More than three-quarters of Indian consumers base their choice of mobile service on network or price, according to a new study from The Nielsen Company India.  While CDMA technology has an edge over GSM in both voice and data network performance in India, more than a third (33%) of respondents with CDMA service are likely to consider a GSM brand should they choose to switch carriers. Meanwhile, 62 percent of CDMA customers said that they would consider staying with their existing service provider.
Nielsen also studied CDMA and GSM network performance in 39 …

Overall ad spending stayed afloat in Q1 ‘09 vs. Q1 ‘08
Toward the end of 2008, the global downturn was adversely impacting advertising spending throughout many key markets around the world, with Europe and the Americas struggling more than others.  The exception to this was Asia Pacific (APAC), which appeared to be relatively impervious to the worst of the downturn. Beginning in late 2008, and escalating as the first quarter of 2009 unfolded, the majority of APAC markets were finally succumbing to declining economic conditions with substantial declines in advertising activity. …

Consumers in 10 of the world’s top economies continued to be wary of spending their money in May, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Economic Current, which provides a snapshot of global consumer and retail trends across 10 countries which represent nearly 65 percent of global GDP.  Tracking key performance indicators, Brazil and the U.K. led the pack with solid improvements in their scores, while the U.S. and Canada showed declines.  The rest of the countries tracked (China, France, Germany, India, Italy and Spain) showed no movement from …

With 43 percent of the votes, the Information Technology (IT) industry has once again been named as the most desirable sector for a career for India’s engineering graduates, according to the latest Nielsen Campus Track T-Schools study, which surveys attitudes of students towards industries and prospective employers.  While IT was the most desirable industry last year, the latest result marks a 7 percent drop from 2008. Rounding out the top three most popular industries were automotive and telecom.
Management consultancies and financial services – which were once among the top choices …

Indians are increasing their expectations of what companies should be doing with respect to corporate social responsibility (CSR) according to the latest Nielsen India Corporate Image Monitor.  CSR can be an effective way of building goodwill for a company, and survey respondents most admired Reliance Industries, the nation’s largest conglomerate, Tata Motors and Tata Steel.  These companies are most closely associated with promoting education, improving healthcare infrastructure and promoting environmental consciousness.
According to the survey, half of respondents said that better healthcare infrastructure is the top social issue that they believe …

The global recession seems to have only lightly brushed India.  Despite some slippage in the fourth quarter (growth slowed to only 14.7%), overall ad spending was up 25 percent in 2008.  And while it remains to be seen how India and the rest of the world endure in 2009, all signs seem to point to continued ad spend growth in the country as the national TV networks work toward setting up regional and local channels.

Media Outlet
2008 (US$000s)
2007 (US$000s)
% Change

TV
2,195,065
1,845,807
19%

Newspapers
3,322,955
2,418,702
37%

Magazines
411,922
324,771
27%

Radio
670,285
648,064
3%

Cinema
47,132
42,713
10%

Outdoor
289,165
263,169
10%

Other
89,839
59,338
51%

TOTAL
7,026,363
5,602,564
25%

Source: AdEx India – A division of TAM India …

The economic decline has affected most parts of the world, but some have been hit harder than others.  One region that seems to be holding its own is Asia Pacific (APAC).  Although consumer confidence in APAC has declined in recent months, those declines have generally not been as steep as in Europe or North America.  Eight of the twelve markets for which Nielsen tracks ad spending posted growth in 2008 over 2007.  That said, most of the markets were registering declines by the fourth quarter.
Main media, defined by Nielsen as …

Global declines in consumer activity appear to be moderating or hitting bottom, according to the new edition of the Nielsen Economic Current, which is based on the company’s key consumer trend data as well economic data to create a concise indicator of consumer behavior.  Out of the 11 major GDP countries, only Germany showed an increase in consumer behavior in February.
“Consumers worldwide appear to be in a holding pattern and we see evidence that consumer spending might be positioned to turn around,” said James Russo, Vice President Global Consumer Insights …

Indians tend to be optimistic by default: there is a popular adage that “whatever is happening, that is for the good!”  But Indians have cause to be optimistic in the current economic environment as the global recession seems to only have just brushed India thus far.  According to Nielsen’s consumer confidence index for the second half of 2008, India had one of the highest rankings among the 52 markets the company conducted its survey.
The survey found that 77 percent of Indian respondents considered the state of their personal finances to …

Having a website may no longer be optional for India’s travel agents and operators, according to Nielsen and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
Nielsen and PATA’s most recent “India Outbound Travel Monitor” survey found that more than half of Indian travelers have used the Internet to search for information about destinations abroad. 
While traditional media like newspapers and magazines remain the primary source for travel advertising and information for many, the Internet has become a popular advertising channel, drawing greater attention from Indians traveling internationally.  
Among travelers from India’s smaller cities, the Internet …