Some 12% of females surveyed said that they would be less likely to date someone if they had a big and bulky cell phone

Single mobile females (SMFs) – young single women who have cell phones – assign to their mobile devices an important role in relationships and dating, organizing their lives, and in fashion, according to a recent study commissioned by Samsung Telecommunications America.

“The cell phone is an integral part of the SMF’s life, serving as a pocket-size detective, matchmaker, wing-woman and beyond. It is now officially a girl’s best friend,” said Randy Smith, VP of channel marketing for Samsung.

Among the survey findings:

• More than two-thirds of women (73%) of women have ditched traditional, paper address books for their cell phones to keep track of contacts.
• The average number of cell phone contacts is 63.
• Almost one-third of respondents said they can tell a good amount about a person by the type of cell phone they have (32%).
• Some 12% of females surveyed said that they would be less likely to date someone if they had a big and bulky cell phone.
• Nearly three-quarters of females surveyed look at their cell phone, rather than their watch, to get the time (74%).
• More than one out of three SMFs have had a friend call them to interrupt a date (34%).
• A whopping 70% said they have snooped on their significant other’s cell phone – for example, by looking through text messages or picking up their phone to see who is calling.
• Single mobile females use cell phones to avoid calls: 40% have faked technical difficulties to avoid someone they were not interested in dating.
• Nearly four out of ten (39%) single women have suffered from “text shame:” sending a text message and then waking up the next morning realizing that they said something they shouldn’t have.
• Nearly half of survey respondents prefer to flirt with someone they are interested in via text message when they are away from them (48%).
• More than 10% of females surveyed say the “three day rule” – waiting to call someone until three days after a first date – only applies to calling, and one can send a text message to someone before day three (13%).
• 78% of females surveyed prefer to give their cell phone number to someone they are attracted to.

About the study: The survey, commissioned by Samsung, was conducted by Kelton Research and included more than 500 US unmarried females ages 18 to 35 who have a cell phone.

Per day, the group engages in one-third more word-of-mouth (WOM) conversation than the total public or women in general, the study found:

Per day, the group engages in one-third more word-of-mouth (WOM) conversation than the total public or women in general

Among other findings:

• Fully 60% of conversations among the studied group carry with them a recommendation to buy, try, or consider the brands under discussion.
  • Positive brand sentiment outweighs negative by a 10-to-1 margin.
  • In shopping, retail, and apparel, 69% of the group is likely to purchase based on what they heard.
• The group has higher WOM credibility than the total public and total women – in various capacities (e.g., propensity to pass along info, purchase intent):

The group has higher WOM credibility than the total public and total women

• They are more likely to qualify as WOM influencers (60% more so than the total public, 45% more so than total women).
• Close to 1 in 5 pregnant and new moms were identified as WOM leaders or Conversation Catalysts (based on their recommending behavior and size of social network).

Content, Sources of Online Conversations

Pregnant and new moms are talking about technology, financial services, healthcare, food/dining, media/entertainment, packaged goods, shopping and retail experiences, the study found:

• Half or more of those surveyed said they had least one conversation per day about the above topics.
• Retailer, consumer electronic, and soft drink brands dominated the top 10 most talked about brands:

Retailer, consumer electronic, and soft drink brands dominated the top 10 most talked about brands

Most discussions about brands and products occur in person; discussion content, however, is often provided by various media, especially the internet and television:

Moms have a natural desire to share ideas and information with each other. The rich content and community experience found on the internet plays a key role in driving these conversations

About the study: In Jan. ‘08, Keller Fay interviewed a sample of 1,721 women (18+) who were pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or have one or more children age five or under. The women, recruited through the BabyCenter 21st Century Mom Panel, BabyCenter’s website, and an external panel, completed an online survey about their face-to-face, telephone, or online conversations about brands across 14 categories during the 24 hours that immediately preceded the survey.

Interested in reaching Latina mommies? Contact Target Latino!!

Hispanics accounted for 57.7% of sales growth in the food, beverage and restaurant sector.

In addition to being the largest driver of college enrollment growth, Hispanics have also become the most important U.S. demographic growth driver in the food, beverage and restaurant sectors,according to data from a Hispanic market research study.

The U.S. Hispanic segment made up more than 50% of real U.S. food, beverage and restaurant growth between 2005 and 2008, generating $52 billion of new inflation-adjusted spending. In contrast, non-Hispanics generated $40 billion of new inflation adjusted spending during the same period. This means that between 2005 and 2008, Hispanics accounted for 57.7% of sales growth in the food, beverage and restaurant sector.

The analysis indicates this growth can be attributed primarily to an increase in the number of U.S. Hispanic households, and secondly to an increase in consumer spending among U.S. Hispanics (which should likely continue rising as more Hispanics obtain college degrees and increase their earning potential).

Source: Latinum

Not surprisingly, the research also found that the younger the respondent, the more reliant that person was on online sources.

Key demographic differences:

• Respondents with household incomes of $100K or more receive considerably more news and information from online sources (23.1% vs. 14.6% for the general population).
• College grads report using online sources more frequently (20.0%).
• Adults ages 18-34 report the highest reliance on online sources (22.2%).
• Hispanics are more likely to prefer online sources (21.0%).

“The data showing an increase in online use and drop in daily newspaper consumption echoes what we’re hearing from consumers and media partners,” according to the research company. “Consumers want more of their information online.”

Other survey findings:

• College grads are more likely to trust online news (giving online a 6.3 rating vs. the 5.7 rating by the general population), and are less likely to trust TV news (giving TV a 6.1 rating vs. the 6.5 rating by the general population).
• Respondents with annual household incomes of $100K and above trust online sources considerably more than the general population (giving online a 6.5 rating, compared with the 5.7 rating by the general population).
• Higher-income respondents also view daily newspapers as more credible (6.8 vs. the 6.3 overall rating).

About the survey:  The survey was conducted with 1,000 US adults, ages 18+. It was conducted by phone September 10-13, 2009. ARAnet.

RFID bracelets and "Like?"

Facebook’s “Like” functionality arrived in the real world this past month in Israel when Coke added RFID bracelets (Radio Frequency Identification) to the company’s Coca-Cola Village summer resort event, making it easy for high school attendees to share their experiences instantly on Facebook.  Throughout the Village’s 40+ experiences teens simply placed their RFID bracelets on “Like” placards to update their Facebook feed with a “Like” about a pool, spa, extreme sports, food and more all found at the Coca-Cola Village.  Also, if teens were photographed by one of the event’s official photographers the RFID technology automatically tagged everyone in the photo and uploaded it to each relevant Facebook profile.

Every day the Village was open up to 650 people attended.  Those 650 people each posted on average 54 pieces of Coke branded content on their Facebook profile, driving 35,000 Coca-Cola Facebook messages each day.  Talk about amplifying an event!

Check out the video to see how it all worked.  Huge “WOOHOO” to Coca-Cola Israel!

I'd die without my phone!

Four out of five teens (17 million) carry a wireless device (a 40% increase since 2004), finds the study titled “Teenagers: A Generation Unplugged,” which probes how the growing teen wireless segment is using wireless products and how they want to use them in the future.

Impact on Teen Life

• A majority (57%) of teens view their cell phone as the key to their social life.
• Second only to clothing, teens say, a person’s cell phone tells the most about their social status or popularity, outranking jewelry, watches and shoes.

Providing Entertainment and Security

• More than half of the respondents (52%) agree that the cell phone has become a new form of entertainment.
• One-third of teens play games on their phone.
• 80% say their cell phone provides a sense of security while on the go, confirming that the cell phone has become their mobile safety net when needing a ride (79%), getting important information (51%), or just helping out someone in trouble (35%).
• Teens carry cell phones to have access to friends, family and current events.
• Though only one in five (18%) teens care to pinpoint the location of their family and friends via their cell phone, 36% hate the idea of a cell phone feature that allows others to know their exact location.

Texting Replacing Talking

The study also confirmed that texting is replacing talking among teens. Teens admitted spending nearly an equal amount of time talking as they do texting each month. The feature is so important to them that if texting were no longer an option 47% of teens say their social life would end or be worsened - that’s especially so among females (54% vs. 40%).

Teens say texting has advantages over talking because it offers more options, including multitasking, speed, the option to avoid verbal communication, and because it is fun – in that order, according to the study.

With more than 1 billion text messages sent each day, it is no surprise that 42% of teens say they can text blindfolded, the study found.

“Teens have created a new form of communication. We call it texting, but in essence it is a reflection of how teens want to communicate to match their lifestyles. It is all about multitasking, speed, privacy and control,” said Joseph Porus, VP & chief architect, Technology Group, Harris Interactive. “Teens in this study are crying for personalization and control of exactly what a wireless device or plan can do for them.”

Devices of the Future

The survey asked teens what future changes they’d like to see in wireless services and devices and found that respondents want cell phones that break boundaries and are personalized to fit their lifestyles.

Teens remain excited and openminded about the wireless possibilities and their ideal future mobile devices would feature five applications – phone, MP3 player, GPS, laptop computer and video player, according to Harris.

What Teens Want On Their Phones

Also on teens’ wish lists are phones that…

• Guarantee secured data access to the user only (80%)
• Provide accessibility to personal health records (66%)
• Present opportunities to be educated anywhere in the world (66%)
• Bring users closer to global issues impacting teens’ world (63%)
• Are shockproof and waterproof (81%)
• Have endless power (80%)
• Feature a privacy screen (58%)
• Are made of flexible material and fold into different shapes and sizes (39%)
• Have artificial intelligence – ask it questions and it gives answers (38%)

“In the future, mobility for teens means mobile banking, mobile voting, location based services, personal entertainment - the sky is the limit for how mobile our lifestyles can be,” said Steve Largent, president and CEO, CTIA - The Wireless Association. “We’ve certainly come a long way in 25 years and expect teens to be a growth driver for the industry and have a major impact on the wireless landscape for years to come.”

About the study: The study was conducted online in July 2008 among a nationally representative sample of 2,089 teenagers (age 13-19) across the US who have cell phones. More than 100 questions were asked on mobile phone usage, attitudes, behaviors, and teens’ desires and aspirations for the future of mobile communications, entertainment, and other features.

And, LATISM (Latinos in Social Media), a non-profit organization that groups Latinos who actively participate online, has performed an invaluable survey of over 900 Latina bloggers and has shared these incredible insights with all of us.

Thank you, LATISM!!!

Perhaps reflecting the makeup of the larger Latino population, the great majority of participants were born in Mexico and the US

This is an excerpt from the LATISM survey on Latina bloggers (July 2010):

The world has certainly changed a lot since our “abuelitas” (grandmas) used to keep a secret dairy. Today’s Latinas are open-minded, opinionated and love to share their innermost  thoughts online… in two different languages!

At the same time, while they have shed certain traditions, these independent heads of households have managed to tap into the gregarious aspect of our culture: the sense of community,  which earned high marks as a main motivator to start posting.

They have succeeded at planting themselves right at the epicenter of merging worlds: between tradition and modernity, between English and Spanish, between American and Latino cultures.

The intrinsic characteristics of blogging, where the private becomes public and communities rally together around common interests, make it the perfect platform for the Latina Passion.

• The number of blogueras has been climbing steadily for the past 10 years but the numbers really skyrocketed last year: 63% started blogging in 2009 and it’s expected to continue climbing.
• Most feel being a Latina has helped them find sponsorships and readers but in general feel they get less opportunities compared to non-Latinas
  • Young: The largest group is between 30 and 39
  • Mothers: 83% has between 2 and 4 kids
  • Heads of household:  70% is either single, divorced or separated
• Commitment:
  • 75% blog two or more times a week
  • 77% have invested in their own domain
• 98% plus are active in social media
• A surprising 72% blog primarily in English
• Mobile:
  • 81% use their phone to tweet
  • 90% use it for FB
  • 93% use apps

You can access the full report here

Source: LATISM

New Media Usage by Racial Category

Minorities have a higher regular usage of new media than Whites across all media types. They are more likely to use iPods, text on cell phones, play videogames, use video/picture phones, instant messaging online and watch videos on cell phones.

“Minorities are using new media in higher percentages, providing marketers with unique opportunities to create specific marketing plans that integrate non-traditional media options into their digital ad strategy,” Drenik said.

Source: BIGResearch

Hulu Narrowly Beats Tremor

Americans viewed more than 4.3 billion video ads in June 2010, with Hulu generating the highest number of ad views at 566 million.

Americans viewed more than 4.3 billion video ads in June 2010, with Hulu generating the highest number of ad views at 566 million. Tremor Media Video Network ranked second overall (and highest among video ad networks) with 524 million ad views, followed by BrightRoll Video Network (333 million) and Microsoft Sites (222 million).

Video ads reached 46.1% of the total US population an average of 31.5 times during the month. Hulu delivered the highest frequency of video ads to its viewers with an average of 24.2 during the course of the month, and reached 7.8% of the total US population.

Meanwhile, Tremor only averaged a monthly frequency of 8.2 ads per viewer per month, but reached a much higher percentage of the US population (21.4%, the highest among the top 10 online video properties by ad view).

YouTube Propels Google Success
More than 177 million US internet users watched video content in June, totaling 5.1 billion sessions and an average of 870 minutes per month per user.

Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top video content property with 144.5 million unique viewers, followed by Yahoo! Sites (44.9 million viewers) and Vevo (43.7 million viewers).

Google Sites had the highest number of overall viewing sessions with 1.8 billion and average time spent per viewer at 261 minutes, or 4.3 hours. Hulu also had high viewer engagement with an average of 135 minutes (or 2.2 hours) per viewer.

Other Findings

• The top video ad networks in terms of their potential reach were: ScanScout Network with 43.7% reach of the total US population, BrightRoll Video Network with 40.6%, and Break Media Network with 36.8%.
• 84.6% of the total US internet audience viewed online video.
• The duration of the average online content video was 4.9 minutes, while the average online video ad was 0.4 minutes.
• Video ads accounted for 12.2% of all videos viewed but only 1.2% of all minutes spent viewing video online.

Google Monthly Viewership Sharply Drops
Using different metrics, The Nielsen Company determined that after increasing 50.7% in May 2010, monthly viewership for Google dropped 30.9% in June 2010. Google slipped from fourth to fifth place in the monthly ranking of online video brands by unique viewer, with about 13.02 million unique viewers.

Conversely, ESPN Digital Network saw its monthly viewership grow 50.5%, putting it in ninth place with about 8.5 million unique viewers. YouTube retained its clear dominance with 101.1 million unique viewers, a slight 0.2% decline from the previous month. The number two brand Yahoo, trailed with about 26.7 million unique viewers, representing 10.3% month-over-month growth.

Top 10 Social Networking Websites & Forums - June 2010

Note: The Hitwise data featured is based on US market share of visits as defined by the IAB, which is the percentage of online traffic to the domain or category, from the Hitwise sample of 10 million US internet users. Hitwise measures more than 1 million unique websites on a daily basis, including sub-domains of larger websites. Hitwise categorizes websites into industries on the basis of subject matter and content, as well as market orientation and competitive context. The market share of visits percentage does not include traffic for all sub-domains of certain websites that could be reported on separately.