Small, Very Small, But Growing Apparently office-bound workers are turning off their transistor radios and logging on to radio sites. MeasureCast, a Web measurement firm, reports that Net radio has enjoyed a 60 percent increase in listener hours since January 2001, and an 8 percent increase since the same period from the previous week. Although online radio ad revenue is reportedly down, listeners don't seem to be following suit. Other facts from this week's report: - 85% of all listening occurred between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. PST (8 a.m.and 8 p.m. EST) - The peak listening hour …

All The Stage Is A World Since marketers spend more than $450 billion per year on global efforts to reach consumers, the need to better understand what affects consumer decisions continues to increase. In a powerful new research by Roper Starch Worldwide, carried in the current issue of American Demographics, an interesting model has been detailed that includes the relationship between personal values and consumer behavior. Roper's model of the 3Dimensional consumer holds that three main factors drive consumer behavior: nationality, lifestage, and values. With few exceptions, nationality--encompassing people's social, economic, and cultural environment --has been and remains …

Leading Indicators? SharperMedia reports that, according to Publishers Information Bureau, total magazine advertising for the month of February totaled about $1.2 billion, a relatively small 0.3% decline from last year, The PIB reported that advertising pages for February totaled 18,611, down 9.7% from last year. Year-to-date, advertising revenue continued to rise, with a 1.5% increase to $2.16 billion, while ad pages were 33,777, down 6.3% over last year. They go on to point out that seven of the 13 major advertising categories showed positive dollar growth this February: food & food products; drugs & remedies; toiletries & …

History Repeats Greenfield Online's latest Digital Consumer Shopping Index, released on 3/20, shows that for 10 consecutive quarters (ending in December, 2000) more than 60% of U.S. online consumers have made at least one purchase on the Web within a previous 90-day period. Comparisons of Online Purchasing Purchased Something 4Q 2000 - 72% 4Q1999 - 69% 4Q 1998 - 65% Women purchase online at a slightly higher rate than men (73% vs. 71%). Those with household incomes of $50,000 and above are more likely to purchase online (81%) than consumers with household incomes under $50,000 (64%). …

We Have Met "E" And It’s Us! An American Demographic story recently reports that, when Forrester Research classified North Americans three years ago by their affinity for technology, the vast majority of Internet users fell into just one of 10 consumer segments, rendering the analysis worthless. "All the Internet fans came from the same group of high-income, career-minded consumers," says James McQuivey, Forrester's research director in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Today, Internet users are found in all of Forrester's "technographic" types. Acording to ZDNet: - Their average age is 39 years, and rising. - 38 % hold a college degree, …

Confirmation Is Reassuring A new study conducted by PhaseOne Communications in conjunction with the Advertising Council, New York, describes a four-component pyramid model, providing a set of standards and effective practices for the design of banner advertisements. The study, "Secrets of Highly Clickable Banners," concludes that a banner ad that adheres to these four significant components will experience a much higher incidence of user click-through: - drawing the eye - engaging the mind - creating a desire for more - facilitating action In order to encourage a viewer to click on an ad banner …

Looking, But Not Touching According to a recently released report by Ipsos-Reid, 54% of online young people surveyed around the globe report using the Internet to gather information about products and services. The study, The Face of the Web: Youth, says however, only 27 % are buying online. Window and comparison shopping is commonplace in the well-developed Internet youth markets in North America and Europe. Online browsers are: - urban Brazilians 84% - Netherlands 64% - Sweden 64% - U.S. 60% - Germany 59% - Italy 58% - Canada 57% Actual buying, among young shoppers, though: - …

Look Before You Leap Boldfish, Inc. has recently released some suggestions for e-mail campaign testing before an extensive rollout. Though this isn’t new to creative and planners, buyers are frequently asked to select lists (or space) without a complete perspective of the audience. Testing such as this would not only impact the message, but suggest appropriate demographic and psychographic targets and splits as well. Boldfish presents the following suggestions for the various parts of the message that can be tested, with response in as little as 48 hours. Offer - The "call to action" may deliver …

'wassup? Greenfield.com recently released (on their e-mail service: Fact of the Week) a survey of 1,000 teens asked about their attitudes on shopping, sports and lifestyles which revealed surprising changes in trends. Because it's a fickle, fad driven market, information effecting target buys and messages can't be too soon! Among these respondents, organized team sports were ranked as "in" by 73% of teens; 84% said that cigarette smoking is no longer a desirable behavior; cable wrestling programs, urban apparel and footwear brands, as well as major league sports are now considered "out." 58% of male teens said that …

Teach 'em or Reach 'em For those targeting corporate procurement managers, here's a "heads-up" from a new study by Jupiter Research/Media Metrix. The report indicates that nearly half of those surveyed expected to do less than 20% of their procurement online for at least the next two years, and "see so little advantage in moving online." Even those who were once bullish on the new economy expected businesses to hesitate in moving their corporate purchasing operations online, regardless of the promises of cost savings. Jupiter reports that the some of the reasons for the hesitation are: - …