Londre Marketing Consultants, LLC

Fun Facts

Questions Answered

1. Based on research how much money per year would be necessary for you to consider yourself “rich?”

   American were asked how much money per year would be necessary for them to consider themselves “rich,” 53% of Americans said $150K/year, and 71% said an income of $300K would be enough. (Huffington Post)

2. Old bottles can fetch big dollars. Bottle scavengers can sell an empty bottle for $320. Yes, empty. Then add a lower quality wine and that bottle can sell for thousands. Bootleggers are dousing the wine market with fakes, refilling empty bottles from famous chateaus with inferior wine. The problem is so widespread that auction house Christie’s destroys the empties at their tasting events. China’s where the big-money wine boom has moved. Wine consumption has more than doubled since 2005 to about 100 million cases a year, making China the seventh-largest market in the world.

   Chinese brands, Great Wall and Dragon Seal, lack the quality and prestige to satisfy the local connoisseurs. A bottle of Yao Ming’s brand from Napa Valley retails for $289, but the real clamor is high-end French, but it needs to be “real” and “verified.”

3. Are TV spots and commercials too loud? Louder than the programs?

   For years people have complained about the commercials or TV spots are too loud. Agencies produced the spots louder. They wanted their clients’ ads to stand out. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is turning down the volume on TV ads. The new FCC rules and the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act will require advertisers to adopt best practices to ensure their commercials don't blare at higher volumes than associated programming.

4. How many “rock and roll” songs have featured or referred to Chevys or Chevrolet?

   Over 700 songs, including The Beach Boys’ “409,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Racing in the Street,” and “Thunder Road,” Prince’s “Little Red Corvette,” Don McLean’s “American Pie,” Sammy Johns’ “Chevy Van,” B-52’s “Devil in My Car,” and AC/DC’s “That’s the Way I want to Rock and Roll.” Plus Bob “Like a Rock” and John Mellencamp’s “Our Country” were used to promote Chevy trucks. A sleek Chevrolet Corvette was the star of the early-‘60s TV show “Route 66.” It was also during the 60s that Dinah Shore sang “See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet.”

5. Want to get fired? Twitter can help.

   Many companies including the U.S. Department of Defense are revisiting their social media policies. Some examples: Gilbert Gottfried, the voice of the Aflac duck, was fired after he tweeted “jokes” regarding the tsunami in Japan, where the insurance giant does 75% of its business; surprisingly US Congress doesn’t have a social media strategy but millions of Americans voted no to Representative Weiner’s underwear-clad photo; Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson tweeted a slur and 32K fans petitioned for his firing; a CNN journalist tweet violated the news organization’s policy. It was linked to Americans being killed.

6. What percentage of all email is spam?

   Email is 89% spam with the majority of it being pharmaceutical promotions. The average businessperson sends 33 emails each day. In 1985, 90% of all emails were business related, and in 2011, the number is 8%, according to ListServ and FastCompany, June 2011.

7. Have you read or heard "OMG," lately? When was the first use of this web-friendly abbreviation?

   There is a longer history to that expression than you would expect. The abbreviation --OMG--"Oh, my God" or "Oh, my gosh," its first confirmed use, was 1917, in a personal letter. This web-friendly abbreviation is one of the latest online updates to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011. Other Internet-inspired expressions include: LOL, "laughing out loud," IMHO, "In my humble opinion," and BFF, "best friends forever."

8. Are we watching more TV now than ever?

   Yes, today’s consumers are watching more TV than ever, which makes understanding what and how they’re watching an essential part of any marketing campaign. Because viewers now have multiple screens to choose from, audience measurement integrates across TVs, PCs and mobile phones. Adults 65 (49 hours and 17 minutes/week) and older and African-Americans (47 hours and 37 minutes/week) were the demographic groups who watched the most weekly TV according to The Nielsen Company. The only age group which spent close to the same amount of time as those 65 and up watching traditional TV was adults 50-64, who spent an average of 44 minutes and 54 seconds. Adults 65 and up watched more than twice as much weekly TV as teens age 12-17, who averaged 24 hours and 21 minutes per week. Overall, all Americans age 2 and up watched an average of 35 hours and 37 minutes of weekly traditional TV.. ComScore Video Metrix service reports that 184 million US Internet users watched online video content in October 2011 for an average of 21.1 hours per viewer. The total US Internet audience viewed 42.6 billion videos, representing an all-time high. Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in October with 161 million unique viewers and reached a record high of 20.9 billion videos viewed. However, the numbers don't mean we're just sitting in front of our machines; we're multitasking.

9. What did our US 2010 Census tell marketers?

   That the Average American was missing. The most prevalent household is married with no kids. Followed by single-person homes—married with kids made up just 22% of all U.S. households. The Census found a record low 48% of US household were married couples and that the iconic American family, married with children, had slipped to a new record low of 20% of all households. Gone are the days when marketers and advertisers could target a single broad demographic. My classes learn about the different ways to segment and target a market: With Geographics, Demographics, Psychographics, Technologically, and by Behavior attributes and characteristics.

10. Would you like to smell like a star?

    It depends on many different marketing variables. It depends on the popularity of the person or celebrity and who has audience appeal. The list of celebrities fronting fragrances grows longer, including Britney Spears, with two scents, "Curious" and "Fantasy;" 50 Cent, with "Power;" Stella McCartney, with "STELLA;" Tommy Bahama with "Tommy Bahama;" Ashanti with "Precious Jewel;" Beyoncé Knowles with "True Star" and "Emporio Armani Diamonds;" Halle Berry with "Halle;" Sarah Jessica Parker, with "Lovely;" Derek Jeter, with "Driven;" Hilary Duff. with "With Love;" Paris Hilton, with three scents, including "Heiress;" Sean Combs, with "Unforgivable;" and Jennifer Lopez, with scents that include "Glow", "Live" and "Still." Plus "Celine" by Celine Dion. And those fragrances join shelves crowded with previous star-inspired scents like Elizabeth Taylor's "White Diamonds" and "Passion;" fragrances that invoke multiple stars like Desperate Housewives "Forbidden Fruit," which featured in its ads the five principal actresses of "Desperate Housewives;" and fragrances that use celebrities as endorsers in their campaigns, which include "Chanel No. 5" (Nicole Kidman), "Very Irresistible" (Liv Tyler) and "Dior J'adore" (Charlize Theron). In the retail marketplace and during gift buying holidays, it's not easy standing out amid all of the clutter, is it?

11. How much information is there in the world?

    Or put differently, how much information is humankind able to store, communicate and compute? Think you’re overloaded with information? Not even close. Looking at both digital memory and analog devices, the researchers from Science Express in February 2011 calculated that humankind is able to store at least 295 exabytes of information. Yes, that’s a number with 20 zeroes in it. Put another way, if a single star is a bit of information, that’s a galaxy of information for every person in the world. But it’s still less than 1 percent of the information stored in all the DNA molecules of a human being. Here’s more. 2002 is considered the beginning of the digital age; the first year worldwide digital storage capacity overtook total analog capacity. As an example, in 2007, humankind successfully sent 1.9 zettabytes of information through broadcast technology such as televisions and GPS. That’s equivalent to every person in the world reading 174 newspapers every day.

12. Which Super Bowl advertiser lost money on each and every sale?

    Success was short-lived for pets.com; their business model could “sustain” for only ten months. As 2000 began Pets.com was s high-flying dot-com, with 300 employees and a sock puppet mascot. Netted $82.5 million in their IPO. Seventeen dot-coms were part of “The Dot-Com Super Bowl,” including RIP e-stamp, computer.com and lifeminders.com.

13. What was odd or peculiar about the first Super Bowl?

    Strangely, it was named AFL-NFL World Championship, and was played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Los Angeles hasn’t had an NFL team since 1994. It was played not in February, but on January 15, 1967. In the TV replay of the touchdown catch, the word “videotape” appears on the screen. Tickets were 8 and 12 dollars; the game was not sold out. Fans could watch the game on both NBC and CBS. Neither network preserved a tape of broadcast. Nor Hugh Hefner with his videotape machine at the Playboy Mansion. According to WSJ, there is a found copy or dub recorded from the WDAU-TV broadcast, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA. It’s been rumored to be worth $1M, and NFL offered only $30K. Only 26.8 million saw the broadcast. Vintage McDonald’s spot boasted of “Over Two Billion Sold,” and Muriel Cigars of “So much more cigar for just ten cents.” Green Bay Packers won 35-10 over Kansas City Chiefs.

14. Top five most watched TV events in human history?

    The world gathers around its TV sets at moments of great history. Iconic events are broadcast live and transcend national boundaries, cultures and languages. While key moments in politics resonate globally, in their nature they tend to be both unpredictable and also inappropriate environments for advertisers. In contrast, major sports events are highly promoted. A global live average audience of 593 million viewers watched the Beijing Olympics. With China, by far the world’s most populous nation, hosting a truly global sporting event for the first time, there was near blanket coverage across dozens of Chinese TV channels. For at least six months before the start of the Beijing Olympics, the world's media discussed the Games and a wide range of issues surrounding it. Would some countries boycott the Olympics? Would the Olympic Torch survive its international relay? Would hosting the Olympics lead to political change within its host nation, China? This combination of media saturation and intense national pride led to huge Chinese viewing figures, which were largely responsible for the headline-grabbing global audience performance. The world stopped to watch the Apollo 11 mission landing on the moon in 1969. Her wedding was among the most watched TV event eve, but the world was more tuned in for Princess Diana’s funeral. The world was shocked and saddened by her death. On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States, and the first black man to take the office. The world stopped to watch. Crashing down of the Berlin Wall is amazing. Definitely one of the best parties in human history, which included Reagan’s famous “Tear Down This Wall” speech. (futures sport + entertainment)

15. NFL's return to Los Angeles: Farmers Field, the "What Ifs"?

    Some of the details: No money may ever change hands. An unprecedented, most valuable agreement ever, sponsorship deal of $700 million with AEG and Farmers Insurance. But will money change hands regarding: A stadium that has not been built, Without the "right" environmental reports being prepared or done, A litigious entitlement process, according to news sources, No guarantee from the NFL owners to return to the Los Angeles area, Or for a team or teams that have not been acquired. The LA Times on February 1, 2011 called the deal announcement "…unheard of."

16. How has MAD MEN, the series on AMC, tied into present day culture and retail?

    Mad Men has seemingly percolated into every corner of the popular culture: Sesame Street has created a MAD MEN parody. The clothing retailer Banana Republic created a nationwide window display campaign, and offers a style guide. The costume designer, Janie Bryant has collaborated with Nailtini on a MAD MEN–inspired line of nail polish colors. Mattel has released dolls based on the show’s characters. Brooks Brothers has produced a limited edition MAD MEN suit—which is, in turn, based on a Brooks Brothers design of the 1960s.

17. Let’s talk about the business of India. What happened to the 10K scholarships in the Indian INSPIRE program, 2007-2010?

    India has many outstanding minds and a true reputation for producing world-class engineers. The three-year program called INSPIRE offered 10,000 scholarships to the top Indian science students. It was found 85% of the scholarships went unused. Students surveyed were bypassing science and engineering for business. Plus many of the finest minds study abroad. Spent time in India in 2011 and Londre Marketing Consultants is putting together another seminar on global marketing and business.

18. Women bearing fewer children. How does this research affect marketing and advertising?

    Birth Rate has dropped to the lowest level since records were first kept in 1909. Fewer teen births; Teen births have dropped 30% in past decade. Average age at which American women are having their first child has climbed to record 25.1. In 1970 it was 21.4. The latter is good overall for infant health because birth outcomes for teen moms are problematic. Major implications in how families are structured. How communities spend money. How nations finance retirement. America more a society of seniors and less of young people. 13.9 births per 1,000 women ages 15-44. Fewer children: Down 17% from 1990. LA Times In America today, women earn the majority of bachelor's degrees and master's degrees. And are projected to earn the majority of doctoral degrees in a generation.

19. Are gift cards a good thing?

    What will they think of next? Every time you go to the market and see those stands that have gift cards for every convenience store or restaurant, do you always think that it's an easy gift and easy to buy with your groceries ...... WRONG! Fraud which typically costs its victims between $25 and $500. Just a little warning before gift giving. The crooks have found a way to rob you of your gift card balance. If you buy Gift Cards from a display rack that has various store cards you may become a victim of theft. Crooks are now jotting down the card numbers in the store and then wait a few days and call to see how much of a balance THEY have on the card. Once they find the card is "activated", they go online and start shopping. You may want to purchase your card from a customer service person, where they do not have the Gift Cards viewable to the public.

20. What was significant in the hanging of the Matisse's Le Bateau painting, at the New York Museum of Modern art?

    It was hung upside down for 47 days before anyone noticed.

21. Dream about the Egg McMuffin you'll have for breakfast tomorrow. In 1970 what time did McDonald's open for breakfast?

    McDonald's opened at 10:00 AM, and breakfast wasn't served until the early '70s. Egg McMuffin was invented in Santa Barbara in 1977 and it took Wendy's and Burger King ten years to start a breakfast fare.

22. Leaving for work? Seems crowded? What percentage of workers leaves before 7AM? 8AM?

    Before 7AM: 30.5% Before 8AM: 61.3% Midnight to 5:59AM: 11.0% 6AM to 6:58AM 19.5% 7AM to 7:59AM 30.8% 8AM to 8:59AM 16.1% 9AM to 11:59AM 13.7% Sleep. Before the light bulb people got ten hours of sleep a night. Now adults average 6.9 hours a night.

23. What grade did student, Fred Smith, receive on his 15-page Yale paper proposing a reliable overnight delivery service? Fred Smith went on to found FedEx.

    Student grade of "C". A Yale University management professor Challis A. Hall said, "The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C', the idea must be feasible."

24. How many seats are sold to the public for the Super Bowl?

    Only 1,000 tickets for Super Bowl available to the public, according to NFL and Sports Illustrated. The remaining 76K tickets are distributed by teams and local organizing committee. Players and coaches can purchase 15 each. All players from non participating teams are offered two each. Players from participating teams can make $20K.

25. Nothin' is on?
    How many channels did Bruce Springsteen sing about in 1992?

    57 Average home has 104.7, as of 3/2008 Over 265 Channels and Counting! on DirecTV, as of 2012.

26. How many flavors does Baskin Robbins have?

    More than 1,000 flavors. Trademark list of 31 flavors, but there have been almost 1000 since the company was founded in 1940's. Eight food technologists each come up with about 20 per year and of those 160, three to four make it in a typical year. They say it's a fun job and they get to play with food every day.

27. What is a marketing mix? What are the 4P's? What are the 9P's©?

    The Marketing Mix is the combination of four elements, called the 4P's: Product Price Promotion Place Every company has the option of adding, subtracting, or modifying in order to create a desired marketing strategy. 9P's: I have added five more P's: Planning, Partners, People (Target Markets), Passion, and Presentation. Creativity in Marketing 9 P's© I have a copyright for this concept, the Nine P's, which augments the Marketing 4P's by McCarthy: 1. Planning or Marketing Process: To develop and transform marketing objectives to marketing strategies to tactics, marketing management must make basic decisions on marketing targets, marketing mix, marketing budgets/expenditures and marketing allocations. Dividing the total marketing budget among the various tools in the Marketing Mix and for the various products, channels, promotion, media and sales areas. 2. People/Prospects (Target Market) A product focusing on a specific target market contrasts sharply with one following the marketing strategy of mass marketing. Defining a target market requires market segmentation, the process of segmenting the entire market as a whole and separating it into manageable units based on demographics, geographics, psychographics and behavior characteristics. The market segmentation process includes: Determining the characteristics of segments in the target market. Then separating these segments in the market based on these characteristics. Checking to see whether any of this market segments are large enough to support the organization's product. Once a target market is chosen, the organization can develop its marketing strategies to target this market. 3. Product: The goods and service combination the firm offers to the target market, including variety of product mix, features, designs, packaging, sizes, services, warrantees and return policies. A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. (Kotler) A service is any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. (Kotler) "Product" includes packaging, as a subset of the total offering. Brand managers use packaging as a badge, enhancing the product's value. Here's an example: In fall 2008, McDonald's scrapped and changed its package design across 118 countries, 56 languages. Packaging can increase the perceptions about the quality of the product. A Product or service also should have Purpose, which is discovering the product's real value, use, difference, reason, or function for the consumer and user. 4. Price: All aspects regarding pricing. The price consumers are willing to pay. Retail price/wholesale, discounts, trade-in allowances, quantity discounts, credit terms, sales and payment periods. 5. Promotion: The communication element includes personal and non-personal communication activities. Activities that communicate the merits of the overall product, which includes: Personal Selling/ Sales Force Advertising--Mass or nonpersonal selling: TV, radio, magazines, newspaper, outdoor/out-of-home Advertising is structured and composed non personal communication of information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods, services, and ideas) by identified sponsors through various media. (Arens, Weingold, Arens, 13th edition of Contemporary Advertising, 2011) Advertising is any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). Ads can be a cost-effective way to disseminate messages, whether to build a brand preference or to educate people. Sales Promotion--Trade deals, samples, coupons, premiums, tie-ins, p-o-p, displays, sweepstakes, allowances, trade shows, sales rep contests, events/experiences and more. Collateral Materials--Booklets, catalogs, brochures, films, sales kits, promotional products and annual reports. Direct Marketing-- Direct mail, database management, catalogs, telemarketing, and direct-response ads. Includes Interactive/ Internet Public Relations--Press releases, publicity. Securing editorial space, as opposed to paid space--usually in print or broadcast media. Promote or "hype" a product, service, idea, place, person or organization, internal communication, lobbying. PR involves a variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company's image or individual products. 6. Place/Distribution: The company's activities that make the product available, using distribution and trade channels, coverage, assortments, locations, inventory and transportation characteristics and alternatives. Typical supply chain consists of four links in the chain: Producer/Factory/Manufacturer, Distributor, Wholesaler, Retailer supplying the consumer and user. 7. Partners: A joint partnership; the joint relationships, partnerships and alliances. The legal relationship existing between two parties; A relationship resembling a legal partnership and usually involving close cooperation between parties having specific and joint rights and responsibilities as a common enterprise. One of the heavy timbers that strengthen a ship's deck to support a mast. Usually plural, "Partners," not Partner. In Kotler: Value chains, of suppliers, distributors and customers. Partnering with specific suppliers or distributors create a value-delivery network; also called a supply chain. Partnership marketing; Partner Relationship Management. 8. Presentation: The acts of presenting any of the 9P's to your customers, suppliers, clients, or partners. A symbol or image that represents something; A descriptive or persuasive account (as a sales person of his product). Something set forth for the attention of mind. 9. Passion: Intense, driving or overmastering feelings, Emotion. The emotions as distinguished from reason; A strong liking for or devotion to some activity; Deep interest in your partnership/presentation of any of the 9P's to any target or partner. See enhanced document at http://www.londremarketing.com/documents/NinePs03262010.pdf.

28. How much does a 30-second TV commercial or spot cost in Super Bowl XLVI, February 5, 2012? Who is starring in the most watched musical event , the halftime show?

    Good news for NBC, a single Super Bowl XLVI spot topped $4 million. With ads ranging between $3.5 million and $4 million, Super Bowl prices were up 13% to 29% in 2012, from a year ago. The big premium was for a typical 30-second spot in the first quarter of the game, which averaged around $100K extra. This premium was due to the larger audience and better chances that consumers will recall the ads early in the game. Viewers are usually in a better state of mind. Prices for advertising time only can typically cost millions of dollars; the 30-second spot during the 2012 telecast cost around $3.5 million. NBC tapped Madonna for Super Bowl XLVI. FOX in 2011 reported that Super Bowl XLV sold out, fetching between $2.8 million and $3 million per :30. This amount excluded production costs and fees for actors, sets, equipment, advertising agencies, directors, crew and other personnel. Here’s more: In 2009-2010, the cost of a 30-second spot ranged from $2.5 million to $2.9 million. During the broadcast advertising time has also grown from 40 minutes, 15 seconds in 2001 -- or 82 messages -- to 45:10, or 84 messages in 2009. There was a big rise in 2010, to 47:50 and 104 commercials. Which product is advertised the most on the Super Bowl? Not beers, movies or cars. It's the network's own programming promotion. In a typical Super Bowl, 15% to 20% of all commercial time is a plug by the network for its own programming and shows. Sales and the pace of sales in 2010-2011 were fueled by the heavy competition among carmakers. There was a record of eleven different car brands which announced Super Bowl deals, including nine different auto brands. Our country's highest-profile advertising showcase, with 97+ million households staying glued to their screens and not using TiVo during the ads. Marketers get a huge audience, but they also face high expectations especially when the audience can judge and be a critic with the click of a mouse. With the high price tag, it’s a lot to spend if the creative is poor or dumb, lacks strategic direction, or just plain awful. The cost of a Super Bowl spot every year has been an annual contest of brinkmanship for the networks, in setting its price. Positions in first half sell first. Anheuser-Busch is the exclusive malt-beverage advertiser for 2012, since 1989. Over the last 10 years, Anheuser-Busch/InBev has spent the most on the Super Bowl, at $235.0 million, followed by Pepsico at $170.8 million, Walt Disney at $70.8 million, General Motors at $61.1 million and Coca-Cola at $54.4 million. ABC holds the record price for an in-game Super Bowl spot, getting $3.3 million for one 30 second Super Bowl spot from netpliance.com in the 2000 Super Bowl. On NBC in 2009: $3.0 million On FOX in 2008: $2.7 million On CBS in 2007: $2.5 to 2.6 million. On ABC in 2006: $2.4 to 2.5 million On FOX in 2005: $2.4 to 2.5 million. Super Bowl XXXVIII, broadcasted on 2/1/2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS network, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson's bare breast was exposed by Justin Timberlake in what was referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction". A record $550,000 fine was levied by the FCC, as well as an increase of FCC fines per indecency violation from $27,500 to $325,000. While the Super Bowl still commands the highest-priced commercial unit -- around $2.8 million to $3.5 million -- other major sports events can pull in total dollars that hold parity with the big game.

29. In a study of high-performance executives, the Forum Corp. found that the key factor in their success was:

    It's not intelligence, or sense of adventure. Not degrees, IQ, or even skills. It's Attitude. Look for innovative solutions to problems.

30. How much was the commercial artist who designed the Smiley Face paid?

    Harvey Ball invented the Smiley Face in 1963 and was paid $45 for his design and he never trademarked it. By the way, the famous Nike swoosh was sold for $35.

31. How easy is it to come up with a character? How about Mr. Peanut?

    In 1916, a 14-year-old boy from Virginia created Mr. Peanut as an entry into a Planters-sponsored trademark contest. The advertising agency, the client and the brand managers have kept Mr. Peanut alive, coming up on 100 years. There are talking dogs, talking horses, even talking margarine tubs, not to mention talking branding characters like Snap, Crackle and Pop for Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, the E*Trade babies and the Keebler elves. Mr. Peanut, the Planters mascot, has never spoken — until late fall 2010. Planters is giving Mr. Peanut a new look, with a gray flannel suit, and a voice (Robert Downey Jr.), as well as a sidekick, Benson. In another sign of how keen Kraft is to update Mr. Peanut, the commercial is to be previewed on the character’s Facebook page (facebook.com/mrpeanut) before it runs on TV and in cinema advertising. Mr. Peanut has a new look that date to the 1930s and 1940s. He is now brown, rather than yellow, and a gray flannel suit. Perfect for Madison Avenue, advertising and account supervisors/account executives (A.E.’s)/account managers. Here is another effort to revive classic advertising characters, slogans and jingles to appeal to today’s shoppers. Nostalgia is just one of the sales devices, appeals and tools used by advertisers.

32. How many millions can you squander on a luxury brand, such as POLO jeans from Ralph Lauren?

    About $355 million. Ralph Lauren the preppy-clothing purveyor paid that nine-figure sum in February '06 to buy back his Polo Jeans brand from licensee Jones Apparel Group, and four months later said it is discontinuing it in the United States. Marketing lessons learned: Control distribution and price to maintain a luxury brand.

33. Are you what you drive and consume?

    Yes, and here's more to think about in marketing and advertising. A company cannot serve all customers in a broad market. Don't buy market share with more and more advertising or discounting against the competition. Figure out how to earn market share. Better research, planning---win market share. Think about the slogan "Trix are for kids." A good demographic example we use. The company needs to identify the market segments that it can serve more effectively. Many companies are embracing target marketing. Distinguish major segments, target one or more and develop products and marketing mixes tailored to them. "Rifle" shots versus "shotgun" approach. The stronger your brand image is the better off you are. Ever since the infamous Dodge La Femme of the 1950s, auto engineers have been trying to create car models that specifically appeal to women drivers. According to an informal survey by the Detroit Free Press, women want what men want in a car: quality, safety, convenience and comfort. Oh, and they also want it to be "nail-friendly." Men and Women: 99% of Ferrari owners are male; 69% of all VW Cabriolets are purchased by women; and 94% of all Dodge Vipers and Porsches. Ferrari drivers are: 99% male; aged 45-50 years of age—down from late 50's; 65% are repeat buyers; 20% own more than one; 60% own a private jet and 20% own a power boat;  Buyers spend $25K to customized car. (AdAge) You may be able to accurately predict someone's ride from their face and body posture, according to a new survey by psychologists at Julius-Maximilians University in Wurzburg, Germany. The study found that participants could correctly link photographs of male and female drivers to their cars nearly 70% of the time. NY Times

34. Waiting in a store line, who is more impatient? Men or Women? Young or Old? Richer or Poorer?

    A survey on "Impatient" Americans reveals that on average, women are willing to wait 18 minutes in line at a store before losing their patience, while men lose their cool after only 15 minutes. Younger people are more patient than older people, richer people are more patient than poorer people, and suburbanites are more patient than city dwellers. Associated Press

35. Six most profitable words in the history of business:

    "Would you like fries with that?"

36. What’s the Official Beer of the NFL (National Football League)?

    It depends. Let’s break it down. Easy answer is Anheuser-Busch InBev. But it’s not that easy. Anheuser-Busch has been the Super Bowl's exclusive alcohol sponsor since 1989. A-B InBev is expecting strong returns on its Bud Light sponsorship of the NFL, signed in 2011, an investment of about $1.2 billion, over six (6) years. But the A-B InBev contract does not shut out MillerCoors from buying time in NFL broadcasts MillerCoors walked away from the NFL rights because it felt like it could no longer get a return on investment with the price tag the league was seeking, its chief marketing officer said. MillerCoors can still run ads during NFL games, just as A-B did when MillerCoors' Coors Light was sponsor. What the sponsorship gives A-B is the right to use the NFL shield and other logos in advertising and retail displays. It also offers certain intangible benefits, such as cache with retailers, as well as the ability to use footage in promotions. (NFL rules do prohibit the use of footage of current players for beer sponsors; but they can use footage of fans, coaches or retired players.) But MillerCoors is hardly expected to cede the field to A-B. The brewer has stated "…it will still be all over NFL broadcasts." Also, MillerCoors has sponsorship deals with 21 of 32 teams -- including a few exclusive deals in key markets such as Dallas and Chicago -- meaning it can use team helmets in ads or in-store promotions. In 2010, AB invested $436.8 million in measured media for its Budweiser and Bud Light brands, an increase of 11 percent from its 2009 spend. It is debatable which is more important -- owning local team rights or the league sponsorship.

37. What happens when someone asks an undergraduate or graduate student for their home phone number?
    

    You get a funny look. The landline business is in permanent decline. There were 141 million homes with phones in 2000, and now it’s less than 78 million, according to the FCC. Most of the erosion is consumers going wireless, but some 20 million homes have replaced their landlines with Internet homes.

38. Tired of waiting in line at the store?

    Grocery store lines irk customers. About 25% of people polled in an AP-IPSOS survey said the grocery checkout line tested their patience more than any other location, including the DMV or the post office. But retailers can help calm shopper frustration by changing how they wait, even if they can’t change how long they wait, according to one expert. Wal-Mart has added TV sets and special programming. So have other stores. Some segments do not obey the ten items or under lines.

39. What new phase did 145-year old Sweethearts' candy add to their “Conversation Hearts” package in ‘11?

    They added “Tweet Me” to their “Conversation Hearts” for Valentine’s Day in 2011.

40. Do "misleading," "banned," "altered," "airbrushed" describe Julia Roberts, Christy Turlington, Taylor Swift?

    Well, yes, if you are looking at ads. P&G’s print ad for CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara with Taylor Swift was challenged for its digital enhancement. The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus ruled that Swift's eyelashes were digitally thickened and that the advertising was misleading consumers. Make-up ads featuring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington have been banned in the UK because of their controversial use of '”airbrushing” for foundation products made by L'Oreal's Maybelline and Lancôme.

41. How much are the 2012 London Olympics worth to the U.K. economy?

    $1.2 Billion and a total of $8 Billion. A report commissioned by VISA predicts and estimates this cash injection from the London Olympics and the Paralympic Games from consumer spending in the seven-week period. The Games will deliver a sustained stimulus worth a total of more than $8 Billion to the U.K. economy by ‘15.