Do YOU answer your phone?

Thought this was an interesting story - the August 8, 2010 Wash Post article "Texting generation doesn't share boomers' taste for talk."

Check out the article for the good stuff, but here's a sample:

* Boomers in their mid-50s and early 60s are the only ones still yakking as they did when Ma Bell was America's communications queen. But 18- to 34-year-olds' average monthly voice minutes have plunged from about 1,200 to 900 in the past two years, according to research by Nielsen.

* Kevin Loker, 20, a rising junior at George Mason University, said he and his school friends rarely just call someone, for fear of being seen as rude or intrusive. First, they text to make an appointment to talk. "They'll write, 'Can I call you at such-and-such time?' " said Loker, executive editor of Connect2Mason.com, a student media site. "People want to be polite. I feel like, in general, people my age are not as quick on their feet to just talk on the phone."

* Ethan Seidel, rabbi of Tifereth Israel synagogue in the District, can't get many of his congregants younger than 35 on the telephone. Seidel, 52, often invites young, new members to his family's home for welcome dinners, but his gesture too often doesn't even merit return calls. "One member seemed only slightly apologetic for not returning the call," Seidel said. "I was floored by that. They say, 'I never answer the phone anymore.' "

Texters = Young, Techy, Online Shoppers

This information comes from yesterday's Research Brief, from the Center for Media Research. The data was collected by Scarborough Research.

Texters are ...
* more likely than most people to spend money on cellular services. On average, they spend $87/month on cellular services.

- All cellular subscribers average $75/month.

- 46% more likely than all cellular subscribers to typically spend $150+/month on cellular services.

* 12% more likely to plan to switch services.

* more likely than the average cell user, to utilize a wide variety of phone features - such as picture messaging, streaming video and email.

* 49% more likely than all cellular subscribers to be ages 18-24.

* 14% more likely to be Hispanic, and 24% more likely to be African-American.

- Scarborough points to these similarities as likely reasons why El Paso, Salt Lake City, Dallas and Memphis are the top text messaging markets.

- 57% of cell phone subscribers age 18+ in El Paso text message, versus 48% of adult cellular subscribers nationally.

- 55% of cell subscribers in these cities utilize the text messaging feature on their phone.

- Fort Myers, FL, Charleston, WV, and Grand Rapids, MI are the local markets least likely to text message.

- 36% of Fort Meyers and Charleston cellular subscribers utilize the text messaging feature on their phones, as do 35% of those in Grand Rapids, MI.

* 20% spend $1,000+ online annually, versus 17% of all cellular users.

* 37% more likely than all cellular subscribers to have played basketball as a leisure activity, 29% more likely to have gone jogging/running, 29% more likely to have played tennis, and 23% more likely to have practiced yoga during the past year.

* 12% more likely to have attended a professional sports event, and 57% more likely to have gone to an R&B/Rap/Hip-Hop concert during the past year.

* more likely than the average cell phone subscriber to live in a household that owns, or plans to buy, a wide variety of hi-tech items, from HDTVs to MP3 players to video game systems.

- 39% of Texters live in a household that shopped Best Buy during the past year, versus 27% of all consumers nationally.

- 35% of Texters live in a household that shopped Wal-Mart for tech items during the past year.

- 20% of Texters shopped Target.

CONCLUSION: Gary Meo, senior vice president, digital media services, Scarborough Research, concludes "Text messaging could be... disproportionately appealing to marketers because it delivers a young, multicultural audience... (but) texts can provide a very locally targeted vehicle for marketers wanting to reach people in the right place at the right time... "

To view the report, visit the Scarborough Research website.

The Changing Face of 18 to 34-year-old Targeted Marketing

A study conducted by the National Retail Federation and BIG Research found that online video-game ads, blogs and text messages are gaining influence with consumers, particularly among the 18- to 34-year-old demographic.

For those 18 - 34, the study found that:

* Online video-game ads influenced 14% of electronics purchases.
* Blogs influenced 11% of electronics purchases.
(These figures outrank outdoor billboards and satellite radio.)

* Text messaging influenced 9% of electronics purchases.
* Text messaging influenced 6% of clothing purchases.

Source: "Emerging Media Increasingly Inform Shoppers' Choices"

Can video games be used to educate and inform consumers, and not just to push products? A few video games aim to do just that:

* Ocean Survivor
* Green My Brain
* WolfQuest
* Eco Quest



Interestingly, the study results led the researchers to conclude that more attention should be paid to word of mouth (public relations), and in-store experience (customer service), because:
* Word of mouth influences 44% of electronics purchases.
* Word of mouth influences 34% of clothing purchases.
* Articles or product reviews influenced 37% of electronics purchases.
* Articles or product reviews influenced 12% of clothing purchases.

Seems like old school relationships, face-to-face interactions, and kindness still rule the day! EXCELLENT news for cause marketers:)