Captivating Connections.

online spending is going up. so too are consumer demands.

According to eMarketer, 70% of all Internet users ages 14 and up bought something online in 2011, as eCommerce accounted for 6.6% of retail sales. However, that number is destined to go up, as consumers increase the number of shopping-enabled devices and up their confidence in shopping via desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.

So what do these shoppers want? According to AdWeek:

"As people increasingly shop across channels, they're expecting more from retailers. Most of all, shoppers want consistency in salespeople's knowledge of products; the ability to check availability of products in their local store before going to shop; and the ability for salespeople to check inventory at another store and have items delivered from there."

If predictions hold true, online shopping could represent 20% of total retail sales over the next decade. Check out AdWeek's infographic breakdown of the details here.

when will marketers recognize we need to market to PARENTS, not just mom or dad?

Listen, I get it: Moms rock. They're awesome. But so are dads. For reals!

In a world where the average family structure is changing and the roles people play vascilate, it's important to recognize that PARENTS run the family household, not just a mom or a dad. Sometimes if you only speak to moms, you make dad feel left out. And if you only speak to dads, moms feel like you're ignoring them.

So what's wrong with talking to parents as...wait for it...PARENTS!

According to work done Edelman and The Parenting Group, dads are social media monsters, too. In fact, "fathers—particularly first-time fathers—are engaging in the same types of social media activities that new moms enjoy...42% of new US dads who use social networks write family-related status updates on a daily basis. It further found that 56% of new dads post family photos at least a few times a week, while 21% post family-related videos."

Some dads are even 'beating' moms: "There was even one area in which dads were actually ahead of their female counterparts: Millennial dads have more online friends than millennial moms. These dads reported an average of 96 online friends, while moms averaged only 70."

So how do you appraoch this dads? I like how Mark Wildman, vice president and group publisher of magazine and digital media company The Parenting Group, sums it up. He points out that, as a dad himself, “I don’t just view myself as a provider. The nurturing, the cooking, the food buying—I am doing it in partnership with my wife.”

What do my parent readers think about this?

ladies, who is your favorite celeb spokesperson?

Brands often put a lot of emphasis into their celebrity spokesperson, especially since there's a lot of risk involved when you choose to have a high-profile person represent your brand.

According to a new analysis from Women at NBCU’s Brand Power Index, it's not about finding the person who perfectly fits your brand anymore; it's about finding that person who is irrevelent and catches someone's attention, an unexpected mashup.

As Melissa Lavigne-Delville, VP/ insights for NBCUniversal Integrated Media, explains, "Unexpectedness is resonating with women. The biggest movers this quarter were brands with a surprising celebrity spokesperson, like rock legend Bon Jovi for Advil. It was this unusual pairing of celebrity and brand that gained the most traction among women.”

Check out the brands that made big moves up the Brand Power Index, using spokespeople:

• Kinect for Xbox 360 used a handful of different famous faces, including musician Selena Gomez, actor David Hasselhoff (who makes appearances in both a chicken suit and cheerleading outfit) and Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster, with an assist from Elmo. The brand leapt 119 notches up the 500-brand index.

• Minute Maid jumped 121 spots on the index, powered by Ty Burrell, who plays the hapless husband Phil Dunphy on “Modern Family.” (In the spots, he loses a stare-down competition with a navel orange.)

• Retailer The Gap rose 49 spots, using YouTube’s 11-year-old star, Maria Aragon, in its holiday commercial, “I Want Candy.” (The tween’s cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” has over 47 million hits.)

Ladies, who is your favorite celeb spokesperson?

does (screen) size matter?

According to Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB), when it comes to content, consumers aren't so picky about their screen size. This is quite different from research we have seen the past few years, which note that consumers have been increasing their comfort around different sized screens but still had their preferences.

CMB found that "58% of people who viewed programming on a tablet did so in their homes -- and of these, 63% did so even though the program they were watching was available on their televisions." Meanwhile, while "74% of consumers ages 16-29 had watched programming online, 39% of consumers 50-75 had also watched a television program or movie online. And their preferred method of watching such programming is either through a network Web site (27%) or Netflix (24%). Only 12% of consumers said they watched through their TV provider’s Web portal (such as Comcast’s Xfinity.com)."

What does this mean? Peter Fondulas, founder of Fondulas Strategic Research, which worked on the project with CMB, explains that “the big media companies have been comforted in this notion that the biggest available screen is always going to win in any situation. That may have been true a while ago, but people have become more open to devices and may even prefer [smaller screens] in some situations.”

What do you think?

cartoons aren't only for kids; they're for lipstick (and nail polish too!).

There's an interesting trend emerging in the cosmetics category, with cartoon charachters adorning the packaging of cosmetics. This seems to be inspired (and driven) by a few things:

1. In crappy economic times women turn to makeup as a cheap pick-me-up that makes them feel better.

2. Wrapped (literally) in that splurge is the desire for physical beauty, which can be manifested in pretty packaging.

3. When the package itself projects a sense of excitement, beauty, and whimsey, the outside is almost as important as the inside!

MAC is a great example is the trend: "The brand introduced the Wonder Woman collection, with oversize compacts and lipglosses, last February; an online-only Miss Piggy collection the following November; a Venomous Villains collection in September 2010 (featuring some evil Disney characters like Cruella De Vil); and a Hello Kitty collection, with sleek black and pink packaging, in 2009."

What do you think? Is it nostalgia? Novelty? What do you think?

apparently ladies DO run the world (of purchase decisions).

There are a few key targets marketers and advertisers have always aimed for, knowing that they influence key purchase decisions. You've read about the 'pester power' of kids and how women are the 'household CEOs'.

Fleishman-Hillard International and Hearst Magazines proves this later point with a new study, finding that "54% of American women believe it’s their responsibility to help their friends and family make smart purchase decisions, and a similar number said they regularly influence friends and family to buy or not buy a product or service. When the first study was conducted in 2008, only 31% felt they regularly influenced those decisions." 

That's some big percentages and big potential spending. As a lady, what's cool to see is women helping each other out; "According to the survey, a third of women (33%) have recommended a product or service in the past six months. Only 19% said they recommended someone not buy specific product or service."

For those digitally involved, it won't surprise you that social media is really driving connectivity and decision making. "In the past year, the number of brands a woman follows on Facebook has increased 12%. (And 65% of women are a friend or fan of a company, compared with 52% of men.) At the same time, 73% of women use Facebook, compared with 65% in 2010."

Ladies, can you relate?

what you should already know about advertising to Gen Y.

According to new research by comScore, there's an interesting dynamic between Gen Ys and TV advertising. comScore claims that "young people have always tuned out TV ads more than others...which has research on the subject dating five decades thanks to its 2010 acquisition of ARSgroup. The gap between younger and older, however, largely disappears when it comes to digital ads."

Interesting.

So what else did they find?

- Gen Y don't respond to TV ads as much as their elders.

- Gen Y are about as responsive to digital ads as other generations.

- Gen Y respond to the same advertising approaches as prior generations.

- Gen Y  are more engaged in all kinds of media than older folks. 

- Gen Y may respond less to TV ads, but at least they remember them longer.

sometimes (brand) love just isn't enough.

When it comes to brands and social media, it's not just about love. It's about having a relationship where your love is constantly put to the test and proven (this may or may not sound like a relationship you or someone you know has/had).

According to Fathom Analytics' n"Relationship Quality Index," "the top-rated brands on Facebook tend to be the ones with the most likes...But because of other factors, such as engagement and emotion, those brands don't fall in precise order of fan counts."

What does this mean? Let's see it in an example:

"Starbucks, even though it trails Coca-Cola by 10 million fans, is behind only by one point -- 87 to 86 -- in RQI, thanks to superior engagement and sentiment for the company. Likewise, the java giant beats Disney by two points -- 86 to 84 -- even though it trails by about 3 million fans. Further down the ranking, Kohl's (6 million fans) comes in at a respectable 31st on the list with a 77 RQI, thanks largely to coming in first among all brands on Facebook in fan emotional sentiment. Kohl's actually over-indexes on all emotional scales compared to other brands on Facebook -- including frustration and hate, too -- but fans show it the love by a significant margin."

are you a (facebook) quitter?

Facebook is quite obviously the world's largest social network, and is getting ready for a public offering (as you probably have been reading). However, in the U.S. growth on the network is slowing down, and the U.S. isn't contibuting to the 800 million active users globalling and 200 million U.S. users. With about 1/3rd of the U.S. population not on Facebook yet, what's up? Why do "some people, even on the younger end of the age spectrum, just refuse to participate, including people who have given it a try"?

According to the NYTimes, "One of Facebook’s main selling points is that it builds closer ties among friends and colleagues. But some who steer clear of the site say it can have the opposite effect of making them feel more, not less, alienated."

Other "holdouts mention concerns about privacy," while "those who study social networking say this issue boils down to trust. Amanda Lenhart, who directs research on teenagers, children and families at the Pew Internet and American Life Project, said that people who use Facebook tend to have 'a general sense of trust in others and trust in institutions.' She added: 'Some people make the decision not to use it because they are afraid of what might happen.'

What do you think? What would make you quit Facebook (if you haven't already)?

consumers are savvier than ever (alleviating me of my high school shame).

In high school, I remember buying this really cute tank top at Target. Full disclosure: said tank top was purchased because I had spilled a frozen caramel machiatto on myself while driving to my friends house, and, while this isn't unusual for me, I didn't have anything else to change into. I got a lot of compliments on that tank top, but, I distinctly remember awkwardly changing the subject when asked where it was from. While I thought it was a STEAL at $10 for something that garnered so much attention, I was embarrased it wasn't from Nordstroms or Express (or something more respectable in those days).

This, my friends, was before the days of "Tar-jaaaaaaay" and before it was cool to get something at a great price or on sae. Now, it's pretty much a badge of honor to say you snagged something at a thrift shop, Gilt Groupe, or that it was "totally 30% off of the 60% off and I had a coupon!"

This isn't just for apparel. According to the American Pantry Study, a Deloitte and Harrison Group, consumers are savvier than ever before, and that they "expect discounts, shop for deals, know when the deals are and like (some) private-label brands just fine."

Here's some stats:

- 80% of shoppers like to see how much money they can save via coupon use or shopper loyalty cards

- 69% are disappointed when they discover that a brand recently purchased is on sale at another store

- About 50% of the items consumers buy on stock-up trips are sale items, and about a third estimate that 70% of the items they bought on those trips were deals

- 62% said that have a good idea when products they want to buy will be on sale

- 90% said they are becoming more precise in what they buy

- 80% said they have become more efficient at getting in and out of the store

- 87% of respondents cited several store brands that they think are just as good as national brands when it comes to saving money without giving up quality

- 90% said they have already figured out which store brands and private labels work for their families

So what's the bottom line for CPG brands (and brands in other industries as well)? According to Pat Conroy, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and consumer products sector leader, “shoppers today expect to get a deal on the products they purchase. With this mindset it is critical that consumer products companies take measures to enhance brand loyalty by connecting early and often with key audiences in environments outside of the store.”