James Russo, Vice President, Marketing, Nielsen
With unemployment reaching 25-year highs, it is no surprise that Americans are nervous about their futures.  Over the last twelve months, confidence has nosedived as consumers worry about keeping their jobs, paying their mortgages and other bills, and their retirements.
We are on the verge of a potential fundamental shift in how consumers shop and buy that could have ramifications long past economic recovery.  They are shopping less and changing the types of products they purchase, such as shifting …

The NCAA Tournament, March Madness, is one of the most celebrated sporting events in the U.S, providing a tremendous opportunity for advertisers to reach a wide and relatively affluent audience.
Nielsen’s Guide To March Madness, tracks a range of consumer and media information surrounding the event including advertising trends and demographic reach of the multi-week event. Ad buys for CBS’s coverage of the NCAA Tournament have risen steadily over the last five years – from $434 million in 2004 to $580 million in 2008 – a surge of almost 34 percent.  …

Roger Entner, Nielsen Telecom
Nokia: the name is synonymous with mobile phone innovation and leadership everywhere in the world but in the US.  Its handsets comprise about 40 percent of the worldwide marketplace. It has not always been this way.  Once the leading brand of phone in the US, Nokia’s share of the market has dropped to about 10 percent.  Brands such as LG, Samsung, Blackberry, Motorola and Apple’s iPhone tend to lead in market share and mindshare respectively.
But cell phones have evolved a great deal since Nokia was a major …

According to a new Nielsen study, 40 percent of consumers surveyed use vitamins and dietary supplements, with North Americans and Asians leading the world in usage (54% and 43%, respectively).  The highest levels of usage were found in the Philippines and Thailand, with 66 percent of consumers saying they take vitamins, although not every day.  56 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed said they take vitamins or supplements, with 44 percent saying they take them daily.
The primary benefit of taking vitamins and supplements, according to more than 60 percent of those …

Advertising expenditures dropped 2.6% overall last year, according to data released today by The Nielsen Company. “Given the state of the U.S. economy, a decline in ad spending was expected, but it’s not as bad as it could have been,” said Annie Touliatos, VP of Sales Development for Monitor-Plus, Nielsen’s ad tracking service. “The campaign season and the Summer Olympics were two big events that had a tremendous impact on advertising, especially on TV buys.”
The automotive industry’s ad spending fell hardest in 2008. The industry slashed its spending by almost …

In a further sign that the economic downturn is more widespread than any before, Russian consumer confidence dropped 6 points in February 2009 from November 2008, when it dropped 16 points from September 2008, according to Nielsen’s Consumer Confidence Index.  The issues causing Russians nervousness mirror those found in other countries: growing unemployment, high inflation, devaluation of national currency and the burden of easy credit obtained during the “optimistic” years.  Maintaining employment is the key concern, with only 20 percent saying their job prospects were good, while 75 percent were …

While uncertain economic conditions have forced most marketers to cut back their budgets, they can take a number of steps to compensate for fewer available dollars and maintain the effectiveness of their campaign.  By moving beyond the use of traditional media age/sex demographics and having a clearer understanding of what networks and programs best reach actual brand targets, marketers have an opportunity to change their mix.  These new schedules can diminish the impact lower marketing budgets could have on a brand’s in-market presence.
Nielsen conducted a recession analysis that replicated the …

While buyers may be delaying new vehicle purchases, consumers still actively post tens of thousands of brand and vehicle related messages each month. In its latest Automotive Industry Overview, Nielsen Online found that consumers have enthusiastically responded online to the Hyundai Assurance program (which allows leasers to return a vehicle with no penalty if they lose their income). Since the plan debuted in January, 2009, more than 1,900 messages have been posted, helped by general curiosity, praise from the media, Super Bowl commercials and the Assurance Plus addition in February. …

Grocery sales in the U.K. are holding their ground despite the continued economic difficulties, according to a new survey from Nielsen. Overall, sales grew 5.7 percent in the twelve-week period ended February 21 versus the same period last year, with all of the top 4 grocers attracting new customers.
Asda and Sainsbury showed solid growth during the quarter (7.6% and 5.5%, respectively), while Morrisons grew a strong 8.2 percent, driven by increased spending from its shoppers and Waitrose re-energized its business with 3.2 percent growth.
Discount retailers continued to make gains …

Julie Enzweiler
In the past year, Nissan N.A. and Ford Motor Co. Web sites are showing signs of increased consumer interest as evidenced by comparing the unique visitors from January 2008 to January 2009. In terms of year-over-year growth in site visitors, Nissan N.A. saw an increase of 14% while Ford Motor Co. showed a 9% increase. Chrysler LLC experienced the steepest decline in site traffic at 26% followed by General Motors (-17%), Toyota Motor Sales (-11%) and Honda Motor Co. (-5%).

In January 2008, visitors to Chrysler LLC sites also visited …