Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Despite opposition from local physicians and medical groups, retail health clinics have gradually gained market acceptance. About 1,100 retail clinics now operate across the country. The largest operator is MinuteClinic with 41% of the market, closely followed by TakeCare with 31% of the market. A big change in this market during 2009 has been the entrance of clinics operated by hospital systems. These clinics now account for 2% of the total. For the long term, industry analysts expect the number of clinics to reach about 4,000 in 2015 and to ‘top out’ at that point.

It’s the news that 1 in 10 U.S. workers has been waiting to hear for nearly 2 years now. More companies plan to expand their workforces in 2010. Early glimpses of this good news started to appear in August when temporary help agencies reported an uptick in demand. Now, the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Private Company Trendsetter Barometer reveals a new optimism on the part of CEOS in large privately held companies.

The current generation of college students has no shortage of technical gadgets. Most of today’s students arrive on campus fully loaded with laptops, digital cameras, and possibly even smart phones. These connected consumers are always looking to purchase new high-tech toys. Which marketing factors make the most difference in the decision-making process of college students?

Teens form a ready market for sporting goods equipment and apparel. Members of this demographic may be playing sports on school teams or exercising for fitness. And this demographic also possesses its own spending money.

Earlier this week, I highlighted an Aberdeen Research study about the growing importance of data driven marketing. Aberdeen analysts noted that best-in-class marketers make effective use of data by centralizing access to and building processes for transforming information into marketing plans. On the heels of that study, The Boston Consulting Group showed this week that few large companies are effectively using one specific data set – consumer research.

The recession seems to have slowed advertiser interest in sponsoring NASCAR teams and this situation is leading to some industry changes. According to a report in Sports Business Journal, many highly competitive cars and teams have a lot more space available than usual for 2010. To keep from reducing rates, some teams are trying to add more visibility for advertisers.