Consumer Lab

Spendy Co-Eds: Digitally-Engaged, Socially Responsible - MarketingVOX

A record-level 13.6 million college students (age 18-30) will soon
arrive on campus and account for a record $237 billion in spending this
year — up 20 percent from ‘07, according to Alloy Media + Marketing’s 8th annual College Explorer study, powered by Harris Interactive

Gen Y’s Fave: Whole Foods

Hipsters may not have enough money to put food in their fridge, yet many are willing to pony up the extra cash for eco-friendly brands like Method. This was one of the takeaways from a recent survey conducted by Outlaw Consulting, San Francisco. The marketing firm polled 100 Gen Y consumers (ages 21-29) from among its panel of trendsetters living in Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. The goal was to gauge what brands influencers perceive as being environmentally friendly.

Ypulse Research » Blog Archive » Teen Topix Teens & Internet, Spring 2008 | OTX and Intelligence Group

New Research from OTX and Intelligence Group Looks at Teens’ Online Behavior.

Teens Online Buy Stuff, Prefer Reality Over Virtual Sometimes, And Have Concerns

New research from OTX and The Intelligence Group studies teens’ online behavior, finding that teens are spending an average of 11.5 hours per week online, doing everything from instant messaging and visiting social networking sites to shopping and listening to music, but dispels myths that this group wants to do everything online. The study did find that 24% of teens are spending more than 15 hours a week online.

Forrester Technographics Benchmark Survey: Gen Y a Generation Apart - MarketingVOX

Although Gen Y (those 18-28 years old) is a small generation, comprising just 38 million US adults, they set the pace for technology adoption - 9 in 10 own a PC and 82 percent own a mobile phone - according to Forrester Research’s 2008 North American Technographics Benchmark survey, MarketingCharts reports.

An unusually large number of classic characters for children are being
freshened up and reintroduced — on store shelves, on the Internet and
on television screens — as their corporate owners try to cater to
parents’ nostalgia and children’s YouTube-era sensibilities.

~A

Fictional Stars Get a 21st Century Facelift - NYTimes.com
LOS ANGELES — Strawberry Shortcake was having an identity crisis. The “it” doll and cartoon star of the 1980s was just not connecting with modern girls. Too candy-obsessed. Too ditzy. Too fond of wearing bloomers.

Taco Bell is unveiling a 2008 product game plan today that could nudge folks to forget the past and instead drive into Taco Bell in droves: cheap eats. The image-challenged chain–which has slowly but methodically regained its footing following an E. coli outbreak in late 2006 and a rat infestation at a New York City unit in 2007–will roll out a “Why Pay More?” value menu with 10 products. Four of them are new–priced at 79, 89 and 99 cents.


Taco Bell’s new menu goes for a cheap fill - USATODAY.com
Taco Bell may be emerging from taco hell.

It hasn’t been easy. There was the E. coli outbreak in late 2006 that sickened 70 and closed dozens of restaurants. Then, the rat infestation at a New York City unit in 2007 that became an Internet must-see.

There is a new breed of Gen Xers and Ys, Young and Wealthy but Normal, or Yawns - who may have disposable income, but whatever they make, they live below their means in a conscious effort to tread lightly on the Earth.

~A

Why ‘Yawns’ live below their wealthy means - CNN.com
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) — They drive hybrid cars, if they drive at all; shop at local stores, if they shop at all; and pay off their credit cards every month, if they use them at all.

Young urbans at the older end of the scale share the attributes that
make marketers salivate over this overall relatively young segment of the
population: Unusually high brand loyalty; a penchant for spending their money
now on goods ranging from electronics to cars, rather than saving; and an
unusually strong influence on product and fashion trends within the broader
marketplace.

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MediaPost Publications - Trend-Setting Hip-Hoppers Aging, But Brand-Loyal As Ever - 05/09/2008
Even hip-hoppers have to age, and the demographics of this much-wooed market are indeed starting to shift, according to a new report, “The Young Urban Consumer Market in the U.S.,” from the Packaged Facts division of Marketresearch.com.

The size of the overall young, urban consumer (i.e., hip-hop)
population–about 36.8 million as of 2007–will not change
significantly by 2012, according to PF’s estimates. However, the
oldest, the 25- to-34-year-old segment within the group, is growing the
fastest.

As part of the agreement, closely held Citizen Sports, of San
Francisco, will develop the software for the fantasy game. The Sports
Illustrated sales force will sell advertising to accompany the game,
and the magazine will make articles by its writers available to
players. The game is expected to launch in July.

~A

Sports Illustrated to Take Fantasy Game to Facebook - WSJ.com
Sports Illustrated Group has reached an agreement with Citizen Sports Inc. to develop and promote sports-related Web content, including a fantasy-football game that will be played on the Facebook Inc. Web site.