Who is looking online for medical information?

As an agency that has quite a few healthcare clients, it really is important for us to know how people seek out medical information. A new study conducted by Pew Internet & American Life Project took a closer look at online trends in researching such information.

The study was broken down between the general US population and those who are internet users. eMarketer reports that 72% of internet users went online in search of health answers.

§       About 79% of women internet users researched information compared to 65% of men.

§       There wasn’t much difference in research among age groups. The age brackets 18-29 and 30-49 each admitted researching online at 76% and 75% respectively. There was a small dip among people 50-64 at 71% and people 65+ at 58%.

§       The ethnicity breakdown was 73% white, 69% black and 66% Hispanic.

§       Approximately 81% of online users who sought out medical information had a household income between $50,000 - $75,000.

§       Another 81% were college graduates.

§       Almost the majority of the searches were done on a specific disease or medical problem.

§       Other top researched topics were medical treatment/procedure, losing weight/controlling weight, and health insurance.

How do these results help this particular agency in navigating healthcare clients in the right path? Online campaigns would be best geared towards women between the ages of 18-64 who are researching specific medical problems. Therefore, we would not want to run a generic ad message if trying to reach women on a cardiac campaign. The message will have to be extremely relevant to the online user.

How many coupons were produced in 2012?

Over the last five years, one word has played a significant part in consumer behavior. That word is “recession.” Because of the economic recession in 2008, consumers have based the majority of purchases off of a “need” rather than a “want”. To cope with the changing buyer intention, coupon manufacturers continue strategic sampling to see what shoppers really want.

According to the Center for Media Research, NCH Marketing Services reported that 305 billion coupons were produced by CPG marketers for 2012. This production count is the same as 2011; however, the kind of coupons produced were not the same.

In 2012, there were 4.4% more non-food category coupons than 2011. Some products include medications, personal care and other household items. There was about 6.5% fewer food related coupons in 2012. A reason for the shift could be coupons offer marketers a way to introduce new products and allow consumers to try it out at a lower cost.

It was reported that CPG products had about 2.9 billion coupons redeemed in 2012. This was down 17%; however, 79.8% of consumers reportedly use coupons. What does this mean for advertisers? Shoppers are still interested in coupons, but it’s up to marketers to experiment to see what kind of coupons are going to resonate with its audience and be redeemed. 

Sirius XM radio sees growth in revenues and subscribers

Satellite radio has steadily grown since it launched, and 2012 was a year that continued to see a rise in subscribers and revenue.

MediaPost reports that Sirius XM radio had the following 2012 numbers:

§       Subscribers grew from 21.9 million in 2011 to 23.9 million.

§       Total revenues accumulated to $3.4 billion in 2012 compared to the $3 billion in 2011. This is a 13% increase in revenue.

§       Just the ad revenues came in at $82.3 million for 2012. This is an 11.7% increase from 2011 at $73.7 million.

It is believed that the reason for the increase in total revenue is largely due to the growing number of subscribers. Part of that subscriber growth is attributed to automotive sales. Many brands have Sirius XM in the newer models, and about 45% of the vehicle owners choose to subscribe to the service after the free trial expires.

It is important to note that radio can be a medium that reaches consumers right until he/she leaves the vehicle and goes into a store. Therefore, knowing what options are available to the consumer is very beneficial for an advertiser. 

How to choose an athlete endorser for your brand

A typical consumer will see or hear an advertisement that has some kind of sports athlete endorsement. What advertisers need to know is what athletes are the best endorsers for a certain product or service. According to MediaPost, Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research recently gave out a list of the athletes that were deemed to have the best “endorsement potential.” Together, they created an N-score metric system to measure an athletes’ appeal to a certain category.

If an advertiser would like to reach teenagers, then locking down gymnast Gabby Douglas, swimmer Michael Phelps, gymnast Aly Raisman, basketball player LeBron James, or soccer player David Beckham as an endorser may help. These athletes rounded out the top five in the teenager category.

Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglas, David Beckham, Aly Raisman, and quarterback Tim Tebow can help advertisers reach the mom category.

In reaching dads, it is best to look at quarterback Peyton Manning, race car driver Danica Patrick, Gabby Douglas, baseball player Derek Jeter, or quarterback Aaron Rodgers for support.

According to the list, if an advertiser’s target audience is people 65+, Gabby Douglas, Tim Tebow or golfer Phil Mickelson may flatter the brand.

It’s interesting to note Gabby Douglas is the only athlete that ranks top five amongst the teenager, mom, dad, and people 65+ categories.

Overall, this just proves one of the most important points in advertising- know your audience. Choosing someone who is well-liked by teenagers and having them endorse a product for a person 65+ may not make sense for the product, the athlete, and most importantly, the audience.