According to the updated US Media Owners Advertising Revenue Forecast from MagnaGlobal, due to persistent weakness in the US economy, the 2012 growth forecast is revised down from 4.8% to 2.9%, including P&O, though the 2011 forecast remains unchanged at 1.6% growth, including the impact of political and Olympics advertising. Media suppliers are still expected to generate $173.5 billion of advertising revenues in 2011.

According to a recent release from IgnitionOne, online advertising saw strong spend growth globally in the third quarter, in spite of global economic challenges worldwide, with spend up 10% YOY, excluding Asia. In Q3, total search spend was up 7.2% YOY driven in part by more consumer search activity (impressions up 22%). Europe saw 20% spend growth YOY compared with 7% for the US. Growth in retail, finance and auto was partially offset by modestly lower YOY spends in travel. Retailer spend was particularly strong, growing 22% year-over-year.

According to proprietary research conducted by About.com in collaboration with Latitude, users searching on the Internet exhibit three distinct human behavior search patterns. The Three Mindsets of Search study combined quantitative and qualitative methodologies to explore the search landscape as it pertains to behavior patterns.

According to a 2011 National Marketing and Sales Study recently released by Demandbase and Focus, a company's corporate website is the top source of new sales leads, second only to personal connections and referrals, and more than seven times more effective than social media.

According to A.T. Kearney's Global Maturing Consumer study, falling birthrates and increasing longevity means that, for the rest of this century, the fastest-growing consumer group will be over the age of 60. Manufacturers and retailers will need to adapt their products and sales channels, because mature consumers will represent not only a significant part of their future clientele, but also of their human resources, as retirement ages worldwide start to creep up.

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism and Internet & American Life Project, contrary to much of the conventional understanding of how people learn about their communities, Americans turn to a wide range of platforms to get local news and information. Where they turn varies considerably depending on the subject matter and their age. Most Americans, including more tech-savvy adults under age 40, also use a blend of both new and traditional sources to get their information.

Despite the stock market's double digit drop in the last quarter, ZenithOptimedia is projecting a 2.2% increase in advertising for 2011, up from the agency's 2.1% forecast in July. The report also forecasts a 3.5% increases in both 2012 and 2013.

Results of The Harris Poll in August 2011 by Harris Interactive, shows massive changes over the last two years in how the public perceives twenty-two of the nation's largest industries. The biggest changes since 2009, when the survey was last conducted, are a huge improvement in the number of people who think that the automobile industry is doing a good job of serving consumers and a very large increase in those who give the airline industry bad marks.

According to the Return Path report, "Global Email Deliverability Benchmark Report, 1H 2011," only 81% of all permissioned email from commercial email senders makes it to the inbox. Globally, one out of every five emails is not delivered to the intended recipient, with 7% landing either in a spam or junk folder and 12% simply missing.

According to a recently released comprehensive study by Exact Target, in 2010 consumers could interact with brands on Facebook by becoming a "Fan." In April 2010, Facebook replaced its "Become a Fan" functionality with "Like." In rolling out this change, Facebook provided the following explanation, says the report: "... people will be able to connect with your Page by clicking "Like" rather than "Become a Fan." ... this action will feel much more lightweight... that will increase the number of connections made across the site."