teachthe4ps.com - For instructors of marketing.

How times have changed.  This article starts with the results of a 1957 survey of Americans that showed 80% believed that people who preferred the single life were “sick,” “immoral,” or “neurotic.”  In 1960, 13.1% of U.S. households were “one-person” — today that number has more than doubled to 27.6%.  In some big cities, the number is over 40%.  You can read more about this trend and its implications for realtors, cruise ship operators, and home improvement retailer Lowe’s in “Solo nation:  American consumers stay single” (CNN Money/Fortune, January 25, 2012) or in sociology professor Eric Klinenberg is new book, Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone. This article might give you some ideas when discussing demographic trends.  A good question for students might be to ask how companies like Comcast, Starbucks, a restaurant, or a real estate developer might adapt its product to appeal to this consumer.  I have also posted this at Learn the 4 Ps.

Internet marketing research firm, comScore, has just published a new white paper, “It’s a Social World: Top 10 Need-to-Knows About Social Networking and Where It’s Headed” (December 21, 2011).  The report is a free download, although you need to surrender some personal data (name and contact info) to get access.  The research cited in the report really shows how prominent social networking has become in the online experience — all across the globe:  “Social networking is the most popular online activity worldwide accounting for nearly 1 in every 5 minutes spent online in October 2011, and reaches 82 percent of the world’s Internet population, representing 1.2 billion users around the globe.”

I have copied a couple of charts from the report below.  The first shows that usage is high (basically 80-85%) across all age groups — and growing.  The second chart shows the average number of hours per month per visitor.  Download the report for more information.

This article, “Using Google’s Data to Reach Consumers” (New York Times, December 22, 2011) describes a clever campaign Vicks used for its new Behind Ear Thermometer.  To identify a target market Vicks’ marketing managers first looked to smartphone users who were more likely to buy the $40 thermometer.   They ran ads on popular apps like Pandora, which also allowed them to target demographic characteristics, including gender and whether a user was a parent.  Next, it turned to Google Flu Trends an online database that shows which parts of the country have greater flu activity.  Vicks targeted parents in high flu incidence areas who received banner ads stating:  “Flu levels in your area are high, be prepared with Vicks revolutionary Behind Ear Thermometer.”  If they tapped the ad, location services told them of the nearest retailer carrying the thermometer.

This case study is one of the best examples of digital advertising I have read lately.  A nice example of using analytics to identify a target market and a great use of mobile advertising.

AdAge shows us a list of 14 “Stats that Mattered for Media and Marketing in 2011” (AdAge Stat blog, December 12, 2011).  A few of my favorites:

• 71% of P&G’s advertising spending was outside the U.S. — up from 22% in 2011.
• Nuclear families account for just on fifth of all U.S. households, but 34% of the spending.
• Discretionary spending — just over half have less than $10,000 per year to spend on non-essential goods.  A lot of firms chasing less discretionary dollars.

We cover a lot of demographic information in chapter 5 in Basic Marketing, so you might find some of this useful to supplement that chapter.  Of course the advertising spend data works with any advertising chapter.

With sales slow in the U.S., Procter & Gamble brand managers are looking to sharpen their appeal to the growing Hispanic market.  In 2010, there were about 50 million Hispanic-Americans living in the U.S.  In our books we cover this demographic trend in chapter 5 (Basic Marketing) or chapter 3 (Essentials of Marketing).  Obviously P&G sees this growing market these numbers.  So its crack marketing research uncovered new ways to appeal to this market.  This article, “Hola:  P&G Seeks Latino Shoppers” (Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2011, non-subscribers may need to click here) highlights efforts in packaging and product.

This example will work well when you cover demographic trends, market segmentation, cross-cultural, or product — since most of the examples in the article have to do with adapting product to this market.

With demographics you can see the changes coming from a long way off.  The oldest baby boomers turn 65 this year — and many companies are changing marketing strategies to appeal to this growing market.  This article “How to Market to an Aging Boomer: Flattery, Subterfuge and Euphemism” (Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2011 – non-subscribers click here) provides some great examples about how a diverse range of companies from ADT Security Services, to Kimberly Clark’s Depend brand, bathroom fixture maker Kohler and paint retailer Sherwin-Williams are carefully approaching the new baby boomer.  Great examples of how these companies are adapting promotion, place, and product to better meet the needs of this target market.

We have posted on the emergence of Africa before, but this story “A Continent of New Consumers Beckons” (Wall Street Journal, January 13, 2011 – non-subscribers may have to click here) provides more examples and some data you might enjoy sharing in class.  The article is part of a series at the WSJ called Africa Rising and includes articles on doing business in Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia (Ethiopia article – link for non-subscribers).  For example:

• McKinsey & Co. predicts consumer spending will grow to $1.4 trillion by 2020.
• The number of middle class consumers (defined as those who are able to spend on more than just the necessities) in Africa now exceeds those in India.

The article includes some great photos that show a side of Africa many students don’t expect — a side that looks a lot like the U.S.  Also click on the Interactive Graphics tab to get an interactive time line and refresher on African history.

The oldest of the baby boom generation are reaching retirement age.  How are companies preparing for these customers?  A series of short articles in Fast Company (February 2010) highlight some people and companies that are preparing for the onslaught:

• Volvo is studying older drivers to figure out how to develop cars that keep roads safer.
• At the MIT Agelab, researchers have developed a bodysuit that helps researchers empathize with the physical challenges faced by the elderly.
• GE’s industrial designers also try to emphathize with the elderly while developing new applicances and lighting to better meet their needs.

See the table of contents of this issue — right side “Fast Talk” for a few more.  These examples can work at many places in your course including demographics, consumer behavior, marketing segmentation, marketing research, or new product development.

This year our planet’s population will reach 7 billion people.  This really is a stunning number and this video helps students understand it.   Thanks to my colleague Shuoyong Zhang for suggesting this post.

If you use Basic Marketing, the National Geographic video below would be a great way to start class when you cover chapter 5 on “Demographic Dimensions of Global Consumer Markets.”  In Essentials of Marketing (our shorter book) we cover global population growth in less detail in chapter 4 in a section on cultural and social trends.   The short (2:54) video might also be used to stimulate a discussion on the implications of population growth for marketing strategy planning.  The National Geographic site has more multimedia to help you understand 7 billion — see this clever (1:53) animation “7 Billion:  World Party” and a terrific photo gallery (you know how terrific National Geographic’s photographers are).

The fast-growing Hispanic and Latino population are commanding the attention of many consumer products firms.  This short article “How Marketers Are Courting Latino Consumers” over at ClickZ (October 15, 2010) gives some short example of tactics used by NBC Universal’s Telemundo, General Mills, Yahoo!, and Univision.

The article might give you some examples to use in class when teaching about demographics, Hispanic consumers, and/or promotion.