The above Infographic is by BzzAgent (@BzzAgent). Enlarge it.
A demographic milestone has been passed that will be important to marketers and publishers. Here’s how The Wall Street Journal puts it:
For the first time in US history, whites of European ancestry account for less than half of newborn children, marking a demographic tipping point that is already changing the nation's politics, economy, and workforce.
Theologian Martin E. Marty suggests,
Insert the word “Religion” next to “Politics” and “Economy” ... and you will have the mix which excites, troubles, and provides new agendas.
According to the WSJ,
Among the roughly four million children born in the US between July 2010 and July 2011, 50.4% belonged to a racial or ethnic group that in previous generations would have classified them as minorities, up from 48.6% in the same period two years earlier, the Census Bureau says. That was the first 12-month stretch in which non-Hispanic white children accounted for less than half the country's births.
The New York Times says,
While over all, whites will remain a majority for some time, the fact that a younger generation is being born in which minorities are the majority has broad implications for the country’s economy, its political life and its identity. “This is an important tipping point,” said William H. Frey, the senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, describing the shift as a “transformation from a mostly white baby boomer culture to the more globalized multiethnic country that we are becoming.”
Read Martin Marty’s commentary in full.
Read the Census Bureau news release.
Also see our previous blogposts, “Millennials Aren't Kids Anymore; Plurals Are” and “New Website for Demographic Info.”
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you reach your brand’s targeted demographic.
And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.
The above graphic showing how complicated social media marketing can be is from Buddy Media (@BuddyMedia), announcing a new suite of measurement tools.
Contact Somersault to help you strategically plan and execute effective social media marketing.
Be sure to bookmark and use daily our (@smrsault) online dashboard, SomersaultNOW.
New research by audience research and targeting company Crowd Science (@crowdscience) says Facebook brand pages have been ‘liked’ by only 9% of Internet users — trailing the number of ‘likes’ for all other Facebook elements.
No single type of Facebook feature has attracted ‘likes’ from more than 20% of all survey respondents in the study – one potential reason why Facebook is moving to its new Timeline layout. “These findings show that while users have been willing to ‘like’ Facebook items to some extent, they’re far from loving the idea,” says Sandra Marshall, VP of Research at Crowd Science.
Wall posts, pictures, and comments lead the ‘likes’ list, each having been ‘liked’ by 16% of respondents. These are followed by videos (12%), non-branded pages (10%), and branded pages (9%).
Those who have ‘liked’ branded pages tend to skew younger and spend more time on the Internet.
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As reported in the study Demystifying Social Media (#mcksocial) by Roxane Divol (@rdivol), David Edelman (@davidedelman), and Hugo Sarrazin (@HugoSarrazin) in McKinsey Quarterly (@McKQuarterly) (YouTube channel), brand owners seeking to make the most of social media must learn to “monitor,” “respond,” “amplify,” and “lead” on these sites.
· Monitoring brand buzz is the core function of social media as it applies throughout the purchasing decision journey.
· Responding to positive and negative comments is crucial for brand protection. “No response can be quick enough, and the ability to act rapidly requires the constant, proactive monitoring of social media—on weekends too. By responding rapidly, transparently, and honestly, companies can positively influence consumer sentiment and behavior.”
· Amplification involves designing marketing activities to have an inherently social motivator that spurs broader engagement and sharing. It means offering experiences that customers will feel great about sharing, because they gain a badge of honor by publicizing content that piques the interest of others.
· The fourth role of social media is to “lead” and encourage behavior change.
Another study says the quality of customer service offered by US brands on social media strongly influences buying habits. The 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer says the average person using social media to get customer service is subsequently willing to spend 21% extra on a brand if the service is “excellent.”
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you effectively market your brand, both online and offline.
And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Branding and Marketing/PR tabs.
Here’s an example of innovative advertising! Serviceplan Germany built a giant, hand-cranked 3-dimensional organ out of 20,000 LEGO bricks to help promote the 3D version of the Star Wars movie. The instrument toured Germany in January, complete with a QR code. Very creative and true to the brand. Have fun watching.
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From book patrol (@bookpatrol) and HeraldNet comes this fun photo.
What else would you cover an electrical transformer that sits in front of the Library Place apartments, and is adjacent to the Everett (Washington) Public Library, then with a book sculpture?
If you’re a book lover like we (@smrsault) are, be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.
For all the technology we have, it doesn’t seem to be bringing us much happiness, according to a recent survey conducted by research firm Market Probe International and integrated marketing communications agency Euro RSCG Worldwide (@EuroRSCG).
This Digital Life (@prosumer_report) surveyed the opinions of 7,213 people in 19 markets and discovered that
· 55% of respondents believe technology is robbing us of our privacy, while more than half of Millennials worry that a family member or friend will post inappropriate personal information about them online.
· 42% of consumers believe it’s "too soon to tell" whether new technology will have a bad effect on society. 10% already believe the impact is negative.
· 60% say it’s "wrong" for people to share a lot of their personal experiences and feelings online.
· 58% agree people are "losing the ability to engage in civil debate."
· 1 in 3 Millennials say sites such as Facebook and Twitter make them "less satisfied" with their lives.
· 40% of consumers would be happier if they "owned less stuff."
The report says marketers will have to adapt their communications to suit this consumer mood, specifically in “helping people feel a greater sense of control and security.”
"People are looking to replace hyper-consumption and artificiality with a way of living that offers more meaning and more intangible rewards — even as they wish to maintain the modern conveniences upon which they've grown reliant."
See larger image of above Infographic.
Also see JWT Singapore's (@JWT_Worldwide) news release, "Survey Shows Mounting Social Media Obligations Have Become a Stress and a Chore."
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you properly communicate your brand message.
And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.
On MediaPost’s (@MediaPost) Engage:GenY, Sharalyn Hartwell (@SharalynHartwel) executive director at Magid, writes, “Millennials [those born in the ‘80s and ‘90s]...aren’t kids anymore. In fact, according to our Millennial Life Stage Segmentation, only one in ten Millennials (11% of Millennials or approximately 10 million) isn’t an official adult (i.e., is under the age of 18). Approximately 13 million, or 15%, are college students and about 12 million, or 14%, are in flux — not working or married, but don’t have kids. The majority of Millennials are ‘grown-ups’ in the way society tends to define them — they are working (36% or 31 million) or parents (24% or 21 million).”
Millennials are no longer the youth population in this country, which means there’s a new generation of youth for marketers to know.
Presenting the Pluralist Generation. The oldest Plural is 14, turning 15 in 2012. The youngest is a newborn.
Plurals are America’s last generation to have a Caucasian majority, and based on immigration projections, they will also be America’s first generation to be pluralistic, or have no majority race. Their own ethnic composition is a catalyst for the overall ethnic transition in our country. In 2019, less than 50% of live births in this country will be Caucasian. In 2042, just 30 years from now, our entire population will be less than 50% Caucasian. Plurals are being raised in the environment of change and, in their 30s and early 40s, they will be the ones managing the transition into a truly pluralistic society.
See the news release, "Magid Generational Strategies Reveals America's Newest Generation."
Actually the name of the next generation is still up for grabs. Reveries.com (@cool_news) says that, along with Pluralist, other suggested identifiers are Generation Wii, iGeneration, Gen Tech, Digital Natives, Net Gen, Multi Gen, Post Gen. You can vote on which one you think it should be.
How will you prepare now for Pluralist consumers of the future? Write your comments below.
Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you sort through research statistics and what they mean to effectively communicate your brand's message.
And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.
This video ad for The Guardian (@guardian) uses the famous fairy tale of “Three Little Pigs” to paint a 21st century picture of open journalism, imagining how the story might be covered in print and online. Follow the story from the paper's front page headline, through a social media discussion and finally to an unexpected conclusion.
In contrast, The New York Times (@nytimes) has created 4 videos that promote the rich experience users get when using its website.
See all The New York Times video ads.
Of the two styles above, which is the most effective? Do they properly reflect each brand message? Does each have viral potential?
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