The Five Most Important Words on your Web Site

The Five Most Important Words on your Web Site
by Nick Usborne
May 22, 2007

I hesitate to single out a handful of "must-have" words for your Web site. It brings to mind the overblown promises of "power words" and the like. "Power words" strike me as being about as useful as "power naps" and "power lunches." Heavy on hype and light on content.

However, some words really can make a difference on your site. They are not "powerful" in isolation but, in the right context, can make an important difference.

No. 1—Free

For those of us, myself included, who go on about how writing online is different, it is humbling to see how some things are exactly the same. "Free" is an extremely important word in the world of offline marketing, and it's just as important online.

In fact, in some ways, "Free" is even more important online. Much of the Web has grown up on the promise of Free:

• Free browsers
• Free music
• Free software trials
• Free subscriptions

And so on. If you have any doubts about whether users of the Web are that interested in "free"—do a quick search on Google. I just did, and got 172 million results. The number one listing? "Adobe Acrobat Reader—Download."

So don't be shy about using the word. Offer free downloads, free subscriptions, free reports and papers, free trials, free shipping, free consultations.

The Web likes free (even if online publishers don't).

One caveat: many people filter out emails that use the word Free in email subject lines.

No. 2—Sign Up

So it's two words. The point being that every site should be inviting its visitors to sign up or subscribe to an email program or newsletter.

Why? Because you need to reach your prospects by email.

People check their email more frequently than they surf the Web. Much more frequently. As you already know, to your cost, conversion rates of first-time visitors to immediate purchasers is horribly low. And that person who bailed after spending a few seconds on your homepage is unlikely to be coming back again any time soon.

So instead of hoping that your visitors will make a purchase on their first visit, concentrate instead on collecting their email addresses.

Caveat: your emails or newsletters had better be good. Good content in their inbox will bring visitors back to your site again and again. Poor content will damage your chances of ever hearing from them again.

No. 3—Buy

You need to ask for the sale. It's amazing how many sites invest in presenting products and services, but fail to close the sale. Again, conversion rates online are nothing to write home about. So make sure that you actually ask for the sale at the right moment.

Make that BUY link prominent, both by positioning it close to the product or service in question, and by boosting it with a strong graphic treatment.

The word BUY is an instruction. It tells people to do something. So make that instruction jump out and grab their attention.

No. 4—Now

Now is good. "Later" is death. If someone digs deep enough into your site to find the product or service they want, and then just makes a mental note to come back again some time, you've lost her.

The Web is an easy-come and easy-go environment. If you can't get people to act immediately, forget it.

So ask people to do things NOW:

• Sign up NOW
• Buy NOW
• Tell a friend NOW

Go further still with some incentives:

• Sign up NOW and receive a FREE report on [whatever].
• Buy NOW and get FREE shipping

No. 5—Thank You

OK, so it's two words again. But it's the thought that counts. When you sign up a subscriber or make a sale, the job is just beginning.

Just because someone signs up for your newsletter doesn't mean that they will read it.

And just because someone buys your product doesn't mean that they won't send it back.

When visitors become customers, your work is just starting. You have a relationship to build. And the first step in building that relationship is to say thank you. It's courteous. It's the right thing to say.

Maybe this will inspire you to go back to those automated "acknowledgement" emails you wrote a few years back.

Rewrite them, be personal, say thank you.

Finally

There are other important words to consider, but I can't think of any that top these five.

Look through your site, your emails and your newsletters—and consider the places where these words could make a difference.

Then make some changes and test the results. As always, the proof is in the testing.

Editor's Note: This MarketingProfs Classic article was originally published on January 8, 2002.

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Five Critical Keys to Reaching the Boomer Consumer

Five Critical Keys to Reaching the Boomer Consumer
by Mary Furlong
June 12, 2007

As more businesses become aware of the unprecedented number of people around the world who are approaching age 60, more of them are getting serious about reaching Boomers. Call it the new Silver and Gold Rush.

Smart businesses understand that the old media—print, radio, and television—won't be enough to reach this market. To communicate with Boomers, your business will need to evaluate and choose among a wide variety of online and offline marketing methods.

Key 1: First understand the Boomer consumer

Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, number over 78 million in the US alone. One misstep marketers often make is to assume Boomers are a homogenous group—one size fits all. While most businesses have an awareness of and sensibility toward the unprecedented number of Americans approaching age 60, many are just now creating tailored products and services to serve this impending market.

There is a growing sense that the train is leaving the station—and that the competition may just be onboard. And that is fueling a growing momentum to get serious about the Boomer market and how to reach it.

The critical key to understanding this cohort—and how to market to them—is to gain insight into life-stage changes that occur in one's 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond.

Boomers' lives are punctuated with change and shifts in priorities—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. These "tripping points" create business opportunities for new products, services and investments. These changes could include health and wellness issues, divorce, dealing with the empty nest, caregiving both for children and for elderly parents, loss of a parent, loss of a spouse, financial concerns, career and work changes, and retirement.

There are exciting areas of "white space," the commercial potential in underserved categories, including health, travel, passion, housing, fashion, finance, family, and relationships.

Key 2: Reach Boomers by going to them

To reach the Boomer consumer, you need to reach with them where they are. Their media consumption will change along with their new life circumstances and evolving interests. Marketers can reach Boomers through those interests at points when the consumer is most receptive.

They tend to seek out information and resources where lifestage changes cause them to focus their attention. For example, consumers are educating themselves and seeking out resources in order to take a more active roll in their own health. Weight loss and weight loss products make up a huge industry. Boomers facing the daunting responsibility of caring for an elderly parent will be receptive to new to new information, connections, providers, products and services. On the lighter side, Boomers with some discretionary dollars may spend more on hobbies, travel, and entertainment.

What are they reading, viewing and listening to? When and where? Reach them where they are.

Key 3: Meet the Boomer consumer online

Technology advances content in delivery give marketers unprecedented access to niche, highly targeted audiences. Older adults are online in record numbers. People over age 50 account for one-quarter of US Internet users. Their numbers are growing at 7-8% each year, compared with 2-3% for overall Internet user growth, according to eMarketer.

In 2005, almost two-thirds of US adults aged 50-64 and one-quarter of those aged 65 and older used the Internet, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Boomers are also enthusiastic about high-speed Internet connections: 44% of Internet users age 50-64 have this service. Broadband users tend to stay online longer, which means they are more likely to see online marketing. And broadband connections give marketers more options—they can add audio files to Web sites, and they can give visitors more opportunities to interact with their databases.

Boomers are such a large group that their behavior online is much like that of the general Internet audience. They send and read email, look up health and medical information, research products prior to purchase, get financial data, view maps, and check the weather.

Some 75% of Boomer Internet users get news online, 55% research jobs, and 31% use instant messaging, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project study.

Key 4: Your Web site is the first touchpoint

Your company's Web site is the cornerstone of a sound online marketing strategy. Prospective customers expect your Web site to teach them about you and your product or service. They also want to use the Web site to interact with you, learn how to purchase, and receive responsive customer service. You need to be providing so much valuable information that clients will want to sign up for your email newsletter and bookmark your site.

Your Web site should contain a strong call to action if you want it to generate leads. Make a special offer—sign up for a regularly published newsletter, a free information download, an opt-in to receive email and/or snail mail communications. This is how you build a house list. Your content should include useful interactive tools like dealer locators, personalized assessments and quizzes, daily updates, and features. Give visitors a reason to return often.

Key 5: Experiment with Web 2.0 technologies

We are entering the Web 2.0 era, thanks to a number of new tools that make the Internet more collaborative and participatory. The critical strength is self-selection. The viewer chooses what content to receive and when.

One example is RSS (Really Simple Syndication), which allows consumers to build their own customized information packages by delivering automatically updated content from multiple Web sites. Popular RSS "feeds" include news headlines, industry or company news, stock prices, weather reports, sports and entertainment news, and special offers. Another example is podcasting—or publishing audio and video broadcasts via the Internet. Listeners can subscribe to feeds and receive periodic, self-selected programs.

While it is important to experiment with these new technologies, it is equally important not to divert your marketing budget away from proven tactics. The most critical element is measuring success in ways meaningful for you.

* * *

In summary, reach Boomer consumers by first understanding them as they relate to your product or service. Reach them where they are with relevant content. Use both traditional and digital media and do not be afraid to experiment with Web 2.0 technologies, all the while also employing proven strategies and tactics.

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The Top Five Reasons Why It's 'RSS or DIE'

The Top Five Reasons Why It's 'RSS or DIE'
by Jason Cormier and James Clark
May 22, 2007

"RSS" stands for "Really Simple Syndication." In a nutshell, it is the technology that is enabling blogs, podcasts, and all major online news rooms. RSS is rapidly displacing email and Web sites as the preferred method for distributing online content.

However, although the syndication technology may indeed be "simple," highly effective RSS deployments are not. Success hinges on a careful re thinking of content channels and marketing strategies.

To get RSS right the first time, companies need to understand the basic paradigm shift it represents, and how they should integrate it with overall corporate marketing and PR communications.

The RSS Paradigm Shift

RSS is a relatively straightforward technology that completely changes the model for distributing content online:

• RSS is anonymous—subscribers receive your content without ever having to provide their name, email address, or other contact information.
  
  
•  RSS is highly focused—it's easy and essential to create individualized content channels that let the consumers choose which content is of interest to them.
  
  
•  RSS is instantaneous—new content is instantly delivered to the subscriber's RSS reader, without the need to "surf" or manually check Web sites for updates.
  
  
• RSS is trusted—it goes straight to the subscriber, without having to run the gauntlet of corporate or ISP email/spam filters. RSS content feeds always reach subscribers.
  
  
• RSS is "expert"—search engines (correctly) recognize RSS feeds as highly focused content and therefore give it a higher "expert info" weighting that boosts search rankings and overall credibility.

All of these characteristics are fundamentally superior to the current models of content distribution based on Web sites and email. However, without a fundamentally new strategic plan to capitalize on RSS's strengths, many companies will spin their wheels and squander any "first mover" advantage they may have had.

RSS Offers True Choices

Marketing guru Seth Godin frequently points out that "people simply want what they want"—in the exact form they want it, and exactly when they want it. Pleasing people is all about giving them an easier and faster to way to satisfy their desires. When something pleases them, they want more of it. And when they come back for more, they tell others along the way.

RSS creates an entirely new channel for consumers who want specific content but don't want to exchange their contact information for it. They subscribe (paid or free) to receive your content anonymously, according to their own preferences.

RSS equips companies with the power to segment content—written, audio or video—for any audience. This means no more cramming all manner of content into a single newsletter to please the masses. Instead, you can now create individualized content channels that let consumers choose what's of interest to them.

Content channels might include...

• News
• Product development
• Sale items
• Sales team programs
• Corporate or employee blogs
• Training
• Departmental updates
• Articles
• Case studies
• Research
• Anything else applicable to your business

This deceptively simple shift in how content is organized and distributed promotes subscriber loyalty and interaction. You'll see the positive results in whatever metric you use—readership, listenership, or viewership.

No Barriers to RSS

As a marketer, relying on consumers to come back and check your site regularly for new content is an increasingly risky proposition. With the availability of search engines, desktop widgets, and RSS feeds, fewer and fewer consumers are willing to spend hours surfing the Web for information.

Likewise, an increasingly dying practice is relying on the spam-battered email inbox as the sole repository of key information. For example, if it's important for journalists to see your information, does it really make sense to expect them to create a folder for your specific information? Not likely.

RSS feeds offer the ultimate "opt-in" model of receiving content: Consumers can easily and immediately control their secure subscription (free or paid) to information.

Unlike email, consumers receive information through an RSS feed while remaining completely anonymous. Nothing—not even an email address—needs to be submitted to receive information via an RSS feed. There is no "request to unsubscribe" step, as in email. All the consumer needs is an RSS reader, most of which are freely available.

Once a user subscribes, previously published information becomes immediately accessible and new content is delivered as soon as it is posted. With Web-based RSS readers, that content also doesn't pile-up on the consumer's hard drive. Plus, email servers are bypassed, so the many frustrating problems associated with lost emails or spam filtering are completely eliminated.

RSS Content Is High Profile

Typically, your online content lives or dies by its search engine rankings. How can you use that to your advantage? Consider this: The mission of a search engine is to be relevant. The more relevant the search results, the more valuable the information is to the searcher. When people get what they want, they come back for more and tell others along the way. Google proved this years ago by creating a superior search algorithm, one that continues to evolve and gain market share to this day.

Google's current search algorithm recognizes RSS feeds as extremely relevant content vehicles, even to the point of indexing and presenting the feed content in a search results page. Publishing content through an RSS feed is like "pinging" the search engines, notifying the bots that new content is available. This drives search bots to Web pages to index the content. The frequency and relevancy of the content increases the number of pages on your site that are indexed by search engines. This results in higher natural search rankings for your content.

RSS boosts your online visibility in many ways:

• Syndicates your content and creates one-way, inbound links from other Web sites that reference your site as the source
  
  
• Notifies search engines whenever your content is updated
  
  
• Increases Web traffic via deeper search engine indexing of your site and inclusions in RSS-only search directories
  
  
• Improves search rankings for targeted keywords (search terms)

RSS Positions You as a Thought Leader

Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines do not rely on human intervention to rank the importance of Web sites—yet if your Web site ranks high for certain keywords, it is perceived by most that the search engine has designated your site as an expert resource for that topic. Although expert resources may be found in top search results, there is currently no reliable process that assures top rankings go only to top organizations...

This raises an important question: How valuable would it be for your organization to appear as the No. 1 Google search result for a keyword relevant to your business? Or would even appearing anywhere on the first search results page be great for your business?

Top search engine rankings have a profound and positive impact on the perception of a business as an overall market leader. This may seem intuitive, but plenty are still unaware of this simple fact.

Consider these findings from the Middleberg/Ross Media in Cyberspace Study:

• 98% of journalist go online daily...
• 92% for article research
• 81% for search
• 72% to find expert sources
• 73% for press releases

Now imagine that a journalist is going online today to conduct research for an article about your industry. Will your company be visible? Will your content be found and seen as relevant and timely? Will that journalist be able to access back data and read the conversations you've had with your customers? Or read articles that you've written? Or subscribe to your RSS feed to see what kind of trends you find interesting?

Let's face it—the company most likely to catch the journalist's attention is the one with highly visible, relevant, and timely content that positions the organization as an industry and thought leader.

This is exactly why an RSS content distribution strategy is vital—it's the fastest and most effective way to achieve a high-profile online reputation for expertise and leadership.

RSS Future-Proofs Your Communications

RSS is the future of communication on the Web. It doesn't totally replace email or static Web pages, but it radically changes everyday methods of communicating and connecting with consumers, partners, press, and employees via the Internet.

Some organizations have been lulled into a false sense of complacency by the presence of the word "simple" in "Really Simple Syndication"; but "simple" here refers to the technical structure of how your content is formatted in a feed.

It does not refer to the simplicity of...

• Developing an RSS strategy
• Integrating RSS into marketing, PR, and communications plans
• Customizing the delivery and implementation tactics
• Optimizing your RSS feeds for search engines
• Effectively displaying and promoting your feeds
• Measuring results

Here's the bottom line: Transitioning to the RSS model is not simple for most organizations. Success depends on having a solid foundation in search optimization, the ability to measure results, and a keen appreciation of the new tactics used for widespread RSS content distribution.

RSS marketing should not be approached as a standalone module or feature to be added to your Web site by the techies. It needs to be recognized as a serious communications tool implemented as part of an ongoing strategy to build community, search visibility, expert positioning, loyalty, leads, sales, and brand awareness.

 

A Second Look at Second Life

A Second Look at Second Life
by Joel Cere
June 5, 2007

The Second Life tidal wave has finally crossed the Atlantic and is leaping on European shores. By and large, communication professionals are perplexed about whether they should surf the hype or not.

But, to their credit, they recognize a "PR opportunity" when they see one: Over the last six months, media coverage related to Second Life (SL) increased nearly 150%¹ while SL blog mentions increased 260%.²

But how long will the Second-Life media frenzy last? And if not for PR, what is the value of investing time and money with avatars when marketing budgets are under renewed pressure to deliver real returns from real consumers?

While a reality check is overdue, I would argue that there is more than meets the eye in SL, and there is genuine value to be extracted for brands that are willing to learn the dynamics of the "metaverse" and play by its rules.

Second Life is a land of plenty, not of many

There are over 2.9 million registered users in SL,³ but most reports talk of about 300,000 active users; and it is estimated that concurrent users are only around 20,000.⁴

Marketers are interested in knowing their audience. Reliable estimates on SL demographics are hard to come by, but it is thought that 25-45% of users come from outside the US, mostly from Canada, the UK, Australia, and Western Europe.⁵

SL is developing quickly outside North America, and local European enclaves such as a virtual Dublin or Parioli, a replica of a Roman street, are flourishing. SL users' median age is 32, with an equal gender split.⁶

Residents are marketing-savvy and patriotic

Second Life residents have been busy shaping their "little" world since 2003, but big corporations discovered this vast, untouched land only last year and decided to plant their flags on it.

Some think that Second Life could turn into another ad-funded MySpace. I wouldn't bet on that. The flood of announcements about companies being the first "fill in the blank" in SL has triggered a growing backlash from residents against brands they perceive are invading their turf.⁷  In addition, it is fair to say that the PR value of setting up a presence in SL diminishes over time.

When corporations occupy virtual land, they often go unnoticed. The most popular places in SL are grassroots and resident-run (mostly in the casinos/nightclubs/adult-entertainment arena...). None of the corporate outposts is achieving decent traffic in comparison. According to New World Notes, the only corporate venue that gets decent traffic is Thomson, which offers educational content—i.e., something of value.⁸ A lesson to all?

The right rewards beckon companies with the right expectations

Despite the hype, SL is growing fast. And it is not alone: World of Warcraft passed 8 million players in January⁹ and the BBC is launching its own virtual world for children.¹⁰

Consumers are moving away from watching TV and reading magazines and moving into places where they can be their own director and actor. If consumers are spending more time in virtual worlds, it makes sense for their favorite brands to follow them in their virtual life.

Toyota, Pontiac, American Apparel, Starwood Hotels are among those already established. Philips, ABN Amro and AOL have made announcements for 2007. Even the French Socialist Party has set up an outpost in SL. (Anecdotally: It is the only place where I saw avatars smoking...)

To set expectations right, buying an island in SL or commissioning an avatar of your CEO will not terraform your brand into an epitome of coolness. The value is not in being present but in being active.

Most companies in SL think about their presence from an advertising standpoint: that is, a place for people to "experience the brand." A visitor to such experiential venues (think agencies' virtual offices or trendy company showrooms) will quickly notice, more often than less, that these places are devoid of any life forms.

SL is a platform for interaction, and if there is no one to interact with the fun of wandering up and down designer glass stairways quickly wanes. Why stay or come back? Think about sustaining your investment: Spend less in building a fancy shop and more in manning the shop floor!

Think co-creative marketing and immersive learning, not clickable billboards

There are countless creative opportunities to promote your brand in SL besides virtual billboards and showrooms. The only constraints are of the platform itself. Talking of which, it is worth mentioning that when more than 40 people/avatars are confined in one place, SL slows down considerably. When organizing events, it is therefore advised to prioritize quality over quantity, as the inability to achieve the latter is seriously detrimental to the former.

Technology blog TechCrunch has another useful insight: holding SL only media announcements irritates time-poor and technology-challenged journalists¹¹ (who often write about Second Life from their experience watching the corporate video on the Web site...)

SL residents like to create. Unless they are provided with tools to contribute to the "brand experience," they will treat your efforts the way you treat an ad poster: pretty to look at once, and nothing more.

Spending time with SL natives and enrolling them to develop your SL footprint will increase the chance of successfully blending in. For example, you could launch a competition for SL residents to design your building or hire brand supporters to engage with visitors. If you are stuck for ideas, just ask the natives. Could you sponsor local fashion designers or inviting a SL virtual car designer to your real design studio? How about limited digital versions of your products offered or sold underground to trendsetters to create some buzz? Or publishing a guide to the coolest venues?

The whole of SL is user-generated, the very same trend driven by hard-to-reach Gen Y and Gen X consumers. What better place to gather firsthand consumer insights or indulge in a bit of consumer ethnography? Your SL venue could be a perfect way to train your marketing staff across the world on social media and consumer trends and to conduct workshops—providing you with an opportunity to practice what you teach and to reduce your company's carbon emissions.

By engaging with the virtual community and offering something of value, you will turn every interaction into a genuine understanding of what makes consumers want to create and converse. This is happening now, in virtual worlds, in MySpace or in YouTube.

* * *

Stepping in Second Life is not about PR or showering avatars with ads. It provides an opportunity to understand the mindset of today's connected consumers, turning your investment in Second Life into a real competitive advantage in First Life—and delivering real dollar returns on your marketing investment.

Endnotes:

¹ Factiva. Percentage increase comparisons between months of August 2006 and January 2007.

² Blogpulse. Keyword mentions "Second Life" over last six months as of 25th of January 2007.

³ http://secondlife.com/ as of 25th of January 2007.

⁴ http://gigagamez.com/2006/12/18/second-life-hype-vs-anti-hype-vs-anti-
anti-hype/

Real Second Life numbers, thanks to David Kirkpatrick

⁵ 'Second Life' Stats Expanded: Early 2006

http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2006/05/in_the_metavers.html

⁶ Second Life Lessons

⁷ http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2006/11/pr_flacks_banne.html

http://mutually-inclusive.typepad.com/weblog/2006/10/backlash_agains.html

⁸ http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2006/10/why_mixed_reali.html

⁹ http://www.blizzard.com/press/070111.shtml

¹⁰ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6290585.stm

¹¹ http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/11/13/dell-to-make-announcement-in
-second-life/

Joel Cere is vice-president of Hill & Knowlton's online communication practice (Netcoms) for Europe, Middle East and Africa. He blogs at beyondpr.blogspot.com and has been a guest lecturer at the University of Metz, France since 1999.

Web content may cut into doc's journal reading

Web content may cut into doc's journal reading

Online content may be cutting into the time physicians spend reading printed medical journals, according to a white paper from DoctorDirectory.com.  According to a survey of physicians, 81% reported that they average five hours or less per week reading medical journals of any type. Compare that to a 1989 study, which reported an average of 6.2 hours per week spent reading journals. The DoctorDirectory.com survey also found that 41% of respondents said they spend three or more hours per week using Web-based sources for medical information. More than half--56%--said they routinely read Medscape and WebMD. The study shows that when it comes to advertising, pharma should invest in both print and online efforts, Tom St.Peter, vice president of business development for DoctorDirectory.com tells ePharm5. "Print journals are a foundation for what you do online," he says.

JC Penney Launches Desktop Widget that Pipes Deals, Fashion Tips

JC Penney has launched a desktop widget that brings deals and content directly to consumers, reports AdWeek. Developed by independent T3 in Austin and widget company Skinkers in London, the widget streams deals, gives fashion tips twice weekly, and acts as a personal planner. Though Web-based widgets are all the rage, JC Penney decided on the "old school" desktop widget as it was more appropriate for the core demo of women 25-55. Other brands launching widgets include Honda, which made one that brings real-time traffic conditions to the desktop, and Southwest Airlines, which "dings" flight deals to the desktop.

Pando Launches Grid-Computing for Online Video Publishing

After its free online video publishing and sharing service drew eight million people, Pando Networks Inc. has decided to launch a commercial version with grid-computing technology, reports Internet Retailer. The technology enables a large number of users to share computer processing power, enabling them to view the same video files downloaded from a site or streamed from a server. This saves users from suffering content delivery problems that occur when a mass tries downloading the same thing at the same time. It also protects retailers from having to shoulder the cost of extra bandwidth. "We’ve talked about this on a supercomputing level, and now it’s available for retailers as well as consumers," said Founder and CEO Robert Levitan. "We’re using grid computing to facilitate social networking with high-definition video." The grid-computing system is able to support the use of online video available from websites or e-mail, blogs and social networks. Michael Arrington on TechCrunch described Pando as easy to deploy, with extremely fast video transmissions. However, he adds that an effective DRM system will need to be implemented as Pando's distribution base widens. The Pando software is available for free, but commercial users will be charged $5,000 per million deliveries of a 1GB video. Levitan hastened to add, "Our goal is to eliminate 90%-95% of the cost of delivering online video."

Exponential Debuts Free Ad Server

Exponential has debuted a powerful new ad server it says publishers can use for free, reports ClickZ. The Expo9 server served approximately 20 to 25 billion ads per month during its beta testing period. Ads have been delivered to sites in the Tribal Fusion Network, of which Exponential is the parent. The Expo9 interface allows advertisers to target and place ads where they feel they're performing the best. By allowing for third-party integration, Exponential hopes its system can become a one-stop shop for publishers to manage all the ads on their site or sites. The new system, the company says, is a marked step over its previous ad server offerings because of its extensive targeting capabilities.

J&J pushing its OTC products via community fundraisers

J&J pushing its OTC products via community fundraisers

The next kid who's fundraising at your door might be selling Tylenol instead of $12 wrapping paper. Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is starting a campaign in which community groups, churches, and charities will sell the company's OTC products, according to Brandweek. In exchange for participating in the program, J&J will donate 8% of sales to the organization. Fundraisers will encourage people to purchase the OTC brands through the Web site Ucareorg.com instead of at the pharmacy. According to Brandweek, J&J says that this approach beats typical fundraising because there's nothing to carry from door to door. The effort will include brands such as Sudafed, Tylenol, and Motrin, as well as the OTC brands it acquired from Pfizer, according to the report. At press time, Ucareorg.com was "temporarily shutdown," and a message asked visitors to try back again later.

Lilly funds $15 million diabetes peer education program

Lilly funds $15 million diabetes peer education program

A $15 million gift from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation is funding a peer-support program for people with diabetes. The Peers for Progress program will identify and train diabetic volunteers to become certified "Diabetes Mentors." These laypeople will help other people with diabetes to better manage the emotional, social, and self-care demands of the disease. According to Eli Lilly, the need for the program is great because although the number of people with diabetes is on the rise, the number of healthcare providers to serve them is not. The program aims to empower 1% of the people with diabetes in America, or 200,000 patients, to become Diabetes Mentors and to expand globally to include two million mentors around the world by 2020.

Marketers drop the ball on e-mail campaigns with landing pages

Marketers drop the ball on e-mail campaigns with landing pages

Although e-mail marketers spend a lot of time perfecting e-mail campaigns, they often overlook a crucial next step: the landing page. A new Silverpop study shows that 50% of viewers who click through an e-mail marketing piece will abandon the landing page after only 8 seconds. Silverpop examined 14 elements of e-mail campaigns, such as ease of navigation and amount of copy, from 150 top online marketing companies. The study showed that landing pages are often cluttered and don't echo the look and feel of the e-mail campaign, leading consumers to leave the site. However, 35% of the landing pages didn't have the same look or tone of the email that generated the click. Also, although the landing page should repeat the e-mail's call to action or offer, 45% of landing pages failed to do so.
 

Easy Syndication Of Online Video

by Ross Fadner, Wednesday, Jun 20, 2007 10:45 AM ET

Easy Syndication Of Online Video

Business 2.0 Blog Joost, the online TV service that utilizes peer-to-peer technology, is outmoded, says Dmitry Shapiro, CEO of rival video upstart Veoh. Joost is a closed system that only shows video from the producers it has deals with. Shapiro thinks Internet TV should be something more open--like the Web itself--that draws content from both professional producers and the greater online community. Later this week, Veoh will unveil a competing service called VeohTV, a P2P-based desktop application that allows you to watch any video from anywhere on the Web. What exactly does that mean? VeohTV is RSS-like in the sense that it gathers video from across the Web-NBC.com, YouTube, CNN.com--and brings it in one customizable, controllable location. You can search for and then subscribe to shows, and even download video streams to watch later. And it's controlled by a standard remote, like TV. VeohTV is version 2.0 of the company's downloadable video player, close to 1 million downloads, compared to Joost's half a million (though Joost is still in beta and requires an invite). But why desktop software? As Shapiro says: "The Web browser is not the right application for consuming video," citing the success of Outlook, the Web browser, and iTunes, so-called "killer apps" that all reside on the desktop.    Read the whole story...

30s Beat 15s In Online Video Advertising Study

30s Beat 15s In Online Video Advertising Study

by Jack Loechner, Wednesday, Jun 20, 2007 7:16 AM ET

30s Beat 15s In Online Video Advertising Study A recent study by the Online Publishers Association (OPA), looking at the key factors driving video advertising success, used a variety of ads featuring everything from consumer packaged goods and financial services to airlines and pharmaceuticals, and four ad attributes, testing 96 combinations for how they impact key advertising and brand metrics. Pam Horan, OPA president, said "With online video firmly entrenched in the mainstream, marketers need to understand what works for driving key advertising metrics. (this study) identifies the most important factors, from ad length to the impact of adjacent content, that can improve video advertising effectiveness... the study is an important step in laying down concrete, high impact techniques for marketers." The four ad attributes tested were: duration (15 v. 30 sec.); placement (pre-roll and post-roll); companion ad (with/without); and, advertising type (original online v. repurposed TV). Several of the key findings include: 30s Top 15s. In two of the four advertising and brand metrics measured, ad length was the leading factor driving lift. And with each, 30 second ads outpaced 15s: ad relevance (30% lift using 30s) and brand consideration (23% lift using 30s). The study reinforced the notion of a "halo" effect from website video content affinity. If the consumer had a prior brand affinity toward an advertised brand and they liked the adjacent video content, brand consideration jumped 61%. If the consumer's initial attitude toward the brand was neutral or negative, brand consideration still rose 21% if they liked the video content. The study found that static companion ads can play a valuable complimentary role. To lift brand awareness the combination of a pre-roll and a companion proved to be most effective. The study found that the leading video content category is news/current events (14% watch daily). Weather ranks second (11% watch daily), followed by jokes /funny clips (9% watch daily). The study found that online video advertising leads to concrete results. Of the 80% of viewers that have watched a video ad online, 52% have taken some sort of action. Importantly, visitors to media sites (magazine, newspaper, cable, broadcast and pure-play) demonstrated they were more inclined to take action upon viewing a video ad than visitors to portals and user generated content sites. Viewer Behavior on Seeing Online Video Ad (% of respondents, April-May 2007) Elicited response 45% Checked Company web site 31 Looked for more information 28 Searched for info about product 22 Clicked on adjacent banner ad 19 Bought something 16 Talked to friends/family about product 16 Gone to store to check product 15 Requested product information 13 Forwarded video ad 9 Signed up for trial 9 Called toll-free number 5 Ordered subscription 4 Source: Online Publishers Association and OTX, June 2007 Of consumers who made a purchase in the last month, 48% said the Internet drove initial awareness, 57% said they learned more using the Internet, 55% used the Internet to decide where to buy, and 56% made the final purchase decision using the Internet. Horan concluded, "As consumers work their way through the purchase process, the Internet is far and away the most important media they use... " Details of the Frames of Reference study are being presented on the OPA's annual, eight-city Eyes on the Internet Tour. A copy of the final report will be posted on the OPA website (www.online-publishers.org) at the end of the Tour For more details included in this preliminary release, please visit here.

 

Tacoda Adds Women's Vertical

Tacoda Adds Women's Vertical

Wednesday, Jun 20, 2007 6:00 AM ET

TACODA AUDIENCE NETWORKS SAID IT has dedicated a specialized sales team to the women's vertical. The behavioral targeter said it now reaches 28 million women in the vertical with the addition of Atlantic Media, Connecting Moms, Real Girls Media, and Active Interest Media. Tacoda added that it has already run campaigns targeting women this year for more than 40 branded advertisers, including GSK, Johnson & Johnson, P&G, Kraft, Sears and Target. Other women's sites in Tacoda's network include Oprah, Woman's Day, AllRecipes, HGTV, ClubMom, and Parenting.

Swarmcast Puts the Accelerator on iTunes

Swarmcast has taken the wraps off of technology that can help you download videos from iTunes faster than usual, reports The Globe & Mail. The Swarmcast Autobahn Accelerator uses multi-sourcing technology to speed up download times. Instead of pulling files from one server, little chunks of the file are drawn from many servers, automatically compensating for delays. The company says its product makes downloads ten times faster than they currently are. Swarmcast's multi-sourcing technology has previously been applied to streaming video. The company is funded by a pair of venture capital firms.

Idelix Launches Map-Based Dynamic Ads

Map technology firm Idelix is testing a way to overlay dynamic ads onto just about any map software, reports ClickZ. Idelix believes it has identified a shortcoming in the current format for serving ads alongside maps: The ads don't change with the map. Most map-based ads either show an unchanging ad in the body, or a series of unchanging ads along the side. But Idelix is working on technology to serve ads as people zoom in, out and move around a map. Each section of a map will be owned by an ad that could be placed on the street, city or brand level. Advertising within online maps is a growing area of interest. Google is also exploring such options. Idelix's software would be released as an API, which can be customized for the needs of respective sites.

Daily Online Video Consumption Spikes 56 Percent

There's been a huge growth in popularity of online video use among Americans in the past year, according to a national online Magid Media Futures survey conducted in the last week of March 2007, reports MarketingCharts. Daily usage of online video increased 56 percent over the last year: In 2006, 9 percent of 12-64-year-old Americans who used the Internet reported using online video daily; that proportion has now risen to 14 percent, reported the Magid study. "Clearly the use of online video demonstrates that the Internet has become a mass platform for distributing video content to a wide cross section of Americans," said Mike Vorhaus, SVP and managing director for Frank N. Magid Associates. Additional findings from the study: Weekly usage of online video has also increased: In 2006, 44 percent of online Americans age 12-64 used online video once a week or more; now that proportion is 52 percent - a growth of 18 percent. Among young adult males 18-24, 35 percent report using online video at least once a day, and 80 percent report watching online video at least once a week. In all age-groups, males are more regular viewers of online video: Among females 18-24, weekly use of online video is 53 percent, versus 80 percent for males. MarketingCharts provides more info from the study.

Meredith Adds Healia Health Search Engine to Roster

Publisher Meredith has purchased consumer health information search engine Healia.com, the latest in a series of online acquisitions, reports MediaPost. The search engine allows people to drill down into results based on demographic and other factors in order to deliver the best results. That sort of information is likely very attractive to drug and other health companies. Healia's vertical search will be integrated into other Meredith websites, such as Better Homes and Gardens, Parents and American Baby, among others. Meredith executives believe the interest women have in finding health information online will make this a good fit, increasing site stickiness and consequent vendor interest. The acquisition puts Meredith in a position to benefit from advertisers drawn to Healia's capabilities.

Google Public Policy Blog Makes Online Debut

Perhaps bored with having conquered the online ad market, Google has just launched a blog focused on US government legislation and regulation, a move that betrays its growing interest in overt political affairs, reports Yahoo. The blog focuses on issues such as privacy and copyright protection. It has existed internally for over two months. This move marks a more aggressive interest by Google in political affairs at large. Last year the search conglomo led a number of Web-based companies in demanding Congress pass a series of net neutrality rules prohibiting broadband carriers from blocking or slowing Web content offered by their competitors. This year they lend unsolicited advice on how the FCC should auction the 60MHz of spectrum in the 700MHz band emptied by US television networks. "We’re seeking to do public policy advocacy in a Googley way," wrote Director Andrew McLaughlin of Google's public policy and government affairs department. "We want our users to be part of the effort, to know what we’re saying and why, and to help us refine and improve our policy positions and advocacy strategies. With input and ideas from our users, we’ll surely do a better job of fighting for our common interests."

Gen Y Wears Hearts on Sleeves with Text via Tee

T-shirts, long the medium of choice for making a statement, are getting interactive, thanks to a new startup that features unique SMS codes on each shirt, reports Springwise. Reactee is bringing social networking to the next level by giving the tees it sells unique SMS codes that text those interested with the t-shirt's slogan or the wearer's information. The wearer sets an automatic response for the person texting the SMS number, and also receives the sender's phone number. The shirts, potentially great for flirting, could also serve as powerful guerilla marketing devices. Each is priced around $25.

Glam Upstages iVillage, Becomes #1 Women's Network

Blog network operator Glam Media has stepped gently over iVillage to become the top women's property online, reports Venture Beat. The lead isn't great but could signal the beginning of a new world order. In May iVillage had 17.1 million unique visitors but Glam's network of blogs reached just a little bit farther with 17.3 million unique readers. Glam, in its fourth year of operations, now incorporates about 350 sites, including magazines and blogs. Topics run the gamut from beauty to parenting to fashion. Glam has significantly expanded what it offers to advertisers, who seek use network to reach a sizable audience of tech-savvy women. The company offers advertisers reporting options that include the age of its readers. It also recently signed to run Google AdSense ads on all its sites. Glam publicized its triumph, which is based on readership numbers from comScore, in a full-page ad that ran in a number of large newspapers yesterday.

Europe's 'Digital Mums' at Home on the Web

Some 62 percent of women with children 0-18 years old now regularly access the Internet across Europe - a growth of nine percent since 2005, according to research from the European Interactive Advertising Association, writes MarketingCharts (via NetImperative). The first "Digital Mums Report," the latest in the EIAA Mediascope Europe series, reveals that 75 percent of the time digital mums spend online is for personal reasons and that online activities are becoming a valuable, everyday part of their busy lives. Seven of ten digital mums - 70 percent - who use all media say the Internet provides what they want quickly and saves them time, and 46 percent say it helps keep them "ahead of the game," according to the EIAA. The number of digital mums visiting technology websites has grown almost 50 percent since 2005; they are also using the Web as a resource for family health needs (an increase of 27 percent year over year). The most popular online activity is researching and catching up via the Web - 59 percent regularly visit news sites, and 53 percent look for local information online. Some additional findings from the EIAA report: Age: Mums who use the Internet and have babies and/or very young children (0-4 years old) are more likely to visit family and kids websites (61 percent) and banking and finance sites (63 percent). Shopping: Digital mums are more frequent online shoppers than women without children. 79 percent of them have bought items online, spending an average of 644 euros and buying 10 items in just six months. Entertainment: There has been a 63 percent increase since 2005 in the number of mums who regularly download TV programs and films. Keeping in touch: The number of mums making telephone calls via the Internet has increased by 63 percent since 2005, and 38 percent now use instant messaging (up from 30 percent in 2005). Media Multitasking: Once the kids are in bed, mums take to the Web to tackle tasks or enjoy "me-time" - 65 percent access the Internet between 5.30pm-9pm. "For time-pressed, multi-tasking mums, the Internet is increasingly playing a crucial role in enriching their busy everyday lives. Not only does the Internet help mums maximize time and keep control of family life and demands but it is also proving to be a valuable networking tool," said Alison Fennah, executive director of the EIAA. MarketingCharts offers up more from the EIAA study.

Study finds staggering cost of treating diabetics

Tue Jun 19, 2007 9:12AM EDT

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One out of every eight U.S. federal health care dollars is spent treating people with diabetes, a study found, and advocates are calling for the creation of a government post to oversee coordination of spending on treatment and prevention among federal agencies.

The study, based on federal spending data from 2005, looked at various government health programs to determine how much was spent on diabetics versus non diabetics. It found it cost the U.S. government $79.7 billion more to treat people with the disease, or some 12 percent of the $645 billion in total federal health care spending projected that year.

The National Changing Diabetes Program (NCDP) study was being released at a briefing with the Congressional Diabetes Caucus on Tuesday. The study, conducted by Mathematica Policy Research for NCDP -- a coalition of diabetes thought leaders, including physician organizations and disease advocacy groups -- included all federally-funded programs that have an impact on diabetes prevention and treatment.

"Often we think about diabetes only residing with the Department of Health and Human Services," said Dana Haza, senior director of NCDP, which is funded by Denmark's Novo Nordisk, one of world's largest sellers of insulin and diabetes products.

"But when you look at the findings of this study, actually 18 of 21 federal agencies have a budgetary influence impact on diabetes," she said, noting agencies that deal with veterans, prisoners, school lunch programs and food stamps as examples.

"The staggering cost of treating diabetes and the number of diabetes-related programs highlight a need for a national diabetes coordinator to ensure results," Haza said. "We are spending as much on diabetes as we are on the entire Department of Education, but no one is leading the effort."

A report by Medco Health Solutions Inc. issued last month found that the growing diabetes epidemic and more aggressive treatment could result in soaring costs to treat the disease over the next three years.

An analysis of Medco's 2007 Drug Trend Report found that, by 2009, spending just on medicines to treat diabetes could soar 60 percent to 68 percent from 2006 levels. The sales of diabetes drugs in the United States reached $9.88 billion in 2005, according to data from IMS Health Inc.

"Coordinating America's response to diabetes should be mandatory," said Lana Vukovljak, CEO of American Association of Diabetes Educators.

"Over the next 30 years, diabetes is expected to claim the lives of 62 million Americans. Surely this health crisis warrants the appointment of a manager charged with aligning budgets and programs for diabetes at the federal level," Vukovljak said in a statement.

Uncontrolled diabetes can result in a wide variety of serious health complications, including heart disease, stroke, vision loss, amputation of extremities and kidney disease.

"Our findings suggest that there are many missed opportunities for the federal government to enhance its impact on diabetes prevention, detection, treatment and management of complications," Marsha Gold, who led Mathematica's research team, said in a statement.

© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

Reuters journalists are subject to the Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.

 

Physicians using online patient sites for medical research

Physicians using online patient sites for medical research

Medical researchers and physicians are hitting up the thousands of online patient groups to recruit for clinical research, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports. In fact, one group of researchers has started a Web site and blog called www.e-patients.net  to increase collaboration between healthcare professionals and online patient groups. Bloggers on the site include a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a researcher at Pew's Internet and American Life Project, according to WSJ. Another new site, http://lo-wiki.acor.org , is a health research wiki. According to the site, the wiki aims to help patients build online patient communities and connect with researchers. Other patient Web sites with ties to researchers include the Association of Cancer Online Resources and LMSarcoma Direct Research Foundation, according to THE WALL STREET JOURNAL [SEE ARTICLE BELOW].

 

 

FULL ARTICLE FROM WALL STREET JOURNAL:

 

The Growing Clout Of Online Patient Groups
June 13, 2007; Page D1

(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)

When researchers at Harvard University were looking for a gene mutation in a group of rare blood cancers, they turned to Joyce Niblack, who put the word out to an online patient mailing list she manages, spurring more than 300 members to send in mouth swabs and bone-marrow samples.

Later, Ms. Niblack mustered 1,179 participants from 30 countries for a Mayo Clinic-led study of how the cancers, known as myeloproliferative disorders, affect quality of life. The Mayo researchers are now running the clinical-trials page on her foundation's Web site, mpdinfo.org¹, to keep participants up to date on developments.

Online patient groups have become an increasingly powerful force for health-care consumers over the past decade, raising funds for research and offering patient information and support. Now, as the cumulative power of their memberships grows, these groups are becoming invaluable partners to researchers and physicians searching for cures.

Patient groups are stepping up their participation in medical and public-health research and entering far-reaching collaborative efforts with researchers, scientists and drug developers. They are raising funds and taking part in studies to evaluate the impact of online patient sites. They are even conducting their own studies on side effects of medications, and working with researchers to recruit clinical-trial participants, provide DNA samples and start tissue banks.

In the case of Ms. Niblack's efforts, the results of collaboration are already apparent. The DNA gathered from the group's mouth swabs and bone-marrow samples helped researchers identify a genetic mutation that could be a target for new therapies. The finding could lead to new drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells without harming normal cells.

"Groups like those led by Joyce immensely serve the needs of patients," says Ayalew Tefferi, a Mayo physician and researcher who works with the group. Her foundation's Web site is "one-stop shopping for clinical trials and breaking news in research."

Other online groups are having a similar impact. An online group for patients with a rare cancer known as leiomyosarcoma sent more than 300 tissue samples to researchers at Stanford University for a tissue bank that is being used to study genetic and molecular changes that occur in the disease.

The International Myeloma Foundation conducted an online survey of patients that helped identify jaw bone deformities in some patients taking the Novartis drug Zometa, which is used to reduce or delay bone damage that may occur with the disease. Novartis now advises patients to avoid invasive dental procedures while taking Zometa.

Spreading the Word

To spur more widespread collaboration, a group of experts in patients' use of the Web just launched a new Web site and blog, e-patients.net, originally developed by Tom Ferguson, a physician who received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Following Dr. Ferguson's death last year after his own 15-year battle with multiple myeloma, his cohorts completed his study, "e-Patients: how they can help us heal health care," which is available free on the site.

Co-authors of the blog include Daniel Hoch, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Susannah Fox, a researcher at Pew's Internet and American Life Project.

Another member of the team, Gilles Frydman, founder of the Association of Cancer Online Resources, recently launched a patient-focused "wiki" -- a collaborative Web site that visitors can add to and edit -- called lo-wiki.acor.org. The site helps consumers build and maintain online discussion groups and aid researchers who want to study such online communities or use the online groups to conduct research. Mr. Frydman, who started ACOR more than a decade ago when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, is also developing other sites, including one that will provide links to medical research papers for patients.

ACOR, which offers access to 159 mailing lists for cancer and other disorders, including the one managed by Ms. Niblack, had about 110,000 cancer patients and caregivers using the online communities over the past year, according to Mr. Frydman. But there are tens of thousands of such groups on sites such as Yahoo; last year, about 17 million adults, or 12% of Internet users surveyed by Pew, participated in an online discussion or group forum that helps people with personal issues or health problems.

Reaching Patients

"We can bring information about studies, clinical trials and meetings to any patient world-wide who has computer access," says Ms. Niblack, a retired patent attorney who runs both an ACOR mailing site and the MPD Foundation and has been fighting the disease for almost 20 years. "People have told me the information has saved their lives."

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill teamed up with ACOR for the first large-scale scientific analysis of medical online communities, publishing its findings last month in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. Using software that analyzes message content to examine the type of support provided by the groups, the researchers found that the most common topics in messages were about treatment information and how to communicate with health-care providers.

"One of the real values in the mailing lists is their role in getting patients to seek second opinions and ask questions about clinical trials," says Barbara Rimer, dean of North Carolina's School of Public Health and an author of the study.

Patients' Main Concerns

The software programs enabled researchers to study messages without identifying who wrote them. But Deborah Bell, an ovarian-cancer survivor who manages the ovarian-cancer list for ACOR and participated in the North Carolina study, says members of the group are already aware that what they are writing is on a public forum, and privacy is not a major issue. With a potentially deadly cancer diagnosis, she notes, their main concern is finding information and coping with doctors who say snide things like "and where did you go to medical school?" when confronted with questions from a patient.

Raising New Issues

Of course, the rush to link communities and researchers and the move by patient groups to conduct their own research raises some thorny new issues. While the nonprofit, patient-run online groups have no financial interest in research or recruiting for trials, some for-profit health Web sites see their online communities as a way to make money. Such sites, supported by drug-company advertising, may seek to recruit patients for drug-company clinical trials, often without going through physicians who may advise patients about the pros and cons of such trials.

Also, the research organized by online patient communities makes some scientists nervous because such efforts don't use the gold standard of randomized controlled clinical trials.

The Life Raft Group, an organization of patients suffering from rare gastrointestinal tumors known as GIST, conducts its own surveys about the side effects of the Novartis drug Gleevec, commonly used to treat GIST. The group recruits participants from among its members and publishes results on its liferaftgroup.org Web site. Norman Scherzer, a retired public-health official who started the group when his wife was diagnosed with GIST, notes that the study turned up different reactions among men and women to the drug, and was the first to report that side effects decrease over time.

"At minimum it is a surveillance system," says Mr. Scherzer, who says the group isn't trying to pass off its research as pure science. Mr. Scherzer recently persuaded Novartis CEO Dan Vasella to give the group $2 million for a research program that will recruit experts from major cancer institutions to work together to study patients who become resistant to Gleevec.

Working Together

George Demetri, head of sarcoma and bone-cancer research at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, who treats GIST patients and has worked closely with the Life Rraft Group, says that doctors need to work in partnership with patient groups. Doctors should take the self-administered surveys seriously, to understand the impact of side effects, for example.

But in cancer research, he cautions, "the challenge is keeping the patient voice in, but also staying as rigorous as possible and not being swayed by inaccurate, premature or misleading data."

 

How Unilever breaks down boomers

How Unilever breaks down boomers

Advertising Age via NewsEdge Corporation :

34%: Savvy Savers Yearly household spend on package goods: $3,510

What they value: Special offers

Shopping traits: Affluent, disciplined

Life traits: Cultural and sporting events, suburban and cosmopolitan

Shopping trips they take: Stock up every seven days, spending $49; quick trips every two days, spending $21

28%: Daily Planners Yearly household spend on package goods: $3,552

What they value: Well-stocked grocery stores, trusted local merchants, convenience, aspirational buying

Shopping traits: Fitted to busy lives

Life traits: Kid-centric, environmentally aware

Trips they take: Stock up every seven days, spending $54; quick trips every three days, spending $22

22%: Plain and Practicals Yearly household spend on package goods: $4,055

What they value: Everyday low prices

Shopping traits: Big-box mass merchandisers (e.g., Wal-Mart)

Life traits: Conservative, religious, outdoorsy, self-sufficient

Trips they take: Stock up every seven days, spending $74; quick trips every seven days, spending $24

16%: No-Frills Independents Yearly household spend on package goods: $4,041

What they value: Convenience

Shopping traits: Indifference to brands, price-insensitive, buy beer and cigarettes

Life traits: Loners, lower income, older

Trips they take: Stock up every seven days, spending, $61; quick trips every four days spending, $24

Source: Unilever