According to Nielsen’s global survey of multi-screen media usage, watching video content on computers has become just as common as watching video content on television among online consumers.

Nielsen Informate notes that in India, women spend the same amount of time on their smartphones as compared to men. However, there are sharp contrasts in how they use their phones.

Although the majority of the population is rural (82%), the urban population is growing twice as fast as the rural and over half of Ethiopia’s population is under 20 years old.

Overall confidence rose in 68 percent of global markets measured, compared to Q4 2011 where confidence increased in 21 percent of global markets.

While most countries would covet GDP growth of 5.9 percent, that figure represents a fairly significant slow-down for Vietnam, where high inflation and sagging consumer confidence were the key themes of 2011.

After a boost in ad spending in Q3 2011, many of the world’s biggest advertisers exercised more caution in Q4, but 2011 still showed an overall 7.3 percent increase in spending vs. 2010.

Stabilizing sales growth is not entirely unexpected, especially in core categories, in the wake of two years of hyper growth during the recovery. Thus, as FMCG brands and marketers look ahead through 2012 and beyond, there are three core strategies to extend recent gains.

Small may be the new big. The Russian retail universe remained virtually static in 2011, declining one percent vs. a year ago, but channel development has been dynamic.

Finding the best mix of media and trade promotions to drive incremental sales doesn’t always need to cost a lot. Nielsen research shows that investing efficiently in a mix of new and traditional advertising and promotional vehicles can increase your return on investment.

Boasting the second highest GDP in Europe, a robust growth rate in disposable income, and recent middle class expansion to 25 percent of the population, Russia’s economy offers many reasons to expect future consumption growth. In fact, many view Russia as the new European growth engine.