last two decades were about developed markets catering to emerging ones, and emerging markets increasingly catering to developed ones, it's now time to get ready for an explosion in products and services from emerging markets for emerging markets...

3. MOBILE MOMENTS: For those wondering where ‘mobile’ will head next, one behavioral insight should give you plenty to run with: in 2013, consumers will look to their mobile devices to maximize absolutely every moment, multi-if-not-hypertasking their experiences, purchases, and communications...

4. NEW LIFE INSIDE: One sign-of-the-times eco-trend for 2013: the phenomenon of products and services that quite literally contain new life inside. Rather than being discarded or even recycled (by someone else), these products can be given back to nature to grow something new, with all the eco-status and eco-stories that come with that...

5. APPSCRIPTIONS: Digital technologies are the new medicines. In 2013, expect consumers to turn to the medical profession and medical institutions to certify and curate health apps and technologies, or to “prescribe” them, much as they prescribe medicines as part of a course of treatment...

6. CELEBRATION NATION: Emerging markets will proudly export and even flaunt their national and cultural heritage in the next 12 months. Symbols, lifestyles, and traditions that were previously downplayed, if not denied, will be a source of pride for domestic consumers, and objects of interest to global consumers...

7. DATA MYNING: To date, the ‘big data’ discussion has focused on the value of customer data to businesses. In 2013 expect savvy shoppers to start reversing the flow, as consumers seek to own and make the most of their lifestyle data, and turn to brands that use this data to proactively offer customers help and advice on how to improve their behavior and/ or save money...

8. AGAIN MADE HERE: The perfect storm of consumers’ ever-greater lust for NEWISM and niches, the expectation of (instantly!) getting just the right product, ongoing eco-concerns, and the desire for more interesting stories will all combine with the spread of new local manufacturing technologies such as 3D-printing and make-on-demand, to trigger a resurgence in domestic manufacturing in established markets in 2013...

9. FULL FRONTAL: So what’s next for the mega-trend of transparency in 2013? Brands must move from ‘having nothing to hide’, to pro-actively showing and proving they have nothing to hide...

10. DEMANDING BRANDS: 2013 will see switched-on brands (i.e., brands that are embarking on the much-needed journey toward a more sustainable and socially-responsible future) demanding that their customers also contribute...

Read these in full.

See Infographic.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish and market your ebooks and pbooks.

Learn about online marketing with SomersaultSocial.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

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Edelman (@EdelmanPR) Millennial consultancy (@Edelman8095) (#Edel8095) is the driver of 8095, a global benchmark study on how Millennials connect with brands, make purchasing decisions and share their opinions on products and companies with family, friends, and extended networks. The study, first conducted in 2010 and updated this year, focuses on people born between 1980 and 1995.

(Above graph is from MarketingCharts, @marketingcharts)

·         Over 3/4 of millennial consumers worldwide want to be "entertained" by brands, and a similar proportion are willing to provide feedback on goods and services.

·         About 80% want brands to "entertain" them, with co-creating products the most popular option, mentioned by 40%, ahead of receiving real-time answers to social media enquiries (33%).

·         32% want sponsoring events

·         31% desure companies to deliver engaging online content

·         21% would like to connect with other fans. Forming tie-ups with admired celebrities or public figures score 19%.

·         More broadly, a 74% majority of respondents say they influence the purchase choices of peers and older buyers

·         63% regularly go shopping with their friends, partner, or family.

·         For 73%, sharing feedback with companies after a good or bad experience is a "responsibility," peaking at 90% in China and India, but falling to 59% in Germany and 57% in Canada.

·         When making purchase decisions, 94% of participants use at least 1 external information source and 40% use 4 or more, with search engines and word-of-mouth from friends and family the most common.

·         When asked what wider assistance brands could be in their lives, 77% want financial assistance, such as grants and scholarships for studying.

·         75% desire opportunities for more "life experiences" like trips and lessons in interesting subjects, and 65% want a mentor to help guide them.

·         60% want to tap a brand's "audience," like its Facebook page or ads, to connect with similarly-minded people, and 56% say the same for sharing their views with a wide group.

In 2013, the oldest of the Millennials will turn 33 – many of them are now parents, have careers, and wield spending power and influence in today's world.

Read the news release.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you understand and reach the Millennial market.

Learn about online marketing with SomersaultSocial.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Research tab.

11-year-old James Groccia, who has Asperger syndrome, saved his money for 2 years to buy his dream toy: the LEGO Emerald Night Train set. But when he was able to finally buy it, he discovered it was discontinued.

He wrote of his disappointment to LEGO (@LEGO_Group) and the company replied with a cordial, corporate-sounding apology letter. Then, a few days before his birthday, a package arrived containing the discontinued set with a sweet letter commending his will power and even suggesting someday he might work at LEGO. His parents hid a camera to catch James' reaction when he opened the package.

The resulting video above, with the title, "Why LEGO is the BEST Company in the World!," has become a viral sensation with over 1 million views and mentions on major newscasts.

It demonstrates the power of consumer generated media on a brand’s reputation (for the cost of a single Emerald Night Train set). Contrast this with the stilted, long-winded, slow-moving corporate video LEGO produced earlier this year.

In many ways, successful branding depends on delighting the consumer with stellar customer service.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you protect and strategically manage your brand's reputation.

Learn about online marketing with SomersaultSocial.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Kindle Fire users read, while iPad users surf the Web and catch up on email. Bowker (@Bowker & @DiscoverBowker) reports that “ebook consumers are decidedly shifting to multi-function tablets and away from dedicated e-readers, according to the Book Industry Study Group’s (@BISG) closely watched on-going Consumer Attitudes Toward Ebook Reading.”

...[T]ablets have risen by about 25% over the past year as the first choice for respondents’ e-reading device, while dedicated e-readers have fallen by the same amount. The rise of tablet popularity has been fueled largely by Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which increased over the past year from no use to be the first choice for more than 17% of ebook consumers. Other Android devices, such as Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Tablet, have also increased as the first choice for respondents’ e-reading device, from 2% in August 2011 to nearly 7% in August 2012, while Apple’s iPad has held steady around 10%.

“We’ve discovered throughout the course of this survey work that we can chart the future based on what is currently happening with ebook ‘Power Buyers.’ Their ebook purchasing and e-reader preferences have proven to be reliable predictors of market trends,” said Angela Bole, BISG’s Deputy Executive Director. “Based on this, the introduction of new tablet devices by Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Microsoft is likely to continue the trend of preference for tablets over dedicated e-readers through the upcoming holiday season.”

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you develop your ebook publishing and marketing strategy.

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And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

The above image is by Chart of the Day (@chartoftheday) using research by 33across.com’s (@33Across) tynt (@tynt). See the news release. Also see eMarketer's (@eMarketer) article, "Copy and Paste Drives Sharing."

Social sharing buttons may be sexier, but according to research...copy and paste is the sharing method of choice 82% of the time.

...For users, copying and pasting to share content holds obvious appeal: It's almost frictionless, and it allows the sharer to choose exactly what to pass on to a friend or social network.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you make your brand content strategically and easily share-able.

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And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Social Media Marketing tab.

The above Infographic and chart are by The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (@pewforum). See the corresponding article, “Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 113^th Congress.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you analyze research information and understand the changing marketplace.

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

A new study, Hispanic America: Faith, Values & Priorities, reveals Hispanic-Americans’ attitudes about faith, family, and societal issues and gives insights into how their views will impact the political, social and economic climate in the US.

The study, conducted by Barna Group (@barnagroup) in partnership with American Bible Society (@americanbible), the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (@nhclc), and OneHope (@FollowOneHope), finds that:

·         7 out of 10 Hispanic-Americans (69%) think public schools should teach the values found in the Bible

·         54% identify themselves first as Hispanic or Latino before American, Catholic or Christian

·         Hispanic-Americans are "very concerned" about school dropout rates (58%), immigration (53%), unemployment (57%), healthcare (54%) and housing (52%)

·         42% say the Bible influences their views of political and social issues; however, four out of 10 Hispanics (43%) read the Bible less than once a year

·         Hispanics believe the number one way they contribute to American society is through their commitment to family

·         78% say the traditional family is the main building block of a healthy community

·         When faced with a moral or ethical choice, approximately one-fourth (22%) of those surveyed make choices based on principles or standards they believe in say they should do; those standards were most commonly defined by their parents or the Bible

·         97% of those surveyed indicated they are proud of their Hispanic heritage

By 2050, it’s predicted there will be no ethnic or racial majority in the US and Hispanics are projected to make up 25% to 30% of the population. Thus, Barna Group says, the impact of beliefs and behaviors of Hispanic-Americans is becoming increasingly significant.

Coinciding with the release of the report, Barna Group announced the creation of its Hispanic division.

In related news, Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) magazine is preparing to launch its publication in Spanish, titled Cristianismo Hoy, with the March/April 2013 issue.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you analyze research information and understand the changing marketplace.

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.