Special Needs Marketing Pays Big Dividends in Loyalty
If your next marketing piece could attract 53 million people in the United States who collectively enjoy 200 million dollars in buying power, wouldn’t you race to do it? Surprisingly, not very many companies have. I’m talking about the special needs community, an active and vibrant community who does and buys the same things the rest of us do each day.
The special needs market is the largest minority market today, but very few brands have been forward-thinking enough to be associated with it. It’s relatively easily to do. In fact, it’s better to be inclusive of the special needs community without saying anything about it. Retail giant Target found this out recently when they included an adorable little boy with Down Syndrome in one of their sale ads. Target didn’t say anything about him, didn’t put him in a “special” catalog. Instead, they just put him next to other adorable kids. Just one of many children you might see walking down the street on any given day. A normal, accepted – and included – child.
Since 400,000 people have Down Syndrome in the United States, it was a smart move, and one that parents of kids with Down Syndrome noticed.
Twitter wins 2011 Social Media Popularity Contest
In spite of being dwarfed by Facebook’s sheer size, Twitter has been crowned the most popular social network of 2011. That is, if we measure popularity by media coverage. According to Highbrow Research, with the exception of two months (February and April), Twitter consistently edged out Facebook as the most talked about social media platform. Twitter received 50% of the media mentions while Facebook received 45% of the media coverage over the entire year. LinkedIn, MySpace, and Foursquare had to battle for the measly 5% media coverage left. Interestingly, Google + wasn’t even mentioned.
At first glance, it’s almost like David conquering Goliath. Facebook has over 800 million monthly active users to Twitters 100 million. Facebook users share 4 billion status updates every day while Tweets number 250 million. So why is the media talking about Twitter more?
First, Twitter users can be followed by anyone, and their tweets are public. Facebook is more private, allowing users to only share information with people they know. That alone leads to the media being able to follow Twitter easier. Second, Twitter is known for its high profile celebrity users who tweet about their lives prolifically. They announce pregnancies, divorces, and marriages, and all of that is great news fodder.
Who’s the Most Gung Ho About Saving for Retirement? The Answer May Surprise You
A new survey done by the Maritz corporation for Ameritrade in the 3rd quarter of 2011 has found that Gen Y is most likely to be doing all it can to save for retirement, even more so than Gen X, Boomers and Matures.
While 85% of working Americans today have an IRA or 401(k)/403(b) retirement plan, Generation Y (defined as born from 1977-1989 for study purposes) is most rigorous about saving to the best of its ability. The study found that 25% of Generation Y is funding both work sponsored plans and IRAs. That’s compared to 23% of Generation X (born from 1965 to 1976), 16% of Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964), and 9% of Matures (born from 1930 to 1945).
It’s somewhat surprising that Generation Y, known for wanting everything right now, has the foresight to see the importance of saving for something so far in the future as retirement. So what’s behind this trend?
Occupy Protests Show Differences Between Gen X and Gen Y
While the Occupy Wall Street movement doesn’t claim to be a youth movement, you’ve probably seen the youthful faces on the news declaring themselves as part of the 99 percent. Lack of employment opportunities and concern about student loans have spurred many of Generation Y, or Millenials as they are often called, to embrace the Occupy protests. Generation Y was born between 1980 and 1995, and is known for its love of diversity, teamwork, and philanthropy.
A recent article from the Associated Press highlights how many of Generation X are reacting with confusion and rivalry at Generation Y’s involvement in the Occupy movement. Generation X was born between 1965 and 1979. They were the first real children of divorce and daycare, are individulalists and self-reliant, and are known for their skepticism of authority.
So why isn’t the Occupy movement something that both generations embrace?
Generation X also came of age during the recessions of the early 80s and 90s. Rather than stage protests, Gen X’ers just weathered the economic storm and benefited from growth later is those decades. As a result, many X’ers see the Occupy movement as a continuation of Generation Y’s sense of entitlement and whining.
Australians Just as Hooked on Social Media as U.S.
File this one under “And You Thought Your Social Media Addiction was Bad.” A new survey found that 2.8% of Australians surveyed (64% of them men) have accessed social media during a romantic encounter. Of course, one would imagine that grabbing an iPhone to post on social media during said encounter would render it unromantic, but to each his own.
The survey, from Sydney-based marketing agency Tick Yes, surveyed 885 from all parts of Australia about their social media usage. Much of it mirrors what research is finding in the United States:
- Facebook is the most popular social media site in Australia, visited by 85.5% of social media users
- 25.1% use social media for business networking, with men almost twice as likely to network in this way
- Over 20% use social media to connect with brands
- Almost 50% use social media to talk about a new purchase
- 25.5% have used social media to contact a company for customer service or to ask a question
- 48.7% say their social media usage has increased in the last year
Twitter Users Provide Feedback Regarding Black Friday Ads
Big brands used their television ads to generate excitement and enthusiasm about their Black Friday sales. Target, Macy’s, Sears, Kohl’s and Walmart all bought heavily into television to get their message out in the days preceding Black Friday. So did it work? Interestingly, experts are looking to social media, specifically Twitter, to answer that question. Kind of a ready-made focus group, Twitter users weren’t shy about voicing their opinions about the Black Friday ads.
Of course, it’s not enough to get lots of mentions on Twitter. If so, then Kohl’s would have been the winner after being matched with rival Macy’s. According to mediabistro’s All Twitter blog, Kohl’s received 99.7% of the volume of mentions on Twitter to Macy’s .3%. But the overwhelming majority of tweets regarding Kohl’s were negative feedback about their unfortunate use of YouTube singer Rebecca Black’s Friday song as a jingle.
Competitors Target and Walmart were also paired, and Walmart was the overwhelming winner in both volume and positivity of tweets. Walmart mentions were 83.7% compared to Target’s 16.3% in volume.
Investing Heavily in Hispanic Marketing Pays Dividends
A recent study by The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) found a connection between consistent and significant investment of overall marketing dollars in Hispanic marketing and high levels of overall revenue growth.
For study purposes, the top 500 advertisers were grouped into five classes by the percentage of budget they spent on Hispanic advertising ranging from “leaders” (those who allocated between 6.4% and 14.2% of their total marketing budget to Hispanic advertising) to the “in denial” class (those who spent less than 1% of their total marketing budgets on Hispanic marketing). Those who spent at least 14.2% (the percentage of Hispanic US adults) saw their revenue grow faster than those who don’t.
Unfortunately, only 11% of the top 500 advertisers spend from 6.4% to 14.2% on Hispanic marketing, while 57% of the top advertisers spend less than 1% to target Latinos! With census data revealing that Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in America, it seems crazy not to dedicate a healthy percentage of overall advertising budget targeting this young and vibrant group.
Hispanics Reversing Population Decline of Fading Towns
Ask any rural small town councilman what one of their biggest concerns are and most will say it’s keeping their tiny towns alive. More residents are leaving the small town way of life while more residents die than are born each year. Schools consolidate with other small communities or close all together and businesses on main street are boarded up. For generations, rural towns in the Great Plains have been slowly dying.
But a recent article from the New York Times shows a demographic trend gleaned from the 2010 census: Hispanics are breathing new life into some of these towns as they arrive in numbers large enough to stem or offset the decline completely. Hispanic-owned businesses are opening in the shuttered storefronts, and their children are keeping the school system numbers stable.
Of course, there are bound to be growing pains when small towns see a quick influx of outsiders, especially when town residents have been historically white. But councilmen agree that their towns must change or die. Whether or not the strong Hispanic presence will be enough to save the small towns remains to be seen.
At the same time, the marketing implications of this trend are interesting. Diversity marketing means targeting a demograhic in a way that appeals to them emotionally.
Social Media Response Impacts How Quickly Your Brand Recovers
For those of you who have just started to put your brand on social media channels, it may be all likes and giveaways until the first crisis presents itself, and you have to decide when/what/how/if to respond.
A recent blog post from Alterian.com illustrates how you respond to a crisis on social media has a huge impact on how quickly your brand recovers its positive reputation. Alterian spotlighted three companies that each experienced highly-publicized crises: Nestle, Domino’s Pizza, and United Airlines. Each brand experienced a crisis that caused a big spike in negative online mentions, and each saw a drop in positive sentiment toward their brand.
But that’s where the similarities end. Each company handled the crisis differently. Nestle tried to sensor an unflattering Greenpeace video and made matters worse. United Airlines didn’t acknowledge the crisis directly, but gave away a Starbucks gift card on all domestic flights. Domino’s Pizza execs had the most direct response, making an apology video and launching legal action against the offending employees.
Domino’s was the first to recover its formerly positive sentiment online. United also recovered, but it took longer. Nestle took 50% longer to
Census Data Shows Poverty’s Suburban Surge
In the new situation comedy Suburgatory, a father and daughter move to the suburbs from New York City to escape big-city problems and find themselves surprised at the excess, consumerism and materialistic ways of the suburban lifestyle they encounter there. However, an emerging picture from by a recent census data analysis shows a much different view of the ‘burbs.
Since 2000, poverty rates in the suburbs have increased 53%, compared with a 26% increase in the city. Overall, the number of impoverished increased by five million in the suburbs during that time. According to the Brookings Institution, who conducted the analysis, two-thirds of the new suburban poor were added during the recession from 2007 to 2010.
-
Follow Us
-
About the Book
If you could grow your business simply by marketing to your existing customers, making money would be a cakewalk. But to generate new revenue, you have to win over the customers you’re not getting. Who are these mystery customers? How are they different from your current clientele? Most importantly, how do you forge a bond with them across these differences?
-
About the Author
Kelly McDonald
Kelly McDonald is a marketing and advertising expert with more than 20 years of global advertising agency experience.
-
Latest Comment
Alan - Kelly will get in touch with you offline regarding your request. Thanks for reading our blog!
- Read More