Business-to-business marketers have borrowed a page from the consumer sector, using new segmentation models to optimize sales and tailor messaging by customer, product line and account representative.

The DOW is up and the Fed chair says the recession is “likely over,” but ultimately, it is the consumer who will determine when the economy is back on track.

If you’re in the U.S. and are using a social network like Facebook, Myspace or LinkedIn, chances are you’re more affluent and more urban than the average American.

Washington D.C. is increasingly drawing in the young and the wealthy, according to Nielsen Claritas. A new demographic spotlight finds that 16 of the top 50 counties where the highest concentration of the young and wealthy live are in the Washington D.C. area.

San Francisco loves its green cars more than any other area in the U.S., according to new research from Nielsen. The new data from Nielsen Claritas’ PRIZM Market Potential Report finds that households in San Francisco are 60 percent more likely to buy a green vehicle than the average U.S. home, with Washington D.C. 44 percent more likely and New York City 31 percent more likely.
“These estimates help manufacturers and marketers better understand the markets that have ‘green’ potential, and help them focus their resources,” said Bruce Wilkinson, Vice …

Matt O’Grady, President, Nielsen Claritas
In a down economy, price sensitivity can trump loyalty as customers are forced to reduce their spending. Nationwide surveys have reported a decline in corporate allegiance as consumers shift their concerns from patronage to price. When the Nielsen Convergence Audit surveyed 38,000 Americans about their technology purchases, 24 percent said they had switched their cell phone, cable TV and Internet service providers in the last six months of 2008. To strengthen the bonds with their best customers and retain wallet share, a number of innovative companies …

In the current volatile economic environment, consumers are shifting their money from higher-risk investment accounts into more conservative savings and non-interest checking accounts, according to the quarterly Market Audit from Nielsen Claritas. Based on findings in the 4th quarter of 2008, the Market Audit, a comprehensive assessment of the financial products being used, the opportunity exists for financial institutions to attract new customers and retain existing ones by offering low-risk accounts such as fixed interest savings accounts, variable interest money market accounts and CDs, together with non-interest checking accounts. Although …

Matt O’Grady, President, Nielsen Claritas
New data makes it clearer than ever: the U.S. is in a white-collar recession.
In the news and in our minds we understandably think of lower-to-middle income households as being the hardest hit victims of the housing, credit crisis, and the ensuing loss of jobs. But as we look back on a full year of recession, surprising patterns emerge that indicate higher-income households have been proportionately hit harder.
Since the beginning of last year, there has been a shift in household credit, according to an analysis of Nielsen’s …

More than 80 percent of Americans now have a computer in their homes, and of those, almost 92 percent have internet access, according to a detailed report on home internet access prepared by Nielsen.  One year earlier, computer ownership stood at 77.9 percent.
Using data collected from its national and local television panels, the quarterly Home Technology phone survey and the Nielsen Claritas 2008 Convergence Audit survey, the report provides a detailed look at how Americans are getting on the internet and the differences by various demographic breaks.
Key findings of the …

America’s wealth landscape is in flux.  In recent years, a new segment of wealthy Americans has emerged, according to a new white paper recently released by Nielsen Claritas. 
Known as the “New Mass Affluent,” members of this group have amassed assets of more than $100,000 each, though most of these baby boomers were born into middle class households.  By 2007, the group represented 19% of all households in the U.S.  By 2012, the New Mass Affluent is expected to grow to account for at least 20% of all American households.
Often underserved …