filter by tag: trend

Throw out the old communications models. Consumers are taking back control over their purchasing decisions. Or at least seeking a second opinion.

Before deciding whether to purchase recommended products or services, more than four-out-of-five consumers (81%) will go online to verify those recommendations, even from the most trusted of sources. Increased skepticism of traditional media, technology advancements and growing online connectivity have American consumers turning to online influencers to confirm their opinions prior to making purchase decisions. Heeding this behavior shift, marketers began targeting consumers’ inner circles with word-of-mouth then social media campaigns as the new marketing tipping point for purchase decisions.

Today, these campaigns are no longer enough. Data from the 2010 Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker reveal consumers have added yet another step prior to reaching for the credit card – online verification. Thus, personal recommendations alone are no longer enough to guarantee a purchase, as three-quarters of consumers (77%) agree they are more likely to purchase products or services when they can find additional recommendations about them online. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, online verification is even more vital; 91 percent will go online to verify recommendations before making a purchase and nearly the same number (90%) are more likely to purchase products or services after finding additional online recommendations.

The tone of online information plays a powerful role in the purchase decision, often outweighing the initial recommendation. More than two-thirds of consumers (68%) agree negative product or service information found online can be a mitigating factor in deciding whether to purchase. Conversely, positive information reinforces purchase recommendations for a full 80 percent of Americans.

Online verification may not be required for every product category, but our research shows that there is a wide range of products and services that will be scrutinized via the Internet regardless of price point. Verification is now the deciding factor to drive consumers to that final purchase, and marketers who ignore this behavior shift will miss out on a golden opportunity to influence purchase decisions.

Be sure to check out our fact sheet, and let us know what you think. How often do you go online to confirm purchase recommendations?

Recent changes to Facebook announced at the Facebook developers’ conference have been hot topics in new media marketing and pop culture. The largest issue affecting anyone with a Facebook page – that’s now more than 400 million people – is that of privacy. While this is a relevant issue, the platform’s social developments, the Open Graph, will have a more significant effect on how we all use the Internet.

The Open Graph connects the Internet in ways never conceived. Imagine visiting a website that can access your social profile and customize content based on your likes and interests, as well as those of your friends. These connections are powered by Facebook, and the platform will become the backbone of the social web. It’s what we like to call the Facebook-Powered Internet. Currently, the Open Graph connects Facebook to more than 30 partners, including CNN, ESPN, IMDB and Pandora; however, as the new developments gather momentum, more and more websites will connect with users and Facebook through Open Graph.

The Facebook-Powered Internet will be faster, safer, intuitive and much more social. Users will be able to “travel” with their Facebook profile information, while websites will be able to recognize information about the user to help serve up relevant content. That means no more logging in or setting up accounts for websites, both a speed and security bonus. Content will be easier to find: less searching through large sites to find the exact thing you need, fewer irrelevant news articles and fewer ads that don’t come close to targeting you.

But, not everyone is on board. Facebook is getting pushback from users who fear their privacy is at stake. Facebook bases its changes on what user activity on the Internet has already shown. People want to share their exact location on Foursquare and know what strangers are thinking on Twitter. Even the word “viral” has taken on a completely new meaning today to accommodate the mass sharing that is taking place online.

Marketers and communicators need to understand that the Facebook Open Graph will change how people use the Internet, very drastically and very quickly. Although it is impossible to know exactly how these changes will affect how people receive information, buy products and support causes, marketers should be fostering and growing Facebook Fan Pages to take full advantage of this development. For each “like” that your fan page receives, you make another connection in the Open Graph. These connections are the web that ties together the Facebook-Powered Internet.

As a marketer, are you in a position to take advantage of the Open Graph? What tactics are you using to grow and engage Facebook fans?

The Food Channel recently released its take on the Top Ten Foods of the Decade:

1. Sushi
2. Bacon
3. Cupcakes
4. Sliders
5. Gourmet burgers made with kobe or angus beef
6. Superfruits, such as acaí, pomegranate and blueberry
7. Oils, such as olive oils and truffle oils
8. Whole grains
9. Artisan foods, particularly in breads, cheeses and dark chocolates
10. Coffees and teas

While there may be agreement, or disagreement, with the actual foods named, it’s hard to dispute the fact that it is intriguing to look back over the past 10 years and see all we’ve gone through in the world of food and nutrition. The top foods were influenced by many factors, from the economy to industry to the environment and consumer education. In fact, The Food Channel also identified its own Top Ten Food Influences of the Decade – a list that may be even more interesting than the foods themselves:

1. Organic foods, along with Locavore and community supported agriculture
2. International cuisines
3. Food TV and Internet
4. Food safety
5. The economy and subsequent shift to home cooking
6. Fast casual restaurant concepts
7. Fair trade and artisan concepts in bread, chocolates, cheeses
8. Mobility/social media/Twitter notifications/underground dining
9. Mixology
10. Culinary education
    

Overall, it’s been an interesting – if not monumental – decade in the world of food. The proliferation of media and communication tools in combination with, or resulting in, the increasingly sophisticated American palates have been fascinating to live – and eat – through. As marketing professionals, it’s been exciting to see how food has influenced our society and the food industry. And as dietitians and nutritionists it’s been thrilling to see how food continues to become more entrenched in our lives and personal health. The intersection of this societal impact and greater attention to our health and well-being is hopefully something that will continue to grow and evolve and have a positive effect.

Some trends flagged to be tops for 2010 include increased simplicity, dining in, limiting salt, increasing whole grains, new beverages and carbon footprints. Certainly, all of these trends, and more, are things we must monitor when communicating with consumers and the industry. I’m also curious to see how many will simply be a fleeting fad and how many will stand the test of time and be on the “Top Ten” list of the next decade.

What foods or food influences would be on your top 10 list?

--Peggy O’Shea-Kochenbach, Vice President

There seems to be a trend emerging wherein agencies and clients use new media and Web analytics to catch each other sleeping. It started with the Zappos agency review in July in which one respondent, Ignited, tracked Zappos’ review of its submission and found the company had spent fewer than 15 seconds per page viewing only five of the 25 pages submitted. Right, wrong or otherwise – as usual both sides have their story – the point is that Zappos was “found out” thanks to Google Analytics.

And just yesterday, Marty St. George, senior vice president of marketing and commercial at JetBlue, tweeted the following:

We're pitching our advertising AOR. Curious on digital savvy....first test is how many of the agencies will find me on twitter. #sneaky
10:57 AM Feb 17th from UberTwitter

I would look at these examples as an eye opener for parties on both sides – you better be on top of new media or it’s likely to bite you in the “you-know-what.” The hashtag #sneaky at the end of JetBlue’s tweet gives me a sense of the spirit in which it was done. But, for Ignited, I think it was a legitimate test to see if there was any valuable return on its hours of time invested.

Some follow-up tweets from JetBlue indicate the sneak attack may not have been as fun as initially thought, but it was a great wake-up call to agencies on the types of metrics some clients are beginning to use. No longer should we just view new media as a way to communicate, but realize that they’re also a way to track us, like a bloodhound. Sarbanes-Oxley would be proud – you can run, but you can’t hide.

As someone involved in business development, these tactics initially make me question the authenticity of a relationship we might be about to embark upon. If the client and/or agency is setting up “tests” for us to fail or pass and we don’t even know we’re being tested, it seems sneaky (no hashtag needed) to me – the wrong way to lay the foundation of a trusting relationship. Shouldn’t the quality of our work, the quality of our strategies speak volumes? Isn’t that what they are hiring us for?

The JetBlue example also feels arrogant. But even if I “passed” the test, found the tweet and presumably were as smart as the client, I’d constantly have to wonder what next test was being administered. Would I start to think up some of my own tests to get the upper hand (even if I never told the other party)? Wow, this could get interesting…

‘Tis the season to get skinny…and fast! The mother of all New Year’s resolutions didn’t disappoint in 2010, as “lose weight” tops the list again this year with 22 percent of consumers who made resolutions looking to shed some extra pounds.

Long on top of the weight-loss trend, fast food restaurants haven’t been shy about pushing lower-calorie/less-fat versions of their standard fare. This has been a boon for consumers who don’t want to make drastic changes to eating habits that may already include fast food indulgences. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, fast food diets can actually help some people lose weight, at least in the short term, if the products provide less fat, sugar, sodium and/or fewer calories.

The latest entrant into the fast-food diet wars is Taco Bell, who recently introduced its Drive-Thru Diet, featuring seven “Fresco” menu options with fewer than nine grams of fat. The campaign stars Christine, a woman who lost 54 lbs. in part by switching to Fresco menu items. Marketing is also supported by new media elements, including an online “Frescolution” pledge to eat less and exercise more, a Twitter contest and e-cards to invite friends to take the pledge. Taco Bell even joined forces with the NBA to promote the diet as part of a fit and healthy lifestyle.

The young campaign has already faced some harsh criticism, but by avoiding words like “healthy” or “weight loss,” Taco Bell is in the clear, at least from a legal standpoint. Marketing healthy foods or diets can be fraught with legal and ethical pitfalls. Below are some tips for authentically communicating your foods’ health messages:

1. Provide the facts (even the less desirable ones): Your foods may be low in fat, but are they high in sodium? Let consumers know the whole health-related story. And be sure when using testimonials to provide your consumers with details about dietary and lifestyle habits outside of your diet.
2. Avoid claims that aren’t substantiated with research: You could be opening yourself up to criticism, or even worse, liability if your claims are not founded on legitimate scientific research. Take the time to research your claims before slapping them on a Web site or billboard.
3. Provide context: There’s no official definition of “health food,” so be careful if positioning foods as healthy vs. unhealthy. Instead, be upfront about the foods’ nutritional contents and how they vary from typical offerings.
4. Engage a credible third party: Endorsement by a credible health expert can help communicate the real nutritional value of food offerings and convince skeptical consumers. Have a third-party expert serve as a spokesperson, or at least publicly sign-off on your products and promises, for your marketing campaign.

Your weekly glimpse into the world of new media

Mobile: Starbucks launches an iPhone app and outmaneuvers Dunkin’ by letting you actually pay for coffee with your phone. Mobile barcodes may be the next big marketing trend, as other retailers continue to experiment with them.

Experiential: To promote its Black Pepper Jack and Smoking Cheddar BBQ flavors, Doritos is brining back the Hotel 626 online fright fest – this time as Asylum 626 – to resurrect the retired flavors from the dead.

Social: Fast-casual TGI Friday’s new spokesperson is a lot more likeable than the chain expected. Its new Facebook campaign resulted in 500,000 friends in only six days.

Research: A new report from the e-Tailing Group finds five out of 10 social media tools have been adopted by more than 50 percent of brands and retailers.

Misstep: Google Gmail users were without access to their contacts while the search giant’s email platform suffered another outage.

Our favorite: The Starbucks iPhone app. Some day we’ll be able to run the whole world from our phones.

Does your dog have a better life than you? You buy him the latest designer duds and be-jeweled collars, you take him to the doggie day spa for some R & R, you sign him up for professional massages so he can work out all his stress. Puh-lease!

At a time when the Paris Hiltons of the world are toting their pooches around in Louis Vuitton handbags, Cone client ALPO® brand dog food is saying, “Get real!” It’s time to let dogs be dogs. This back-to-basics trend is building momentum as the economic realities of 2009 have many people calling for an end to gaudy displays of excess and a return to traditional, common sense values – even when it comes to our dogs.

According to an ALPO survey, pet parents are taking a simpler – and wallet-friendlier – approach to life with man’s best friend. When asked when their dog is happiest, 62 percent of owners say it is greeting them when they come home, being taken for a walk or a run (52%), receiving treats (48%), napping on the couch (32%) or chewing a bone (30%).

To celebrate the simple pleasures of just being a dog, ALPO is launching the ALPO Real Dogs Tell It Like It Is Contest. The national contest is searching for real dogs to share their stories about their favorite real dog behaviors, such as rolling in the mud, drooling for dinner or chasing a ball. Up to 20 winning “pawthors” will have their stories published in a first-of-its-kind “how-to” manual to help dogs be dogs.

Whether it's shopping at discount retailers, cooking more meals at home or letting dogs be dogs, consumers are simplifying their lives in an effort to focus on basic necessities. ALPO is leading the trend in the pet care industry allowing consumers to extend the back-to-basics mentality to their four-legged friends.