Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for TV/Electronics Stores. The following are the predicted Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

• HDTVs are poised for large growth: While 65% of U.S. homes have HDTVs (compared to 13% in 2009),  more homes are now purchasing HDTVs as secondary sets.
• Advertisers should take note of consumers’ interest in online shopping for electronics: Approximately 49% of consumers shop for electronics via the Internet, an 8% increase from 2005.
• A future opportunity for these retailers is demand for 3D TVs: 25% of U.S. online adults plan to buy a 3DTV within three years.

The Industry Marketing Insights report for TV/Electronics Stores is available on Ad-ology.com (Research Store) for $195 USD with local market data for any U.S. market.

[Source: Ad-ology Research. September 1,  2010]

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools. The following are the predicted Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

• Traditionally, colleges and universities target the young adult population. However they also extend programs to adult learners through continuing education and online programs. These programs are expected to expand after 2010, which is when the demographic dip in the number of traditional college-age students will occur.
• Increases among first-time full-time enrollment in colleges/universities/trade schools in 2008 Hispanics (+15%).
• Only about 38% of veterans used education benefits in 2007-08, but that is expected to increase due to the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 that went into effect in August 2009.

The Industry Marketing Insights report for Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools is available on Ad-ology.com (Research Store) for $195 USD with local market data for any U.S. market.

[Source: Ad-ology Research. July 27, 2010]

As consumers continue to shift their attention to new media and as more outlets become available, marketers have expressed concern about dilution of ad effectiveness. After all, how much media can a consumer engage with on a daily basis? Studies that measure effectiveness and dilution often neglect to account for a key fact: Today’s consumers are more likely to multi-task than ever before. As they multi-task, their overall exposure to marketing campaigns increases. L.E.K. Consulting just released a study that outlines key opportunities to consider in the new media market as advertisers try to grab attention.

• Online video – Over 1/3 of consumers indicated a willingness to pay an extra fee to access cable content either online or via mobile phones.
• E-readers – Nearly half of consumers who own e-readers say they are reading more books and magazines because they have these devices.
• Multi-tasking while online – About 1/3 of consumer time spent in front of the TV is also spent online. In addition, 19% of online time is spent listening to music from other devices and 11% is spent on the phone.
• Internet radio – This medium continues to grow. Of people who listen to the radio, about 1 in 3 listen to Internet radio and the time spent on a weekly basis averages out to 5.8 hours per user.

The study also confirmed that consumers are spending less time reading newspapers. However, consumers are not giving up all of their flat-fee subscription-based entertainment. Despite the recession, more consumers spent time watching cable TV and going online. As L.E.K. analysts point out, both of these activities require subscriptions.

In general, consumers are spending more time with media overall. The most important message from this study seems to be that marketers must tap into media streams where consumers are beginning to shift their attention. For the immediate future, the media forms growing in popularity seem to be e-readers and Internet radio. In addition, spreading a marketing message among several types of media increases the likelihood that consumers will see the ad in one format or another.

[Source: Hidden opportunities in New Media: Opportunities Uncovered and Myths Debunked, L.E.K. release, January 2010]

According to a new study for Glassesshop from EnjoyVisionLife, wearing a pair of glasses not only can make young people more stylish, it can make them look smarter. On average, two thirds of the participating children said they thought that kids wearing glasses looked smarter than kids do not wear glasses. 57% of the participants said they thought kids with glasses appeared to be more honest. Both kids with and without glasses thought kids who wear glasses looked smarter.

For the study, Walline and his colleagues assembled a series of 24 pairs of pictures of children for comparison. The children in each pair differed by gender and ethnicity, and each pair included one child with glasses and one child without glasses.

The questionnaire featured six questions, many based on similar studies in adults. When presented with each pair of photos, the participants were asked which of the two children pictured would you rather play with; looks smarter or looks better at playing sports; do you think which is better looking, looks more shy or looks more honest?

Children between the ages of 6 and 10 who were surveyed for the study think that kids wearing glasses look more honest than children who don’t wear glasses. Otherwise, the survey suggests that children don’t tend to judge the attractiveness of their peers who wear glasses when ask about their appearance, potential as a playmate or likely athletic abilities.

Walline says the findings suggest that media portrayals associating spectacles with intelligence may be reinforcing a stereotype that even young children accept. The fact that the question of attractiveness yielded no significantly different answers for children with or without glasses suggests that kids don’t automatically consider kids with glasses to be unattractive, Walline says.

Eighty young children, 42 girls and 38 boys, were surveyed. Of those, 38% wore glasses, 34 had at least one sibling with glasses and almost two-thirds had at least one parent who wore glasses.

“The concern about attractiveness with glasses seems to be more internal to a particular child rather than an indicator of how they’ll feel about other people who wear glasses,” Walline says.

“Kids Think Eyelgasses Make Them Look Smart,” study conducted by Glassesshop, January 4, 2010.  Website: www.enjoyvisionlife.org.