Wealthy Women Flex Financial Muscles

Married wealthy women make almost two-thirds (64 percent) of a family's purchase decisions on average, according to a Luxury Institute survey of women from households with $150,000 or more in annual income, MarketingCharts writes. "Winning over wealthy women is a do-or-die proposition for companies in industries as varied as travel, healthcare, financial services and home […]

Posted: Thursday, May 15th, 2008

Most Gay-Friendly Brands: Bravo, Apple, Showtime, HBO, Absolut, Levi's

Bravo, Apple, Showtime, HBO, Absolut and Levi's are the gay-friendliest brands. In contrast, Wal-Mart, Dunkin' Donuts, Cracker Barrel, Exxon Mobil and Samsung are the least gay-friendly, according to (pdf) the 2008 Prime Access/PlanetOut Gay and Lesbian Consumer Study, MarketingCharts reports. Two-thirds (68 percent) of gay and lesbian consumers say they are more likely to buy from […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

DVR Owners - Moms Especially - Still Don't Pay Attention to Ads

DVR owners say they generally ignore commercials on TV and the web, but tend to watch more TV than viewers on average. American mothers may be the biggest ad-skippers, according to a couple of new surveys, MarketingCharts writes (via Adweek). About 35 percent of DVR owners say they at least occasionally pay attention to ads on […]

Posted: Tuesday, May 13th, 2008

Photo Retoucher Defends Integrity of Dove 'Real Beauty' Campaign

A quote from a photo retoucher for Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty has generated questions about how "real" any of the beauties actually were. In the May 12 issue of the New Yorker, Pascal Dangin — photo retoucher for Annie Leibovitz, who created the Real Beauty ads for Dove and Ogilvy — said this with regard […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 2008

As Boomers Retire, Lack of Specialized Medical Care Becomes a Concern

The vast majority of Boomers say it is important that their physician have specialized training in dealing with older patients, but a majority say they cannot find such a doctor, according to the first annual Senior Health Index from American System for Advancing Senior Health, writes MarketingCharts. Nearly nine in 10 women (88 percent) consider […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 2008

NBCU Debuts Multi-Platform Women's Network, Props Zalaznick Up Top

Lauren Zalaznick has been made president of women and lifestyle entertainment at NBCU. Properties under her jurisdiction include iVillage, Oxygen and TV show The Biggest Loser. News of her promotion occurred in tangent with the creation of Women@NBC. This division will consist of all female-targeting efforts at NBCU. Women@NBC is a single interaction point where advertisers can […]

Posted: Thursday, May 8th, 2008

Mother's Day 2008: Men Will Spend More Than Women

Men plan to spend more than women this Mother's Day, with an anticipated average "spend" of $170 compared with women's $110, according to a Brand Keys survey, writes MarketingCharts. The survey, part of the Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, asked 1,200 men and women (age 18-65) how they planned to celebrate Mother's Day. Higher gas prices and subsequently […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

More Women Than Men on Social Networks, Have More Friends Than Men Do

More women are on social networks and on average have slightly more "friends" than do men, even though men tend to be more focused on acquiring "friends" than building relationships with them, according to a Rapleaf study of 30.74 million social networkers, MarketingCharts writes. Rapleaf examined the number of friends that men and women have […]

Posted: Monday, May 5th, 2008

Lackluster Teen Spend Indicates 'Discretionary Recession'

Though fashion still accounts for 41 percent of the total teen budget, teen spend in the category declined nearly 20 percent year over year, pointing to a "discretionary recession," according to the 15th semi-annual "Taking Stock With Teens" study by Piper Jaffray, MarketingCharts reports. "We're currently in the 'transition phase' of the fashion cycle and […]

Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2008

Wii Are Family — Kids Benefit from Social Gaming, Say UK Parents

UK parents say social gaming platforms like the Nintendo Wii have a positive influence in their homes: facilitating peer bonding and encouraging children exercise, according to a new TNS Technology survey, MarketingCharts writes. Below, some results from the study: Social gaming promotes bonding among kids - 52 percent of all users and 64 percent of parents […]

Posted: Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Gays, Lesbians More Receptive to Blog Ads than Heterosexuals

Online gay and lesbian adults read more blogs than heterosexuals — 51 percent vs. 36 percent — and are more receptive to blog advertising, according to an online national survey by Harris Interactive and Witeck-Combs Communications, writes MarketingCharts. A similar question on blog readership was asked in November 2006, when 32 percent of gay and […]

Posted: Monday, April 28th, 2008

Financial Strain on Family Life Tops Issues Most Crucial to Women

Women and their families experience tremendous financial pressure on issues ranging from housing, to credit card debt, to healthcare. As a result, family women are concerned about long-term financial security, according to a Meredith Corporation/NBC Universal survey, writes MarketingCharts. The "What do Women Want?" survey included 3,000 women and covered a range of topics important to […]

Posted: Monday, April 28th, 2008

Gannett, Meredith Tap Ripple6 to Build Indie Music, Recipe Communities

Social network technology provider Ripple6 has found two new customers in publishers Gannett and and Meredith. Gannett shall use Ripple6 to build a community for supporting local, independent and unsigned bands. Users can vote on which songs they want to hear on the radio. Existing websites with a similar ethos include IndieSolo, which launched late last […]

Posted: Monday, April 28th, 2008

Mother's Day Gift Spending: This Year, Less is More… Common

84 percent of US consumers will celebrate Mother's Day, but most will scale back on number of gifts and instead purchase one major gift. Participating consumers will spend $138.63 ($0.51 less than last year) on average, according to the National Retail Federation, MarketingCharts writes. "Mom has been saying for decades that it's the thought that counts […]

Posted: Monday, April 28th, 2008

AtomicOnline Buys theFashionSpot, Aims to Launch Fashion Community

AtomicOnline is building a fashion-centric community hub, following its purchase of theFashionSpot, an online fashion destination for young women, earlier this year. theFashionSpot debuted in July '01 as an invitation-only site where would-be "fashionistas" could critique designer collections. It serves 70,000 registered members and one million unique visitors per month. AtomicOnline aspires to expedite theFashionSpot's growth and […]

Posted: Thursday, April 24th, 2008

WOM Research: Moms Buzz about Brands

New and expecting mothers have over 109 word-of-mouth conversations per week about products, services and brands. Most brands are discussed in a positive context and are considered highly credible by other moms, according to a Keller Fay study conducted for BabyCenter, MarketingCharts writes. Per day, the group engages in one-third more word-of-mouth (WOM) conversation than the […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

Profiles, Usage Patterns of US Internet Visitors Analyzed

US at-home and at-work internet users - numbering some 221 million - logged an average of 60 sessions/visits each (up 3.5% from February) and spent an average of 19 hours and 42 minutes online at their PCs (up 3.2%), according to data (pdf) from Nielsen Online. Nielsen's March data on US internet usage among all users: The number […]

Posted: Thursday, April 17th, 2008

TheFind Brings Shopping Search to Elle.com

TheFind, a search engine that powers query results in lifestyle and green online shopping sites, has won the business of lady-mag destination Elle.com. TheFind will help Elle.com users more efficiently locate items across categories like clothing, accessories and makeup. "By allowing editors to link consumers directly to the products that match the ELLE experience, we are taking […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

SheKnows Brings Daily Dish to the Fore

Women's site SheKnows.com is introducing Daily Dish, a daily video show that caters to the same audience, according to a company release. Daily Dish will cover the same breadth of topics as SheKnows' other sites, including LovingYou, PregnancyandBaby.com and RealityTVMagazine. Each episode will run for three to five minutes in length and be tied to other […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

Influential Online Hispanic Consumers: Super 'E-fluentials'

Influential online consumers ("e-fluentials") among Hispanics use the internet to connect with friends and family, as well as share views about products and brands — often in higher proportions than other e-fluentials, according to a Burson-Marsteller study, writes MarketingCharts. Below are key findings from the study. Online Interaction High "Hispanic-fluentials" spend more time interacting with others online […]

Posted: Thursday, April 3rd, 2008