When consumers first adopted online shopping as a new behavior, the beneficiaries of this new business channel were often well-established vendors such as Amazon. But as technology improved and more consumers made online activity an indispensable part of their daily lives, local vendors have begun advertising online. And according to a new BIA/Kelsey’s User View Wave VII study, more consumers are finding their vendors in the digital universe.

“The Internet has indeed become an integral part of consumers’  local commercial activity,” said Steve Marshall, director of research, BIA/Kelsey. The study reveals that consumers are using more media sources than ever in their search for local goods and services. In 2008, consumers used 5.8 sources. In 2009, that number jumped to 6.5 sources and this year, a typical consumers uses up to 7.9 media sources. Here’s an example of the resources a consumer uses in their quest to locate a local vendor:

• Search engines 90%
• Online Yellow Pages 48%
• Vertical sites 24%
• Comparison shopping sites 42%

Nearly 1 in 5 consumers uses a site’s appointment scheduling feature for services ranging from health care to hair care. Local vendors should keep in mind that these contact points offer an opportunity to increase sales to customers. And as Peter Krasilovsky, vice president and program director, Marketplaces, BIA/Kelsey points out, online services like appointment scheduling allow marketers to connect directly with a client and cut down on the “increase in audience fragmentation” that has resulted from the many online media outlets competing for consumer attention.

[Source: Nearly All Consumers (97%) Now Use Online Media to Shop Locally, According to BIA/Kelsey and ConStat. Bia/Kelsey. 10 Mar 2010. Web.  18 Mar 2010]

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Golf Courses. The following are the predicted Top 5 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

• Golf courses are increasingly working to attract young people to the sport through high school sponsorships.
• Some courses are trying to extend the season by placing heated tents at certain holes.
• Public events, such as weddings, are becoming more common at courses.
• Golf closures continue to be disproportionately public, stand-alone 9-hole facilities or short courses that offer value-priced green fees.
• An overabundance of courses are becoming a challenge, particularly because demand is slowing.

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

[Source: Ad-ology Research. March 18, 2010]

Rob Stecklow, NFL director of advertising, has a vision for football’s licensed products sales and it extends to ‘year-round marketing programs.’  According to a recent article in Sports Business Journal, Stecklow is looking to a  new “Back to Football’ marketing program and the women’s market to achieve his goals. This marks a change from the marketing that has traditionally been done from September through January.

Licensed product manufacturers have long been accustomed to setting up deals with football franchises during the annual NFL Kickoff program. This year, the Back to Football marketing program will coincide with the start of the training camp period in July and will run until the regular season starts in September.

To fuel interest in this new program, football franchises have reached agreements with marketers who will sell a wide range of newly licensed products.  Sales of licensed apparel should climb during the back-to-school period which occurs during the pre-season time.  According to the report, only 15% of licensed apparel sales are  currently linked to women’s products so new products will be introduced to grow that market segment.  Other newly licensed products that target women include Lonaberger baskets and scented candles. For the broader market, Original Mini’s chef coats that contain embroidered logos may be sold as tailgating accessories.

As pro football executives seek to increase their brand across the calendar, look for more marketers to advertise licensed products to core and non-core fans.
[Source: Lefton, Terry. "NFL licensing targets: ‘Back to Football’ and women’s market." Sports Business Journal. 8 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2010]

Despite the slow and uneven recovery in the housing market, builders still support green building strategies. This support continues even though green practices add costs to a project’s price tag. However, the Fourth Annual Green Building Survey by Allen Matkins, Constructive Technologies Group (CTG) and the Green Building Inside finds that while 92.3% of builders are devoting resources to green projects in 2010, only 61.7% seek  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [LEED] certification.

LEED certification was one of the earliest ways for builders to prove they were meeting industry standards. Now, competing programs such as Green Point Rated are being adopted, especially by multi-family housing developers. In addition, fees associated with being certified are seen as an unnecessary expense. Overall, builders say that achieving Gold level LEED certification adds over 4% to the cost of new construction and renovating existing buildings.

But builders remain committed to the green construction process because it can “save energy and other operating costs.” And 88% of these professionals  say they are likely to continue incorporating energy-saving elements in the future.

Nearly 1 in 3 builders reports seeing more ‘green leasing’ – ‘a lease for a green building space that promotes construction and operational strate­gies that ensure money saving energy efficiency and conservation.’

As the economy improves, look for more builders to promote their new projects as being green.

[Source: 4^th Annual Green Building Survey. Allen Matkins release. February 2010. Web. 18 March 2010]