Wealthy Women Flex Financial Muscles

Married wealthy women make almost two-thirds (64 percent) of a family's purchase decisions on average, according to a Luxury Institute survey of women from households with $150,000 or more in annual income, MarketingCharts writes.

"Winning over wealthy women is a do-or-die proposition for companies in industries as varied as travel, healthcare, financial services and home improvement," said Milton Pedraza, CEO, the Luxury Institute. "Education is a big ingredient: 88 percent of wealthy women hold at least a bachelor's degree and 35 percent have a master's."

Marriott, Hilton, Visa and Home Depot stand out for their skill in marketing to wealthy women — each earned an unaided mention from 7 percent of respondents for being companies that do the best job of marketing to wealthy women.

Among other survey findings:
Women hold particular sway over home appliance and travel spending: in 68 percent of wealthy households, the matriarch has the final word on ovens, ranges, and refrigerators; 61 percent of them make the family's vacation decisions.
Healthcare decisions, including choice of plans and providers, are the domain of women in 48 percent of wealthy households, and nearly half (48 percent) call the shots on home improvement purchases.

In financial affairs, too, the female influence is significant: 22 percent of married wealthy women make all of the family's investment decisions on their own; another two-thirds report making financial decisions jointly; and 46 percent choose the family's bank accounts.

Source: Marketing Vox

Driven by Search, Wikipedia's US Traffic Increases 8,000% in 5 Years

Four of the five top referring websites to Wikipedia — which grew almost 8,000 percent over the last five years — are search engines, led by Google, according to (pdf) an analysis by Nielsen Online, writes MarketingCharts.

In April, 61 percent of visitors from home, and 66 percent of visitors from work, to English-language Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) were referred from Google:

Yahoo Search was second, referring 19 percent and 16 percent of visitors from home and work, respectively.
Other search providers to make the top five referring destinations for Wikipedia were

"Search providers dominate Wikipedia's referring traffic because of its scope and value as an information resource," said Michael Pond, media analyst, Nielsen Online.
In the past five years, web traffic to Wikipedia has skyrocketed, increasing nearly 8,000 percent from April 2003 to April 2008:

"The site's rapid ascent, with audience levels comparable to popular brands such as eBay and MySpace, demonstrates the success of its collaborative nature," Pond said.
Such consumer involvement has in turn resulted in online buzz, particularly among blogs:

"Wikipedia content is inherently conversational, driving buzz in the blogosphere," said Pond. "Bloggers refer to and link to Wikipedia content, potentially driving additional traffic and interest in the site with their readers."

Source: Marketing Vox

Google passes Yahoo as #1 Web Desintation

Google passed Yahoo in its share of monthly visitors in the United States for the first time this April, buoyed by growth in search and YouTube videos, according to ComScore statistics released Thursday.

However, underscoring the variability of this sort of measurement, which extrapolates overall data from the usage of a "panel" of users at home and work, ComScore rival Nielsen Online released its own data as well with some different results. Although it also showed Google as No. 1 in terms of unique users, it said Google passed Yahoo way back in January 2007.
ComScore said Google sites had 141.1 million unique visitors in April, a tad ahead of Yahoo's 140.6 million. Microsoft was in third at 121.2 million, with AOL at 111.3 million.
Nielsen's data showed Google at 128.2 million, Microsoft at 122.1 million, and Yahoo at 117.1 million.

Nielsen also provides information on time spent at the sites, though. There, Yahoo leads its rivals with 3 hours and 9 minutes per month, but AOL owner Time Warner leads Yahoo at 3 hours 40 minutes per month.

Microsoft's usage was 2 hours and 17 minutes, and Google was 1 hour and 47 minutes, Nielsen said.

Yahoo Seeks Open Alliance With Google

Yahoo! executives are scrambling to finalize a search-advertising pact with Google in the face of a fresh challenge to its independence from billionaire investor Carl Icahn, The Post has learned.

According to two sources close to the situation, Yahoo! hopes to announce the deal within the next week.

The two companies plan to structure a deal as an "open platform" system, which would allow not only Yahoo! and Google, but also Microsoft, AOL, Ask.com and anyone else to bid for the right to serve up ads tied to keyword searches.

These sources said Google General Counsel Kent Walker is working hard on the precise structure and language of the deal in the hopes of minimizing regulatory scrutiny, though both companies view an outsourcing deal as having no more regulatory risk than would a merger with Microsoft.

But some observers said the deal's structure was aimed at creating the false sense of a level playing field.

"Given the way the ecosystem is put together now, Google would probably be the winner in a vast majority of cases," said Kevin Lee, chairman of search engine marketing firm Did-It.

Michael Kassan, the founder of advertising consulting firm Media Link, and a strategic adviser to Microsoft, was less subtle. "They can call it anything they want, but at the end of the day, it's still rigged so that Google wins every time," he said.

A source close to Yahoo! counters, however, that Google's acumen in search advertising doesn't make the structure anti-competitive.

"It's not unfair just because a company is a good at what they do," the source said.

Source: NY Post

Nielsen: Top Sites Benefit from Mobile Web

A report from Nielsen finds top websites benefit from the growth of mobile-accessed Internet, reports Brandweek.

Nielsen's study found a major site's audience can increase by an average of 13 percent with the inclusion of mobile-friendly websites.

For niche or specialty sites, growth can be even greater. Weather and entertainment sites saw 22 percent growth. And sites focusing on games or music drew 15 percent more visits.
Coming in below average were web-based email services, whose audiences grew 11 percent; sports sites grew 10 percent; business and finance sites by 4 percent.
At the bottom of the list were shopping sites, which only saw one percent audience growth through mobile sites.

The report came from Nielsen's new TotalWeb unit, which measures Internet audiences across all platforms. The study analyzed the traffic of over 200 sites.

Top 10 Boomer Myths: Separating Fact from Fiction

Boomers: energetic, ad-savvy,experimental

Preconceived notions about Baby Boomers abound, but many are mere myth, according to the third Quarterly Boomer Report from AARP Services and Focalyst, titled "How Well Do You Know Boomers? Counting Down the Top 10 Boomer Myths," writes MarketingCharts.

"Contrary to many common assumptions, Boomers are making retirement obsolete, are very savvy about advertising, and are experimenting with new products," said Howard Byck, VP of corporate development for AARP Services.

"Within this generation are diverse segments that must be recognized and addressed differently," added Jack Lett, executive director of Focalyst.

Below, the top 10 Boomer myths — and corresponding facts — according to the report.

Myth #10 - Boomers are retiring early
Much of the attention given to Boomers' turning 62 this year is being eligible to take Social Security benefits early. In reality, few plan to stop working entirely when they reach retirement age — only 11 percent.

Of those Boomers who know what they plan to do when they reach retirement age (some two-thirds), 72 percent plan to keep working, either part- (65 percent) or full-time (7 percent).
Myth #9 - Boomers are downsizing their homes

Despite the image of older consumers "winding down" and simplifying their lives and homes as years progress, just 6 percent of Boomers plan to live in a smaller residence five years from now.
Moreover, 76 percent plan to live in either a same-sized (their current home or a new home of the same size) or larger home.

Myth #8 - Most Boomers are married empty nesters
Most are not Empty Nesters. Only about one in four Boomers fit the profile of married with adult children who have left home. 37 percent of Boomers still have children under 18 in the home — and one-third of Boomers are single.

Myth #7 - You can capture Boomers with mainstream advertising
Boomers pay attention to advertising, but they do not always like what they see. 66 percent say ads have gotten more crude in recent years; another 67 percent are less likely to purchase a product if they find the advertising offensive. 23 percent consider ads geared toward their age group insulting.

Myth #6 - Boomers are brand loyal and will not switch
Commonly thought to be set in their ways, Boomers are as likely as younger cohorts to experiment with new products. They pay attention to advertising for new products, and 61 percent of Boomers agree that "in today's marketplace, it doesn't pay to be loyal to one brand," compared with 62 percent of those age 18-41.

Myth #5 - Boomers are all wealthy
Collectively Boomers are the wealthiest generation in history, but only 9 percent are truly affluent (defined as having pre-tax incomes of $150,000 or more if working, or $100,000 or more if retired). In fact, one quarter of Boomers have no savings or investments at all.

Myth #4 - Boomers are winding down with age
They are quite active. The typical Boomer regularly participates in an average of 10 activities — and participation extends beyond going to church or gardening. They travel (60 million took at least one trip last year), attend live sporting events (22 million) and bicycle (11 million), among other activities.

Myth #3 - Boomers are technologically challenged
Boomers were in the workforce during the evolution of computers, email and the internet, and were the first to understand the value of technology. 82 percent of Boomers use the 'net and 64 percent have been online. Online activities include instant messaging, downloading music or movies, financial transactions and online gaming.

Myth #2 - Boomers are the "Me Generation"
Boomers have typically been portrayed as the self-centered "Me Generation," but their actions in later adulthood suggest "We Generation" is more accurate. They are caring for others and for the world: 70 percent feel they have a responsibility to make the world a better place, and 57 percent try to buy from companies that give back to their communities.

Myth #1 - Boomers are all the same
Often portrayed as a monolith — 77 million people thinking, acting, behaving and buying all in the same way — Boomers more than other segments undergo more major life events, which occur in greater frequency between the ages of 50-65 than in any other time in a person's life.
The typical Boomer experiences an average of two major life events surrounding career, family, finance or health each year. These events can have a major impact on attitudes, life goals and consumer behavior.

Source: MarketingVox

'Abundantly Affluent' Fastest-Growing Segment of Population

US households with $100,000+ in income are the fastest-growing segment of the population according to US Census Bureau data, up from 19.7 million in 2005 to 22.2 million in 2006, an increase of nearly 13 percent, said Unity Marketing - via MarketingCharts.

Between 2005 and 2006…
Affluent households with incomes from $150,000 to $249,999 grew the fastest.
The number of "abundantly affluent" households, those with incomes between $150,000 and $199,999, grew 17.9 percent.
The "super-affluent" group (incomes between $200,000 and $249,999) grew 16.2 percent.
The "ultra-affluent" (incomes $250,000 and above) rose 10.7 percent.
The number of "comfortable affluent" households ($100,000-$149,999) grew 10.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of households with incomes of less than $25,000 decreased 5.1 percent.

Findings from Unity Marketing's Luxury Consumer Tracking Study:
13 percent of affluent households are headed by an ethnic minority.
Fully 30 percent of affluent households are members of the GenXer and Millennial generations - introducing youthful tastes and attitudes to the luxury market.

Some 5 percent of affluent households are led by a woman with no husband present.
"Given the growing numbers of affluents and the increasing diversity among that population, it is dangerous for marketers to take a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to marketing to these consumers," said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing. "Savvy luxury marketers need to account for differences in buying preferences and behavior among the increasingly diverse segments that make up the affluent population."