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. 

See a Super Bowl ad in a theater near you

In the few weeks between the New Year and Valentine’s Day, advertisers and Americans alike look forward to one major event- The Super Bowl. For some, they watch it for the sports, others for the entertainers, and lastly, for the commercials. If the highly anticipated commercials were released earlier than February 3^rd, would it take the fun out of it? Kia Motors America apparently doesn’t think so.

According to MediaPost, Kia is going to release its Super Bowl commercial early in movie theaters. This will be the second year the car-maker has implemented this strategy. The ad will be released in two parts across 19,000 theaters nationwide through the NCM Media Networks. The first part will be a :15 teaser running Friday, January 25^th to lead up to the full :60 spot premier on Friday, February 1^st. The ad will run during the FirstLook pre-show program. Titled “Space Babies” the commercial will promote Kia’s 2014 Sorento CUV.

Running a Super Bowl commercial in theaters prior to the actual game has never been done before until Kia. To see the effectiveness of this strategy, NCM Media Networks and Nielsen did some post-game research from the 2012 game. People who only saw the ad during the game had a 46% unaided recall rate. For those who saw the ad in the theaters prior and on TV during the game, the unaided recall rate increased to 70%.

What you can take from this is a strong strategy can pay off. Letting people see your Super Bowl commercial before the event can help generate awareness and anticipation. 

Consumers turn to tablets after watching a TV commercial

It’s no secret that a media mix allows advertisers to get the message in front of the audience on multiple screens, multiple times per day. What is the best mix? Honestly, it depends. It depends on the audience, their habits, their values, their location, etc. There is no “right” answer. However, studies are continually seeking out good combinations.

According to eMarketer, a new study has been conducted by Harris Interactive for The Search Agency about TV and tablet usage. The survey showed that television prompts users to research a product or service on a tablet.

§       71% of the people 18-34 polled will use his/her tablet to look up information on a product/service after seeing a television commercial.

§       81% people 35-44

§       54% people 45-54

§       56% people 55+

To add support to this outcome, Millward and Dynamic Logic did another study and found that people were motivated to turn to his/her smartphone or tablet to research brands, apps, websites, social networking pages, etc. by recommendation at a 46% response rate. Television tied for second with brand in-store online at 38%.

Advertisers should take this information and make sure that if television is in the media mix, then the client’s website, social networking sites, mobile sites, etc. need to be aligned with the same message. That way, if a person does research on the brand after seeing a commercial, the rest of the resources will complement the initial introduction.

New Years Resolutions... is there an app?

Well into the third week of the New Year, firm resolutions set on the 1^st may not be as solid now. According to a new study by Prosper Mobile Insights, people are looking to outside help from his/her smartphone to keep resolutions intact.

For example, the survey noted that 24% of men and 30% of women intended to use his/her smartphone or tablet to help keep New Years resolutions. The top three categories/resolutions that people were attempting with their phones were being on time, keeping in touch with people, and budgeting.

eMarketer reports that 2013 may mark the first year in which smartphones make up 50% of the mobile phone market. That being said, experts believe it is likely that more people will become dependent on the devices’ capabilities.

Advertisers can take this information to better reach their audience. For example, if a person is interested in budgeting his/her money better, it may make sense for a bank to sponsor an app that helps track a budget. It’s up to the advertiser to really know the target audience and their behaviors.