Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

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

* An increasing number of remodelers are involved in home modification work relating to aging-in-place. Planning for aging-in-place remodeling/renovation has increased 10% in the past three years, and 75% of remodelers report an increase in requests for aging in place projects.
* There is also expected to be increased demand from the rental market. The average age of U.S. rentals is 36 years and there has been little investment in rental stock, which is expected to spur the need for renovation/updates.
* Demand for home weatherization is predicted to grow as consumers increasingly seek to save money and energy. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that, on average, weatherization reduces heating bills by 32% and overall energy bills by about $350 per year at current prices.

Few people will argue that consumers are spending more time than ever engaged with media. The total media time for consumers, on average, has reached 3,532 hours, annually. And as the hours have increased, the types of media used by many consumers have changed. But Veronis Suhler Stevenson analysts believe many companies in the media industry have not kept up with the pace of these changes.

As consumers spend more time online and interacting with their friends through social networks, a related industry is growing quickly and generating revenue for savvy marketers. It’s all about virtual goods. When consumers are playing online games or posting updates to their personal pages, they present a ready market. Operators such as Zynga are selling real-world pre-paid game cards that players can use to customize their online places. And then there’s always the option to buy an e-birthday greeting or e-flowers for friends. Analysts note that this industry was worth $1.6 billion in 2009.

Consumers are getting used to seeing digital video in public places. But exactly how many people are watching these videos? And how does place-based video compare with the reach of other media formats. Marketers need answers to these questions to help them shape future future media allocation plans.

Last month, I highlighted how retail health clinics can increase patient loads by promoting both excellence of care and lower costs. The most recent Survey of Health from Deloitte indicates that retail health clinics are gaining acceptance by consumers – especially when they are seeking primary care services. About 15% of all consumers have visited a retail health clinic this year which is about 2% higher than the findings showed last year.

Business travel may still be struggling but that’s good news for the video market. Business spending on both video equipment and services grew at nearly 15% in 2009. According to an Interactive Media Strategies report, businesses shelled out over $531 million in this sector last year. Analysts are looking for even better growth rates, 24%, for online business video tools and services in 2010. The industry could see total revenue of nearly $657 million this year.