Advertisers are aiming to reach the value-minded consumer with creative advertising executions that deliver recession-themed messaging.

Thanks to the consciousness-raising film An Inconvenient Truth and the Live Earth concert series, global awareness of environmental issues has increased, prompting attitudinal changes, but consumer behavior at retail is changing more slowly.

In today’s tough economic times, advertisers are under increased pressure to gain market share while working with shrinking budgets. Should they cut back on media investments? How will they succeed?

Loyal customers provide businesses with a steady revenue stream, higher profit margins and confirmed evangelists who virtually—and virally—do much of their marketing for them. Segmentation methods are driving increased ROI among best-fit customers.

The Internet has spawned a disruption in the market research world, giving birth to the era of “listening.” A study comparing traditional research methods with online listening techniques paves a new way of providing holistic consumer insights.

The notion that teens are too busy texting and Twittering to be engaged with traditional media is exciting, but false. To develop the best strategy around teens and media, start by challenging popular assumptions about teens.

A likely future for the U.S. in the year 2020 and beyond is a country split between the aging Baby Boom still with substantial political, economic, and social power, and a young, fast-growing multi-cultural population with far less political and economic clout.