Sign of Doom

Newspaper ad revenues continue to sink, but few Americans seem to be noticing, according to survey results released by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, as part of its "State of the News Media 2013" study. Asked if they had heard about news organizations' financial problems (not limited to newspapers), 36% of respondents said they had heard "nothing at all," and an additional 24% said only "a little." But a significant proportion have felt changes in the way news is reported. Read more »

Perhaps some discouraging news for Facebook? 38% of Facebook users aged 18-29 say they'll spend less time on the site over the coming year, per results [pdf] from a survey from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Overall, 27% of the Facebook users surveyed said they'd spend less time on the site, versus 3% who expect to spend more time, and 69% who will hold steady. Furthermore, 28% said the site has become less important to them over the past year, compared to 12% who said it had become more important. Read more »

Only 46% of marketers say their teams are well equipped to handle new trends and technologies, per results from a survey by Aquent and the American Marketing Association (AMA). The study, which gauged marketing salaries and recruitment trends, also found that slightly less than half of the respondents feel that they have the people needed on their team to meet the organization's marketing objectives. Despite these challenges, though, 7 in 10 agree that their marketing strategy will positive impact their organization financially this year. Read more »

Commercial emailers account for 70% of spam complaints, according to [download page] Return Path’s Email Intelligence Report for Q3 2012, released November 2012. 22% of spam complaints stem from other internet service providers (ISPs), 5% from internal email, and just 3% from bots and dynamic IP addresses. Despite sparking 7 in 10 spam complaints, marketing represents just 18% of email volume, and .03% of all unique domains seen by ISPs. Read more »

The onslaught of political advertising has left many non-political media buyers deciding to take a back seat until after the election, finds STRATA in the latest installment of its quarterly survey of leading advertising agencies. 47% of non-political ad buyers polled said their clients are waiting until after the election to advertise so as to avoid competing with political ad buys. That's a sea change from Q2, when just 18% of non-political media buyers said the same. Read more »

Ads should tell a unique story rather than just try to sell, agree 73% of US consumers. That's one in a series of findings [pdf] from Adobe and Edelman Berland on consumer attitudes towards marketing and advertising. Respondents were presented with 17 statements about marketing and advertisements and asked with which they agree. Two-thirds agreed that a video is worth 1,000 words and that user product reviews are the best source of truth. Also, 51% agreed that beautiful advertising is more effective. Read more »

Social networks present enormous branding opportunities, but also critical reputational risks to businesses, according to an August 2012 study by Altimeter Group. When asked to estimate the level of risk that social networks present for businesses, 35% of the respondents - for whom social media risk management is their primary or a significant part of their responsibility - identified reputation or damage to the brand as a critical risk. Read more »

Average daily spending in June declined among Americans who earn $90,000 or more, falling 15% to $116, from $136 in May, according to July 2012 figures from Gallup, which tracks spending on a monthly basis. This was the lowest self-reported spending level for upper-income Americans since September 2011 ($108). Read more »

US median household net worth (assets minus debts) declined 35% between 2005 and 2010 according to [pdf] the US Census Bureau, which cited both falling stock market prices and a flat housing market. However, advanced education and age continue to be the key determinants in whether a household falls above or below the median. Read more »

The American Dream rests on the belief that the opportunities are there for people - regardless of race, creed, economic position, or other social identifier - to get ahead based on effort and merit. As it turns out, though, many Americans are skeptical that the American Dream even exists anymore. Just 1 in 2 adults are satisfied with the opportunity for a poor person to get ahead by working hard in this day and age, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll released in June 2012. Interestingly, there is almost no variation in this sentiment by age bracket: the most optimistic Americans, aged 35-54, are only 2% points more likely to be satisfied than the least optimistic, who are aged 55 and older (51% and 49%, respectively). Read more »