Like many industrialized nations, the face of the United States is changing.  An aging population, a declining birth rate combined with growing ethnic diversity will pose new challenges for the economy.  Along with these demographic changes will come shifts in consumer spending, and consumer goods marketers will have to adjust tactics, focus and products if they hope to capitalize on what will be the new reality. 
So what will be different in terms of consumer spending in just 11 years?  A weakened Social Security system and underfunded private pension plans will …

Although Australia’s economy may have technically avoided entering a recession, almost two-thirds of Aussies believe that it has, and consumer confidence has plummeted to an all-time low.  Concerns about job security and personal finances have led Australians to change the way they shop, with a focus on value.  Like consumers in Europe and North America, Australians are trying to stretch their dollars further: they are eating out less, entertaining and cooking at home more often and buying more private label goods. 
These changes present a range of challenges for retailers and …

NBC’s “America Got Talent-Wednesday 9PM” claimed the top slot in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts broadcast TV for July 29, 2009. The show drew just over 11.2 million average viewers Wednesday evening.
FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance-Wednesday” was the second-ranked program with approximately 7.8 million average viewers while ABC’s “Wipeout” rounded out the top three with approximately 6.8 million average viewers.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
AMERICA GOT TALENT-WED 9P
NBC
11,188,000

2
SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-WED
FOX
7,810,000

3
WIPEOUT
ABC
6,793,000

4
CSI: NY
CBS
6,651,000

5
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
6,430,000

6
AMERICA GOT TALENT-WED 8P
NBC
6,257,000

7
PHILANTHROPIST
NBC
4,931,000

8
PRIMETIME: CRIME
ABC
4,896,000

9
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE WED
UNI
4,585,000

10
OLD CHRISTINE
CBS
4,047,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 29, 2009).

Overall, FOX won …

Nielsen Chairman and CEO David Calhoun addressed the 53rd CIES World Food Business Summit in June, providing retailers and manufacturers with a comprehensive view of dramatic shifts in the consumer economy amid the global financial crisis.   
Watch the presentation [29 minutes]
 The freefall of the economy may be coming to an end, but new rules are in play:

There has been a fundamental shift in consumer spending patterns, as restraint has become the new mantra. Over the next 18 months to two years, consumers will make critical decisions about discretionary spending, saving, or paying down debt, …

Is the President Seeking to Connect with Mainstream America by Choosing Bud Light?
The White House announced that the President will be drinking Bud Light at tonight’s much-publicized “Beer Summit.” Consumer and media research firm Scarborough Research shows that Bud Light is also the beer choice for politically mainstream Americans. Bud Light drinkers (ages 21+) have no distinct political profile. They are just as likely as all drinking-age Americans to consider themselves Democrat, Republican, or Independent, and are average for voting in presidential, statewide and local elections. Bud Light drinkers are …

David Martin, Vice President, Primary Research / Sue MacDonald, Research Manager
You’ve probably heard of the Morgan Stanley report that declares “teenagers do not use Twitter,” based on a sample size of one 15 year-old intern named Matthew Robson. Morgan Stanley rightfully disclosed that they do not claim that his study is representational or merits statistical accuracy, so we thought we could provide both with our NetRatings panel of 250,000 U.S. Internet users.
Twitter’s footprint has expanded impressively in the first half of 2009, reaching 10.7 percent of all active Internet users …

NBC’s “America’s Got Talent-Tuesday” and “America’s Got Talent-Tuesday 8PM” were the number one and number three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV Tuesday, July 28, 2009 with approximately 13.2 and 8.6 million average viewers.
CBS’s “NCIS” was ranked second with 9.7 approximately millon average viewers.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT-TUE
NBC
13,245,000

2
NCIS
CBS
9,731,000

3
AMERICA GOT TALENT-TUE 8P
NBC
8,559,000

4
BACHELORETTE:AFTER ROSE(S)-07/28/2009
ABC
7,986,000

5
LAW AND ORDER:SVU
NBC
7,241,000

6
HELL’S KITCHEN
FOX
7,036,000

7
BIG BROTHER 11-TUE
CBS
6,070,000

8
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE TUE
UNI
4,825,000

9
MEDIUM
CBS
4,713,000

10
MORE TO LOVE
FOX
4,015,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 28, 2009).

Overall, NBC won the night with an average audience of almost 9.7 million viewers,
while CBS took second place with almost 6.8 million average viewers. FOX …

ABC’s “The Bachelorette” claimed the top slot in Nielsen’s ranking of the top primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for July 27, 2009. The show drew just over 10.0 million average viewers Monday evening.
CBS’s “Two And A Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory” rounded out the top three with 9.1 and 8.5 million average viewers.

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
BACHELORETTE, THE
ABC
10,001,000

2
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
9,065,000

3
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
8,478,000

4
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
8,131,000

5
DATING IN THE DARK
ABC
6,006,000

6
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
4,981,000

7
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
CBS
4,909,000

8
MANANA PARA SIEMPRE MON
UNI
4,761,000

9
LIE TO ME-MON 9P
FOX
4,190,000

10
DATELINE NBC-MON
NBC
4,150,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (July 27, 2009).

Overall, ABC won the …

The Nielsen Company reported today that 98.9 percent of U.S. homes are able to receive digital television signals, a gain of 229,000 homes in the last two weeks and 1.3 million homes since the week of the June 12 DTV transition.  As of July 26, only 1.2 million homes were unable to receive digital signals.
% Of Homes Completely Unready For DTV

Date
Total
White
African American
Hispanic
Asian
Under 35
Over 55

July 26, 2009
1.1
0.8
2.2
1.6
1.3
2.7
0.4

July 12, 2009
1.3
1.0
2.6
2.2
1.9
3.2
0.5

June 28, 2009
1.5
1.1
3.5
2.3
2.5
3.5
0.6

June 21, 2009
1.8
1.3
4.0
2.8
2.9
4.0
0.8

June 14, 2009
2.2
1.6
4.6
3.6
3.2
4.4
1.1

June 7, 2009
2.5
1.9
5.1
4.3
3.1
4.6
1.3

May 24, 2009
2.7
2.1
5.4
4.7
3.2
5.0
1.5

May 10, 2009
2.9
2.3
5.7
4.9
3.4
5.4
1.6

April 26, 2009
3.1
2.4
5.9
5.0
4.1
5.7
1.7

April 12, 2009
3.2
2.5
5.9
5.4
4.3
5.9
1.7

March 29, 2009
3.4
2.7
6.2
5.6
4.4
6.3
1.8

March …

When newlyweds Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz asked their wedding party to turn their wedding into a party the result was the latest YouTube hit “JK Wedding Entrance,” which featured the entire cast dancing down the aisle to Chris Brown’s “Forever.” Just five days after it was posted, the video was the most-cited clip according to Nielsen’s BlogPulse, and has recently passed the 10 million views mark after the “Today” show flew the crew to New York to recreate the entire event outside Rockefeller Center.
While it’s great news and great …