Some Bright Spots For The Auto Industry

Two of the “Big Three” U.S. automakers have gone bankrupt.  Car sales continue to decline.  This would appear to be the most challenging period for the automotive industry in its history.  But despite the gloom, there are some bright spots for auto makers, according to new research from The Nielsen Company.

The re-designed Forester boosted sales for Subaru, while Hyundai and Kia launched new models appealing to younger drivers.  Existing models, such as the Sorento and Sedona posted strong sales growth (69% and 48%, respectively).  And Lincoln was the only U.S. brand to outperform the market (although sales remained in negative territory on a year-to-year basis).   Foreign automakers benefitted disproportionately from escalating gas prices because consumer perception that their vehicles, especially hybrids and diesel models, are more fuel-efficient.  Hybrids remain an exciting but emerging segment, as consumers take their time investigating the genre.  Meanwhile, consumer interest in the basic economy vehicle was solid when gas prices were high, but dropped sharply once gas prices dropped.

Read more about the positive developments in the auto industry in 2008, as well as consumer behavior with respect to shopping for and buying vehicles in the July edition of Consumer Insight

Glenn Beck, Stephanie Plum Series Lead Latest Book Sales

For the week of June 22-28, 2009, TV host Glenn Beck’s book, Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine topped the non-fiction charts as books from Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, Finger Lickin’ Fifteen and Fearless Fourteen dominated the fiction charts. Both authors also locked up the top three spots in the audio book category.
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Allergy Advertising Not Catching on as Much This Year

TV viewers seem more immune to pitches for allergy medications this spring when compared to the year before, according to a new study from Nielsen IAG. Overall, recall among allergy sufferers aged 25-54 for all the ads on air from January through May this year was 10 points lower than during the same period a year ago.

That’s not to say every ad in the category was unmemorable. An ad for Claritin featuring Nascar’s Carl Edwards was judged slightly more memorable than last year’s top ad for the category featuring the Nasonex bee. Still, the Claritin ad failed to motivate customers to consider Claritin to the same degree as the Nasonex ad.
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Fourth of July Hot Dogs: The Latest Economic Indicator?

The effects of the recession may be seen on the BBQ grill this Fourth of July. Sales of hot dogs have been going up in recent months while register rings for more expensive bratwurst and knockwurst have been declining, according to new research from The Nielsen Company. This is a reversal of sales trends the past several years.

July 3rd traditionally has the highest sales volume for all three types of meat. Consumers were 50 percent more likely to buy hot dogs during the four-week period ending on July 12, 2008 than any other time over the year. The trend is even more pronounced for bratwurst and knockwurst last year, with consumers 106 percent more likely to buy the thicker sausages during the same period. Continue Reading This Post »

Supermarket Prices Still Creeping Up

Retail grocery prices in the U.S. continue to creep higher overall compared with 2008, according to new research from The Nielsen Company. The good news is price increases appear to be slowing compared with the price spikes experienced by shoppers in the spring of 2008 and 2007.

These were some of the findings from the “Supermarket Pricing Trends” study which looked at pricing of the top-selling items across 45 categories over the course of five years. It concluded by measuring the 12 weeks ending May 16 in total U.S. supermarkets.

Overall, grocery prices continue to inch up 0.44 percent compared to a year ago. The sum of average unit prices across the 45 category-leading items, which included everything from bacon to bleach to buttered crackers and hot dog buns, was $143.65.

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Movie-themed Video Games Transforming the Industry

Summer blockbuster season is in full swing, bringing with it video games tied to the latest cinematic franchises. Additionally, this spring and summer features game releases that are offshoots of the classic Batman, Ghostbusters and The Godfather franchises. Though dismissed in the past, movie games are garnering more attention in the entertainment industry as studios look to leverage the value of their franchises.

According to recent data from Nielsen’s Video Game Tracking survey, movie-themed games are driving substantial purchase interest among gamers. X-Men Origins: Wolverine tops the list in terms of total positive purchase interest (definitely or probably interested in buying) for the week of its release. It is joined at the top by several other franchises with large box office releases including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Terminator Salvation. Looking back a few months, Godfather II scored well relative to others to take second place despite the fact that the movie was released in 1974. Looking ahead, Batman: Arkham Asylum is tied for fifth place but is two months away from release at the end of August. Purchase interest will likely increase to perhaps eclipse all others on this list by the end of the summer. The much anticipated Ghostbusters: The Video Game based on the classic film was released last week and ranked fourth in purchase interest but outpaced all other titles in share of online buzz.

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Teens More “Normal” Than You Think Regarding Media Usage

It’s 2009: Do you know where your kids are?

They might be on the Internet, or gaming or texting… but they could also be be watching live TV, listening to the radio or reading a newspaper. At the annual What Teens Want conference in New York, The Nielsen Company presented How Teens Use Media, which argues once you look past the hype - American teens are not as alien in their media usage as you might expect. Sure, it might sound hip and trendy to suggest they’re too busy texting, Twittering or LOL-ing to be engaged with traditional media, but ultimately, the research proves otherwise.

“The media experience is broadening for all consumers, not just teens,” said Nic Covey, director of insights for The Nielsen Company. “Looking at our research across markets and media, we see that, contrary to popular assumption, teens are actually pretty normal in their usage, and more attentive than most give them credit for.”

The comprehensive report combines insights from Nielsen’s global resources in Television, internet, mobile, gaming, moviegoing, radio, newspaper and advertising research to debunk myths and provide the hard facts around how teens use media.

Key Takeaways

• Teens are NOT abandoning TV for new media: In fact, they watch more TV than ever, up 6% over the past five years in the U.S.
• Teens love the Internet … but spend far less time browsing than adults: Teens spend 11 hours and 32 minutes per month online. Far below the average of 29 hours and 15 minutes.
• Teens watch less online video than most adults, but the ads are highly engaging to them: Teens spend 35% less time watching online video than adults 25-34, but recall ads better when watching TV shows online than they do on television.
• Teens read newspapers, listen to the radio and even like advertising more than most: Teens who recall TV ads are 44% more likely to say they liked the ad.
• Teens play video games, but their tastes aren’t all for the blood-and-guts style games: Just two of their top five most-anticipated games since 2005 have been rated “Mature.”
• Teens’ favorite TV shows, top websites and genre preferences across media are mostly the same as their parents: For U.S. teens, American Idol was the top show in 2008, Google the top website and general dramas are a preferred TV genre for teens around the world.

For additional insights, download a free copy of How Teens Use Media

Russian Consumer Confidence Stabilizes

For the first time in eight months, Russian consumers’ confidence has stabilized after posting significant declines, according to Nielsen’s ongoing “Russians through Crisis” study.  In the second half of 2008, consumer confidence stood at 104, dropping to 88 in November 2008 and hitting a low of 75 in March 2009.  In May, confidence recorded an uptick to 82.

As with consumers around the world, job security and personal finances are the key concerns for Russians today.  Almost three-quarters of those surveyed characterized the security of their jobs as “not so good” or “bad,” while 81 percent characterized their personal finances the same way.  While these results were not positive, they showed no further signs of pessimism over previous months.  More than half (54%) of Russians said that their family income has declined over the past three months.  Given these sentiments, it is not surprising that 78 percent of Russians felt that it was not a good time to buy the items they want or need.  Discount and hypermarket retailers were the preferred destinations for Russian shoppers, as they switch to channels that can provide better value.

“Russian consumers seem to have overcome the shock of discovering that one of the world’s fastest growing economies is not recession-proof.  Consumer confidence is bottoming out, but the key question remains the duration of the bottom and when Russians will be ready to loosen their belts,” said Dwight Watson, managing director, Nielsen Russia.

Summer seems to be the season of optimism for Russians, with 19 percent of respondents saying they plan to by a travelling tour, and equal number saying they plan to purchase furniture.  Computers and mobile phones were the next most popular items for purchase.  Meanwhile, 37 percent of those surveyed said that they had no plans to make any major purchases.

“Russians through Crisis” is an integrated research project aimed at tracking and analyzing consumer confidence and purchasing behavior in the rapidly changing Russian economic environment.  More than 500 people were surveyed in key Russian cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Nizhiniy Novograd.

Listening: Back to the Future of Consumer Research

David Wiesenfeld, Vice President, Insights & Innovation, Nielsen Online

What’s driving all the excitement and energy around “listening?” After all, the basic notion of “listening” - observing and interpreting naturally occurring consumer behavior - is not new. In fact, when the first professional market researchers sat in consumers’ living rooms and talked with them about their lives and their needs, they were engaging in “listening” as much as they were asking questions. These pioneers were literally the eyes and ears of their organizations. They brought consumers to life in ways that inspired a host of innovations, improving consumers’ lives and their businesses in the process.

Market research evolved to become a valuable source of information to drive decisions, even as the connection between researchers and consumers became more distant. In a slightly ironic twist, the social media revolution and 21st century technology afford modern-day practitioners the opportunity to routinely engage in “old school” hands-on research - or at least a form of it- by listening to consumers online.

P&G and Nielsen conducted a series of parallel studies to understand how learning gleaned from “listening” to online consumer conversations compares to survey-based findings (”asking”), and how to best use these techniques going forward.

What We Heard

Findings from “listening” and “asking” were largely consistent. Most importantly, in every case, “listening” added to our understanding in important ways, meaningfully enhancing insights, and sometimes suggesting a different course of action. For example, a survey on cloth diapering identified cost savings and sustainability as key reasons for using cloth diapers. Listening took this further, revealing the passion cloth-diapering moms have for “CD’ing,” and connecting it to core values around parenting. This led to a fundamentally different, more holistic understanding of cloth diapering than was available from survey results alone.

Listening consistently provided valuable depth and context… adding listening to the picture was a little like going from an X-ray to a CAT scan. Furthermore, listening revealed the level of consumer passion or intensity associated with a specific topic. Understanding “intensity” can be just as important to winning in the marketplace as understanding size or “magnitude,” suggesting the need to pursue survey-based and listening-based approaches (or hybrid methods) going forward.

To learn more about the findings from this joint study and how to use listening to enhance your understanding of the marketplace and bring consumers to life in your organization, please join us for a complimentary webinar on Friday, June 26, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Register for the Listening Vs. Asking webinar.

Online Ads and Video are Key for Auto Industry

For many consumers, skimping on a new car upgrade has created a lot of pent-up demand. While it’s unclear when buyers will be ready to buy autos en masse again, a new report from The Nielsen Co. suggests one of the best ways to reach them now is via online advertising, particularly video.

The report, released this month, found many consumers were still looking, but just not buying during the first four months of the year. However, 12 percent of the U.S. population said they will probably or definitely buy a new car or truck during the next six months, per the 250,000 U.S. adults that make up the Nielsen MegaPanel. That was up slightly from 10 percent in the spring.

Continue reading at Brandweek.