Captivating Connections.

a new year worth celebrating.

After a year of doom and gloom, people are ready to put it behind them and move forward (for a night, at least).

"A new survey from American Express reports that many people will reward themselves for paring back on gifts with what it calls 'party driven' spending. Some 69% plan to celebrate with friends or family, and 45% plan to attend parties. And 90% plan to make purchases for the occasion.

Affluent people will spend $750, for example, and young professionals $470, on food, spirits and other festivities. Some 44% of young professionals plan to buy a new outfit to wear to a holiday party, and 24% of affluents and 31% of young professionals say they plan to get either their nails or hair done. Among partygoers, 68% say they will spring for a hostess present, spending an average of $35.

The American Express survey, which included just over 2,000 adults, also finds that people are somewhat more behind on their shopping than usual, with 66% saying they haven't finished yet, and 21% planning to continue their shopping right through the week before Christmas.

Of those, 31% are doing so in order to find better deals, 19% are still saving, 18% are just time-strapped, 11% are planning to use their last paycheck before Christmas, and an impressive 10% are waiting for Christmas to pass by entirely, so they can make out on post-holiday sales."

black friday 2009: more people, less money.

"Americans shopped with a vengeance this Black Friday weekend, with an estimated 195 million piling into stores around the country -- a healthy increase from the 172 million who shopped last year. Trouble is, they didn't buy very much.

A survey released Sunday by the National Retail Federation/ BIGResearch says that despite the increase in traffic, average spending fell to $343.31 per person from $372.57 a year ago. Total spending reached an estimated $41.2 billion, virtually unchanged from the $41 billion spent during last year's holiday weekend. And on Friday itself, consumers scooped up an estimated $10.66 billion worth of goods, reports the Chicago-based ShopperTrak -- an increase of just 0.5% from $10.61 billion last year.

'It just wasn't the start to the holiday season that we were hoping for, and quite frankly, we were downright disappointed, especially given the recent buzz that shoppers might loosen purse strings for holiday gifting,' write Retail Eye partners Lisa Walters and Sapna Shah in its field report. While the duo -- both principals at the New York-based consulting company -- observed steady traffic and buying, 'it's in no way a kickoff to get excited about and doesn't give us the warm fuzzies for how December is going to play out.'"

shopping predictions are a'coming...

It's almost time for Black Friday & Cyber Monday...

....you know what that means...SALES PREDICTIONS!

"A new report predicts thatsales will gain just 1.8% on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The estimate comes from BDO Seidman's 'Retail Compass Survey,' based on a poll of 100 CMOs at leading retailers.

The biggest surprise in the results, says Ted Vaughan, a partner in the retail and consumer product practice, is just how widespread markdowns will be, 'with 96% of the CMOs saying they are going to be discounting. That level of promotion, even after what happened last [year], shows that given the current consumer mindset, retailers believe that deep discounts are just a fact of life, and the way to entice consumers. And when the major player -- Wal-Mart Stores -- is announcing so early in the season that it won't be beat on prices, there's not much else other stores can do.'

Consumer confidence continues to be a big issue, despite positive signs in the economy. (That includes the survey's findings that most retailers believe business will pick up in the second quarter of 2010, which means they will begin to increase their orders for more merchandise soon.) 'The unemployment rate is weighing on consumers,' he says.

The emphasis on early, strategic promotional pricing is forcing retailers to rethink their holiday calendar, making Black Friday (Nov. 27 this year) less of an event, with shopping spread out over a longer period. 'This year, discounts started before Halloween, which means that Black Friday is just one large shopping day,' he tells Marketing Daily. People won't spend more, he says, but they will do their Christmas shopping over a longer period of time."

the treasury goes social.

Now this is a great step, in my humble opinion:

"The Treasury Department opened its doors to economic bloggers this month, and the meeting was productive in at least one respect: as John Jansen of the blog Across the Curve concluded, 'After meeting them, I feel I cannot refer to them as Timothy Geithner and his minions' anymore.

Mr. Geithner, the Treasury secretary, was among the senior officials who talked with bloggers at an outreach session on Nov. 2. The two-hour round table was held on background, meaning that the bloggers could describe the sessions, but not attribute quotes to specific officials. Lengthy posts about financial system reforms — and the bloggers’ disagreements with the Treasury’s strategies — ensued.

New-media scribes have gradually made their way inside most governmental institutions over the years, but the meeting was the first for bloggers at the Treasury. Tyler Cowen, an economics professor at George Mason University who has written at the Marginal Revolution blog for six years, said it was the first time he had heard from any Treasury official.

The meeting 'shows that the Obama administration is working very hard on outreach to a lot of different media sources,' he said."

happy birthday to youuu

(if buy youuu I mean digital advertising)

"Oct. 27 marks the 15th anniversary of the industry's first banner display ads, which appeared on Hotwired.com. To the many of you reading this who weren't in the business back then, that's not a typo; I'm not referring to www.HotWire.com, the travel site, but HotWired -- the first commercial digital magazine on the web and the offshoot of Wired magazine."

so how dark will black friday be?

...It depends on who you ask...

"In some ways, there's something comforting about the way retailers are gearing up for Black Friday, that make-or-break kickoff to the holiday season. Stores like Target are already shoving aisles of Christmas items in between the Halloween costumes. And advertising circulars are already being leaked to deal-finding websites, creating a buzz retailers count on to build traffic.

But there are also signs that this holiday season - the second consecutive year of dreary economics lessons - will be different.

Retailers, for the most part, will consider it a big win if they can sell at least as well as they did last year, Leon Nicholas, director of retail insight at Management Ventures, based in Cambridge, Mass., tells Marketing Daily, 'We don't expect to see as many flashy price points, as more stores have locked in already-low pricing. I don't think we'll have the assortment we've had in the past. And in many ways, Black Friday is becoming more of a cultural event about browsing than buying, with people surfing the web for deals and ideas.'

Stores are encouraging that, Phil Rist EVP/BIGresearch, says, 'by making Black Friday earlier and earlier each year,' with many events and web-only sales starting on Thursday. 'We'll see even more of that this year.' Still, he says, Black Friday matters as much as ever. 'It's always going to be the day for the super deals and the way stores try to get the money early in the season.'

And indeed, many people are shopping earlier. About 69% of shoppers expect to do most of their holiday shopping by Dec. 7, up from 60% in 2008, according to a new survey from Accenture, the consulting company. And more say they plan to shop on 'Black Friday' -- the day after Thanksgiving -- this year (52% vs. 42% in 2008)."

delivery week starts today...

For you NYCers too busy (or, er, lazy) to go get food or cook, check out Delivery Week!

You can get 3-course prix-fix meals from over 100 awesome restaurants for only $12.09 for lunch $20.09 for dinner!

attention nerds.

Comic Con is coming!

mac lovers rich & nerdy?

Well, I know I'm certianly nerdy...

"Mac owners are more likely to be affluent and gadget-oriented, according to a new study by NPD Group. The group's Household Penetration Study found that Mac owners were more likely to have more than one computer in their household--with 66% of the Mac-using survey respondents reporting more than three computers."

is tailgating the new marketing hotspot?

I'm from Balimore, and it still always impresses me when I go home to "Ravenstown" and see the rapid fans (including my friends and family) more or less live their lives (or at least weekends) by how the Ravens do.

Media Life recognizes the power of the tailgate, and has written an article positioning it as the new 'it' marketing spot:

"Now, two weeks into the NFL season, is a great time for marketers to reach out to fans who turn up at stadiums to cheer their teams on, and that doesn't necessarily mean spending huge dollars on signage in the stadium itself.

Another way to reach them, and at far less cost, is before the game starts when they’re tailgating in the stadium parking lot.

And besides cost, there are other advantages to targeting tailgaters. They're largely male, they're in a receptive mood, if not downright joyous in anticipation of seeing their team play, and they're not watching a game, as they would much of the time inside the stadium. They're talking with their buddies.

And the advertiser doesn't have to commit for the whole season. They can do one weekend or several, or all of the home games, and that makes it even more cost efficient.

In a typical tailgate campaign, street teams will be sent in to mingle with fans, talk up the product, and hand out fliers and samples. The advertiser might also hire a plane to tow a message around in the sky.

To find out how to get your client’s message in front of NFL tailgaters, read on."