Research Nuggets

Brands damaged by dodgy online association
[11 Sep 2008] More than three-quarters of UK Web users (78 per cent) say they would think less of a brand if it allowed an ad to appear next to offensive or inappropriate content.
(Insights: Nugget, 11 September 2008)

NCC accuses supermarkets of pushing fatty foods
[11 Sep 2008] The National Consumer Council (NCC) claims that the major supermarket chains have all dramatically increased the number of in-store promotions featuring cheap sugary and fatty foods. (Insights: Nugget, 11 September 2008)

SMEs should increase marketing expenditure
[11 Sep 2008] Small business owners are being advised to increase their marketing spend and take a pay cut – by their fellow small business owners. (Insights: Nugget, 11 September 2008)

US hooked on email
[11 Sep 2008] Nearly half (46%) of US email users said they’re hooked on email, up from just 15% last year, with 51% checking their email four or more times a day (up from 45% in 2007). One in five said they check their email more than 10 times a day.
More than one-quarter (27%) are so overwhelmed by email that they’ve either declared “email bankruptcy,” deleting all their email messages to start anew, or they’re seriously thinking about doing so. (Insights: Nugget, 11 September 2008)

Ads within computer games welcomed by gamers
[16 Jul 2008] Ads that run within computer games do not alienate gamers. Indeed, contrary to what many marketers believe, four out of every five computer gamers react positively to in-game ads, according to new research. (Insights: Nugget, 16 July 2008. Log in required)

Fraud, corruption and cheating increasing, consumers believe
[16 Jul 2008] Europeans and Americans think there is more fraud, corruption and cheating in business, education and sports than there was 10 years ago, and they are fed up with it. (Insights: Nugget, 16 July 2008. Log in required)

More than half UK marketing spend now online, report claims
[16 Jul 2008] UK client companies are now spending more than 50 per cent of their marketing budgets online, according to new research from interactive online lead generation company Clash-Media. (Insights: Nugget, 16 July 2008)

UK consumers hate telemarketing, like newspaper ads
[16 Jul 2008] Telemarketing is the most disliked of all advertising channels, according to a survey of UK consumers. More than half (53 per cent) of those polled by research company Dynamic Logic for its regular AdReaction study said they felt ‘very negative’ towards telemarketing, with another 19 per cent saying they felt ‘somewhat negative.’ (Insights: Nugget, 16 July 2008. Log in required)

Biscuits 'key' to clinching business deals
[11 Jun 2008] Four out of five UK business people believe that the type of biscuit they serve to potential clients can have a positive impact on whether they clinch a deal or not, according to a new survey. (Insights: Nugget, 11 June 2008. Log in required)

Email preferred communications channel for US consumers
[11 Jun 2008] Two thirds of US consumers prefer email as a primary method of communications in both their personal and business lives, according to a recent survey. But they also want to have more control over how they interact online with businesses, and they are increasingly concerned over spam and viruses. (Insights: Nugget, 11 June 2008. Log in required)

Google dominates Euro search, but Russians closing gap
[11 Jun 2008] Google still dominates the European search market, with the collected Google sites in pole position with more than 19 billion searches conducted in March 2008, according to digital research experts comScore. That represents 79 per cent of all searches in Europe during that month. (Insights: Nugget, 11 June 2008. Log in required)

YouTube still top social media site but Facebook coming up fast
[11 Jun 2008] YouTube was the most popular social media site in the UK in April, with a unique audience of 11.6 million, 11 per cent more than in January 2008 and 46 per cent ahead of April 2007. Second placed Facebook, however, is closing the gap on YouTube fast. (Insights: Nugget, 11 June 2008. Log in required)

Direct mail attracts most charity fundraising complaints
[15 May 2008] According to the first annual report of the Fund Raising Standards Board (FRSB), nearly one third of the 8,434 complaints received by the scheme’s members between February 2007 and February 2008 related to direct mail.(Insights: Nugget, 15 May 2008. Log in required)

Government anti-smoking ad attracts most complaints in 2007
[15 May 2008] The Department of Health anti-smoking campaign, featuring people with fish-hooks in their mouths to illustrate the addictive nature of nicotine, attracted 774 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority last year, making it the most complained-about campaign of 2007. (Insights: Nugget, 15 May 2008. Log in required)

Royal Mail Mailing Volumes for 2007
[15 May 2008] Royal Mail has recently published its Mailing Volumes Report for 2007, which shows that total business mailings were down from 3936.96 million items in 2006 to 3689.55 in 2007, a drop of 6.3 per cent. (Insights: Nugget, 15 May 2008. Log in required)

'Alpha Socialiser' or 'Attention Seeker'? Ofcom research on social networking
[10 Apr 2008] Nearly half of all children aged 8 to 17 who have access to the internet have set up their own personal profile on a social networking site, according to research published by Ofcom at the beginning of April. (Insights: Nugget, 10 Apr 2008. Log in required)

Email ‘black hole’ causing customer service crisis
[10 Apr 2008] Many UK companies are treating email enquiries from customers with contempt, a new survey suggests. More than half of 100 organisations surveyed failed to answer emailed questions correctly -- if they answered them at all. (Insights: Nugget, 10 Apr 2008. Log in required)

Nearly half UK marketers have no idea what their email ROI is
[10 Apr 2008] One fifth of UK marketers who use email for marketing communications say that their Return On Investment from the channel is more than five times spend. But some 43% of marketers have no idea what their company’s ROI from email marketing is. (Insights: Nugget, 10 Apr 2008. Log in required)

Two thirds of marketers question the value of online advertising
[10 Apr 2008] More than two thirds of marketers around the world – 70 per cent -- are unsure whether they are actually getting what they paid for, while 68 per cent don’t know if they can trust the visitor and traffic profiles that online media owners and publishers claim. (Insights: Nugget, 10 Apr 2008. Log in required)

Data losses cost an average of £1.4m
[12 Mar 2008] Data breaches cost UK companies an average of £1.4 million per incident, a new study based on real losses has found. (Insights: Nugget, 12 Mar 2008. Log in required)

Experiential marketing to grow significantly
[12 Mar 2008] Three quarters of marketers in the US, the UK, Europe, China and Australia plan to increase their use of and spend on experiential marketing, according to a new report. (Insights: Nugget, 12 Mar 2008. Log in required)

Facebook UK audience falls 400,000
[12 Mar 2008] Facebook recorded its first ever fall in UK users in January, with Nielsen Online recording a drop in audience numbers compared to the previous month of 400,000, or 5%, to 8.5 million unique visitors. (Insights: Nugget, 12 Mar 2008. Log in required)

Peer ratings and reviews most useful
[12 Mar 2008] UK consumers find online product ratings and reviews the most helpful factor in deciding to buy something, whether online or offline, a study from Jupiter Research and social commerce technology company Bazaarvoice has found. (Insights: Nugget, 12 Mar 2008. Log in required)

Email marketing still not fully valued by marketers
[13 Feb 2008] Eight out of 10 UK companies plans to spend more on email marketing in 2008, with just over half (55%) saying the increased budgets will be new money, rather than funds stripped from other marketing activity. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 13 Feb 2008. Log in required)

Loyalty schemes booming in UK
[13 Feb 2008] The number of loyalty schemes operating in the UK has increased more than two and a half times over the last 10 years, according to a regular survey of the marketplace by GI Insight, which found that 41.2% of top companies now operate one. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 13 Feb 2008. Log in required)

Over 875 million consumers have now shopped online
[13 Feb 2008] More than 85% of the world’s online population has used the Internet to make a purchase, with more than half of global Internet users buying something online in the past month, according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Survey of Internet shopping habits. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 13 Feb 2008. Log in required)

British brands fall behind European rivals in online brand protection stakes
[16 Jan 2008] Leading UK companies are falling behind their German, French and Danish counterparts when it comes to protecting their brand names online by effectively registering web addresses. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 16 Jan 2008. Log in required)

British youth exposes itself online
[16 Jan 2008] Young Britons are revealing far more information about themselves on social networking websites that they should be, warns the Information Commissioner’s Office. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 16 Jan 2008. Log in required)

Silver surfers rush online
[16 Jan 2008] The UK’s ‘Silver Surfers’ are taking to the internet in droves, according to market research company Nielsen Online, while the number of under 25s using the web is actually falling. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 16 Jan 2008. Log in required)

US online TV viewers more engaged than traditional set watchers
[16 Jan 2008] US consumers were found to be 47% more engaged in advertisements that ran with television programs that they were viewing online than when they were watching on a traditional TV set, according to new research findings. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 16 Jan 2008. Log in required)

Top 10 properties for October
[06 Dec 2007] Woolworths’ website saw visitors soar by 54% in October, while other major retailers’ online presence also recorded significant increases in traffic. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 6 Dec 2007. Log in required)

UK public wants more control over relationship with charities
[06 Dec 2007] Most people who give to charity understand that direct mail is a valuable tool for fund-raising, according to a new report, Signed, sealed and delivered, from the Fundraising Standards Board. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 6 Dec 2007. Log in required)

US marketers focus on basics, search and green
[06 Dec 2007] Six out of 10 senior US marketers say ‘marketing basics’ are the issue they are currently most focused on, according to a survey of the members of The Marketing Executives Networking Group. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 6 Dec 2007. Log in required)

Cross-media findings
[08 Nov 2007] An analysis of 32 cross-media campaigns suggests that the different media work best when used together. Television, magazines and online contribute incrementally to brand metrics, but at different levels and with varying impact at distinct stages of the purchase 'funnel'. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 8 Nov 2007. Log in required)

Office fantasy
[08 Nov 2007] August saw a surge of traffic to UK fantasy football websites, as fans rushed to pick their teams ahead of the start of the 2007/8 Premiership season. Almost as many fans accessed fantasy football sites from their workplace as did from home. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 8 Nov 2007. Log in required)

The customer experience
[08 Nov 2007] Three quarters of UK consumers will stop doing business with a company or organisation if they have a negative customer experience, up from 65% two years ago. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 8 Nov 2007. Log in required)

Trends in televsion show downloads
[08 Nov 2007] The number of UK consumers watching TV shows they have downloaded from the internet has nearly doubled from 1.3 million in 2006 to 2.4 million in 2007, while a further 3.3 million consumers say they are likely to watch downloaded TV programs in the next year. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 8 Nov 2007. Log in required)

Bill ads underused
[04 Oct 2007] More than £500m worth of advertising space on consumer bills and statements is still going unused, according to research from UK direct marketing firm dsiCMM. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 4 Oct 2007. Log in required)

Data loss destroys client trust
[04 Oct 2007] Businesses that lose sensitive customer information will see customer trust destroyed, according to research from US data security form Tablus: 87% of respondents said they would lose respect for a company that lost information, while 85% said they would rather do business with a company that had never had a data breach. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 4 Oct 2007. Log in required)

Half Euro youth uses mobile
[04 Oct 2007] Just under half - 47% - of 15 to 18 year old Europeans use mobile services, compared with only 17% of 35 to 44 year olds. Nearly a quarter of 15 to 24 year old Europeans can be defined as mobile entertainment aficionados, according to research company Jupiter. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 4 Oct 2007. Log in required)

Key drivers of loyalty
[04 Oct 2007] Research from Arvato Loyalty Services shows that the top five factors inspiring loyalty are, in order: high quality products; helpful and knowledgeable staff; ease of contact; all aspects of brand experience enjoyable; customers are recognised and valued when making enquiries. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 4 Oct 2007. Log in required)

Third party mailings welcomed
[04 Oct 2007] A third of European consumers say they would actively respond to affinity marketing messages sent by mail, according to a report from mailing technology firm Pitney Bowes. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 4 Oct 2007. Log in required)

Half of UK adults have now bought online
[13 Sep 2007] Just over half of all UK adults - 53% - have now bought goods or services over the internet at least once, according to the Office of National Statistics. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 13 Sept 2007. Log in required)

Mobile user-generated content revenues to rise tenfold by 2012
[13 Sep 2007] Mobile user-generated content revenues to rise tenfold by 2012.
Social networking services will dominate a burgeoning market for mobile user-generated content, according to a new report from Juniper Research. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 13 Sept 2007. Log in required)

Players like benefits of In Game Advertising
[13 Sep 2007] Most gamers are happy to see advertising placed within the games they play, so long as the revenue generated helps keep down the costs they have to pay. Research conducted by the Internet Advertising Bureau and CNET Networks found 86% of gamers willing to accept the presence of such ads. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 13 Sept 2007. Log in required)

UK email volumes overtake direct mail for first time
[13 Sep 2007] The number of marketing emails sent in the UK has overtaken direct mail for the first time, according to the latest National Email Benchmarking report produced by the Direct Marketing Association’s Email Marketing Council. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 13 Sept 2007. Log in required)

UK TV advertising trends
[13 Sep 2007] The UK television advertising market will stop shrinking this year, and will instead start to grow again in 2008, albeit only by 2%, and will continue to grow at a relatively small rate until 2012. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 13 Sept 2007. Log in required)

Direct marketing drives brand building
[08 Aug 2007] The US DMA says a study supports the argument that direct marketing can drive brand building across all marketing channels. Over half – 56% -- of companies surveyed combine one or more direct marketing channels with brand awareness advertising. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 08 Aug 2007. Log in required)

Mailing list misuse and abuse
[08 Aug 2007] The misuse and abuse of marketing lists has quadrupled since 2001, according to a study from data value management specialists DQM Group. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 08 Aug 2007. Log in required)

The economic impact of direct marketing on the UK
[08 Aug 2007] The UK DMA reports that the Direct Marketing industry contributed £43.7 billion to the UK economy in 2006, and employed 886,000 people. Marketers upped their DM spend by 16% in two years, to £16.4 billion. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 08 Aug 2007. Log in required)

UK retailers report weak summer sales
[08 Aug 2007] The CBI says UK retailers have had poorer than expected summers sales. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 08 Aug 2007. Log in required)

UK top charity income up 8.6% to £10.9 billion
[08 Aug 2007] The UK’s top 500 fund-raising charities have seen income grow by 8.6% over the past year to £10.9 billion, according to Charity Trends 2007, just published by the Charities Aid Foundation. This compares with 3.8% for the 2004/05 financial year. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 08 Aug 2007. Log in required)

Global trends in advertising spend
[11 Jul 2007] ZenithOptimedia predicts worldwide advertising expenditure will hit $489.3 billion in 2008, up 6.4% on 2007, helped by the Beijing Olympics, the Euro 2008 football tournament and the US presidential elections. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 11 Jul 2007. Log in required)

Huge growth for digital TV providers
[11 Jul 2007] Ofcom says Freeview is now on the main television set in 8.4 million homes, compared with 8.0 million homes with Sky. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 11 Jul 2007. Log in required)

Social networking
[11 Jul 2007] Nielsen//NetRatings reports that the UK audience for social networking website Facebook has grown by 523% in the last six months, to 3.2 million unique visitors. (IDM Insights: Nugget, 11 Jul 2007. Log in required)

Weather's influence on UK internet use
[11 Jul 2007] comScore says May’s two Bank Holidays and the imminent summer break meant UK internet users focused on travel planning during the month, as evidenced by some of the sites which saw the biggest increase in traffic. (IDM insights: Nugget, 11 Jul 2007. Log in required)