Here are some fun facts you may or may not know about the Mail you get on a weekly basis...
The Average consumer receives 25 direct mail pieces per week.
79% of all households actually say that they either scan or read the direct mail ads they receive in the mail
Direct Mail represents 52% of the total mail volume in the United States
13,571,000,000 Billion Catalogs were mailed in 2009 in the United States
84% of the 12.524 Billion catalogs listed in the National Directory of Catalogs have on-line counterparts
Municipal Waste: Out of 1000 adult surveyed in December 2007 on Direct Mail Environmental issues
48% believe Direct Mail generates more than 50% of US municipal waste
36% believe Direct Mail generates more than 33% of US municipal waste
12% believe Direct Mail generates more than 9% of US municipal waste
The actual total is....
According to the EPA advertising mail from US Households accounts for only 2% of the Country's (USA) Municipal Waste.
Now on to more fun facts about Consumers and Direct Mail....
Consumers like receiving mail... fact or fiction???
The answer...
56% of respondents say receiving mail is a "real pleasure"
55% "look forward" to discovering the mail that they receive
67% feel that mail is more personal than the internet
Now what about Mail getting the message into the waiting hands of the consumer??
98% of consumers bring in their mail the day it is received
72% of whom bring it in a.s.a.p.
77% sort through their mail immediately...
Do you fit into any of these prior categories... don't be surprised if you do
Next we move on to Mail being sorted, then given to the right person of the household... we've all done it before!
90% determine which mail is kept for review
81% review Financial Documentations
84% are the principal Grocery Shoppers... coupon and discount people I'm looking at you
In the next step, we focus on how Consumers spend more time with their mail than was previously imagined.
The common notion here is that most individuals assume that we all just skim/scan articles or catalogs quickly and discard them... this could be further from the truth... Here are some facts that may surprise you
On Average Consumers spend about 30 minutes reading mail on any given occasion
Consumers spend 45 minutes with magazines, 30 with catalogs, and 25 minutes with direct mail.
And Finally we move to the bottom line... what is direct mail trying to do with its message toward the consumer... What is the commercial message performing in its distinct task?
1. Browsing for new consumption (Consumer product goods, identifying problems, solutions)
2. Managing the home
3. Overseeing finances
So as we can see there are many interesting facts about the so called pertain junk mail that meet more than the eye can see. Hopefully this has given everyone insight that it isn't just junk mail... especially if your spending almost 30 minutes or an hour of your time with our advertising pieces.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Where are kids getting information about Products?
Just wanted to share an article from Marketing Forecast and some of my thoughts
What are the trends in how kids garner their information?
Kids today are more tech-savvy then at any time in history. For example, kids are using Ipads and Smartphones to access information at anytime and any place learning about new products and activities. The question then arises what are other sources of information for kids? The go to sources for Kids 6-11 are friends, internet, and television ads. An interesting statistic that I stumbled on was that 48% of these kids are still learning about things they want to do or own from their parents. Think Behavioral marketing or Behavioral learning (Observant learning). Kids observe and learn what rewards them or what punishes them based on decisions that adults make.
Not surprisingly 84% of 6-11 years old find about new things from their fellow classmates. A close second at 81% is television ads.
Looking into age range further in depth. 9-11 year olds tend to turn to more sources for information including online advertisements and social media websites. 6-8 year olds rely on their parents more for information.
The bottom line here is that children tend to observe their parents and how they make decisions about products from their parents at an early age. However, It also shouldn't be ignored that Kids are key decision makers at a young age. As children grow older and have more access to additional resources such as word of mouth about products from their classmates or friends and the use of the internet to gather more information about what the product is/does (this could be a new toy or the latest video game). With this additional information kids now have more knowledge at their fingertips about what the product is, how much it cost, what the features are, and can effectively explain why they want the product. The explanation may not be in the most understandable way but kids are going through a response process such as the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) model or Innovation adoption model process. When making the actual purchase kids then to either ask their parents to buy them the product or they may be saving money from chores in order to purchase the product. With so much information out in the internet don't be surprised to hear your kids explaining all the features, price points, and where you can buy their next birthday or Christmas present in the future.
What are the trends in how kids garner their information?
Kids today are more tech-savvy then at any time in history. For example, kids are using Ipads and Smartphones to access information at anytime and any place learning about new products and activities. The question then arises what are other sources of information for kids? The go to sources for Kids 6-11 are friends, internet, and television ads. An interesting statistic that I stumbled on was that 48% of these kids are still learning about things they want to do or own from their parents. Think Behavioral marketing or Behavioral learning (Observant learning). Kids observe and learn what rewards them or what punishes them based on decisions that adults make.
Not surprisingly 84% of 6-11 years old find about new things from their fellow classmates. A close second at 81% is television ads.
Looking into age range further in depth. 9-11 year olds tend to turn to more sources for information including online advertisements and social media websites. 6-8 year olds rely on their parents more for information.
The bottom line here is that children tend to observe their parents and how they make decisions about products from their parents at an early age. However, It also shouldn't be ignored that Kids are key decision makers at a young age. As children grow older and have more access to additional resources such as word of mouth about products from their classmates or friends and the use of the internet to gather more information about what the product is/does (this could be a new toy or the latest video game). With this additional information kids now have more knowledge at their fingertips about what the product is, how much it cost, what the features are, and can effectively explain why they want the product. The explanation may not be in the most understandable way but kids are going through a response process such as the AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) model or Innovation adoption model process. When making the actual purchase kids then to either ask their parents to buy them the product or they may be saving money from chores in order to purchase the product. With so much information out in the internet don't be surprised to hear your kids explaining all the features, price points, and where you can buy their next birthday or Christmas present in the future.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The New No. 2 Advertising Medium is....
I happened to stumble on an interesting article on Ad Age and thought I shared it and give my thoughts on it...
Here is the link to check out the article: http://adage.com/article?article_id=147740
Basically the article starts off talking about how officially the recession ended in June 2009 and collectively advertisers exhaled a sigh of relief. 2009 was a year that many advertisers and many in the Marketing industry would like to forget. It marked the first time that the Media 100's net U.S. Media Revenue had declined (3.8%) in revenue since being tracked in 1981. Just think about that for a second... since 1981 the nation's top media firms have consistently had positive returns until last year. That should tell you that the recession has not only affected consumers, prospects, and big corporations, but every industry including my field of marketing has felt the huge impact of the recession that we have arisen from and are trying to recover from as a nation. If it wasn't for Cable which managed a 4.3% gain... Media revenue would have been far worst.
2010 was a different story for the nations top media firms. In the first six month of 2010, reported media revenues for media firms climbed to 6.1%.
The big story however is the shift in Advertising medium rankings... The King is still Television. However, a shift happened at the number two spot with Internet taking over Newspapers. This honestly didn't surprise me much as Newspaper had by far one of its worst years with humongous declines in each of its main revenue sources: National Advertising (-26.2%), Retail Advertising (-24.2%), Classified Advertising (-38.1%), and Online Advertising (-11.8%). Newspapers are still trying to find the right formula to attract advertisers... but its increasingly becoming difficult as more Newspapers companies file for bankruptcy. It may not be too long till we see the Newspapers industry heading the way of the titanic.
However, lets shift our focus toward factors on what is making Internet one of the hottest media channels to use for advertisers.
First off, one of the great features of using the Internet is that it can help build and increase Brand Recognition for Business & consumer companies just like mass media, but the internet can also deliver vast amounts of information that is of relevance to the prospect or consumer. Think Direct mail that you get (commonly known as junk mail)
Additional factors on why Advertisers are preferring the Internet as an advertising medium source:
1. Reduces Cost - Probably the biggest attractive point of using the Internet. But there are multiple factors on how it helps reduce cost these include: Reducing the overall operating costs, lower prices, cost savings in order handling via reduced transportation costs (basically your paying for what you need), optimization of the supply base, and it gives the user control over spending and inventory. Quite a few advantages isn't it?
2. Saves Time - Enhanced marketing (I'll explain each tool in detail in later blogs, but they are mentioned) and customer service and enhances the use of personnel via instantaneous communications (Skype, Aim, email, etc)
3. Internet Media Tools - One of the great advantages of using Internet is the ability to track in real time how your ad or campaign is performing. There is no other media tool that allows you to do this! This allows the advertiser to effectively make the necessary modification to maximize the overall effectiveness of their ad.
Most people will know that the main dominant tools are SEO and SEM. However, there are many other tools at the marketers tool bag including: Banner Ads, E-Mail campaigns, Affiliate Marketing Relations, and Sponsorships. I'll blog about a few of these tools in later posts...
The benefits for Internet are numerous and you can bet that Marketers haven't hit the tip of the iceberg with the power of what the internet can do to help us increase the overall value in consumer/prospects lives. It shouldn't be a surprise to see why the Internet has arisen into the number two spot.
Here is the link to check out the article: http://adage.com/article?article_id=147740
Basically the article starts off talking about how officially the recession ended in June 2009 and collectively advertisers exhaled a sigh of relief. 2009 was a year that many advertisers and many in the Marketing industry would like to forget. It marked the first time that the Media 100's net U.S. Media Revenue had declined (3.8%) in revenue since being tracked in 1981. Just think about that for a second... since 1981 the nation's top media firms have consistently had positive returns until last year. That should tell you that the recession has not only affected consumers, prospects, and big corporations, but every industry including my field of marketing has felt the huge impact of the recession that we have arisen from and are trying to recover from as a nation. If it wasn't for Cable which managed a 4.3% gain... Media revenue would have been far worst.
2010 was a different story for the nations top media firms. In the first six month of 2010, reported media revenues for media firms climbed to 6.1%.
The big story however is the shift in Advertising medium rankings... The King is still Television. However, a shift happened at the number two spot with Internet taking over Newspapers. This honestly didn't surprise me much as Newspaper had by far one of its worst years with humongous declines in each of its main revenue sources: National Advertising (-26.2%), Retail Advertising (-24.2%), Classified Advertising (-38.1%), and Online Advertising (-11.8%). Newspapers are still trying to find the right formula to attract advertisers... but its increasingly becoming difficult as more Newspapers companies file for bankruptcy. It may not be too long till we see the Newspapers industry heading the way of the titanic.
However, lets shift our focus toward factors on what is making Internet one of the hottest media channels to use for advertisers.
First off, one of the great features of using the Internet is that it can help build and increase Brand Recognition for Business & consumer companies just like mass media, but the internet can also deliver vast amounts of information that is of relevance to the prospect or consumer. Think Direct mail that you get (commonly known as junk mail)
Additional factors on why Advertisers are preferring the Internet as an advertising medium source:
1. Reduces Cost - Probably the biggest attractive point of using the Internet. But there are multiple factors on how it helps reduce cost these include: Reducing the overall operating costs, lower prices, cost savings in order handling via reduced transportation costs (basically your paying for what you need), optimization of the supply base, and it gives the user control over spending and inventory. Quite a few advantages isn't it?
2. Saves Time - Enhanced marketing (I'll explain each tool in detail in later blogs, but they are mentioned) and customer service and enhances the use of personnel via instantaneous communications (Skype, Aim, email, etc)
3. Internet Media Tools - One of the great advantages of using Internet is the ability to track in real time how your ad or campaign is performing. There is no other media tool that allows you to do this! This allows the advertiser to effectively make the necessary modification to maximize the overall effectiveness of their ad.
Most people will know that the main dominant tools are SEO and SEM. However, there are many other tools at the marketers tool bag including: Banner Ads, E-Mail campaigns, Affiliate Marketing Relations, and Sponsorships. I'll blog about a few of these tools in later posts...
The benefits for Internet are numerous and you can bet that Marketers haven't hit the tip of the iceberg with the power of what the internet can do to help us increase the overall value in consumer/prospects lives. It shouldn't be a surprise to see why the Internet has arisen into the number two spot.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
So we begin
Ah well first off I must say that I am fairly new to this blogging thing. I have tried in the past to maintain a blog to no success. So this is another attempt to really keep a blog maintain and to also share my knowledge that I have attained over the years.
Its going to be fun to see where I go with this. Keep posted because Business or Real World politics could be posted on this blog on any given day.
Its going to be fun to see where I go with this. Keep posted because Business or Real World politics could be posted on this blog on any given day.
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