Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

According to new research by marketing agency Smarty Pants, children ages 6-12 gravitate towards iconic, familiar, inclusive, and parent- approved brands. Cross-generational appeal is important as kids want their parents’ approval and parents want their kids to be happy. Affordability is also a top 10 driver of kid affinity since it “increases the likelihood you can buy it with your own money or your mom will buy it for you.”

The Muslim population in the U.S. is estimated to be somewhere between 4 and 8 million individuals. According to the U.S. State Department, about ¾’s of these Muslims are African American. Considered to be the fastest-growing religious group in this country, the number of Muslims will exceed the number of Jewish people in the U.S. by next year. In addition to expanding their vocabulary and learning more about Muslim holidays, marketers will need to find effective ways to tap into the buying power of this market which now hovers at around $170 billion.

Until recently, smartphones had been viewed as the tech toys belonging to those consumers lucky enough to work for generous employers. The recession has definitely taken its toll on the growth rate of smartphone sales. However, Infonetics Research predicts that the number of units sold in 2009 will increase, worldwide, by 14.5% over 2008 levels. In addition, Infonetics Research analyst Richard Webb notes that “smartphone sales will easily outstrip the combined revenue of standard mobile phones by 2012.”

According to a new study by iCrossing, brands are not engaging users as they should. Significant opportunities exist for brands to improve their awareness of the networks where their customers spend time, realign infrastructure and processes to be more agile in their ability to interact with customers and increase the quality and quantity of the actions they take with those customers to create greater intimacy. “Brands know they need to connect with consumers across new media channels, but the brutal fact is few are doing it well,” said Adam Lavelle, chief strategy officer, iCrossing.

According to a new report from The Hartman Group and Packaged Facts, household cleaning products with a sustainable side have begun to enter the American mainstream. Formerly, the act of cleaning was a form of “germ warfare,” and entailed a combative relationship between consumers and their environment. Recently, however, more and more consumers talk about the idea of working with nature, not against it, to naturally restore balance to their home environment. As with the food and beverage and personal care categories, consumers have become increasingly aware of the potentially harmful effects of artificial and chemical-based products on personal health as well as environmental safety.

As consumers keep a tight rein on their personal gift giving budgets this year, there’s another sector where spending will be flat to lower – gift giving by businesses. The American Express OPEN Small Business Holiday Monitor survey indicates that about half of small businesses will hand out customer holiday-related gifts. The average business will spend about $455 on these gifts, just $2 less than last year.