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Five preventive services could save 100,000 lives
Increasing the number of Americans who receive just five types of preventive care to 90 percent would save 100,000 lives according to a study conducted by Partnership for Prevention. Here are the number of lives that would be saved if 90 percent of us received the following types of care:
| Daily low-dose aspirin therapy to prevent heart disease |
45,000 lives |
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| Smoking cessation counseling, medication and assistance |
42,000 lives |
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| Colon cancer screening for adults over 50 |
14,000 lives |
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| Flu vaccination for adults over 50 |
12,000 lives |
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| Breast cancer screening for women over
40 |
4,000 lives |
By focusing on preventive care, we could not only avoid illnesses and save lives, but also make more efficient use of limited healthcare resources.
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Communications spending growth fueled by alternative advertising
A new study by private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson reports that communications spending rose 6.8 percent in 2006 to $885.2 billion, with much of that growth driven by increases in alternative media platforms and strong gains in the marketing services sector.
Marketing services, such as direct marketing and promotions, was the largest communications sector in 2006 with overall growth of 7.7 percent, with double-digit growth in custom publishing, branded entertainment, Internet and mobile marketing contributing significantly.
The report forecasts continued growth over the next five years spurred by dramatic increases in alternative advertising, such as online, mobile and alternative out-of-home media, which together are expected to climb more than 23 percent annually to over $75 billion in 2011. Though the dollar amount spent on traditional media advertising is expected to remain at least twice that spent on alternative media, the predicted growth rate for traditional advertising is only 1.3 percent.
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Broadband growing fastest in high-income households
According to new consumer research by the Leichtman Research Group, 53 percent of U.S. households now subscribe to a broadband high-speed Internet service at home and that number is growing. Broadband now accounts for 72 percent of all home Internet subscriptions, up from 60 percent last year.
Although broadband access is growing across demographics, as well as increasing availability across the country, there is a strong correlation between broadband subscriptions and household income. For example, 68 percent of all households with annual incomes over $50,000 have broadband while only 39 percent of households with incomes below $50,000 do.
The research predicts that the total number of broadband subscribers will increase by over 40 million in the next five years. For marketers, this growth offers an opportunity for increased focus on Web-based and e-mail marketing as more consumers have broadband access that makes shopping and navigating the Internet faster and easier.
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Study suggests increasing loyalty leads to additional deposits
The J.D. Powers and Associates 2007 Retail Banking Satisfaction Study estimates that a bank could increase deposits by an additional $1 billion for every 1 million customers with a 5 percent increase in the number of customers shifting from “moderately committed” to “highly committed.” This growth is the result of both the greater share of wallet from highly committed customers and new customers gained as a result of existing customers’ recommendations.
Overall, the study shows increased levels of customer satisfaction over last year. The average number of annual recommendations also rose from seven to nine per customer.
The study also found that the reason cited most often for choosing a bank is reputation, which is built on recommendations and positive word of mouth. While many banks have focused on free services and convenience, consumers rated those second and third. This indicates that financial institutions can gain a significant competitive advantage by focusing on increasing the loyalty of existing customers to build a positive reputation.
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A new channel champ — e-mail tops direct mail for the first time
You might have guessed this day was coming from the number of e-mail messages in your inbox. It’s official: For the first time anywhere, in the U.K. e-mail marketing has overtaken direct mail as the direct marketing channel with the most volume according to the latest National E-mail Benchmarking report released by the Direct Marketing Associations E-mail Marketing Council. The study found that while direct mail expenditures continue to rise, volume has decreased as marketers integrate more targeted, multichannel communications into their campaigns. At the same time, year-over-year e-mail volume has increased by 52 percent. E-mail delivery also improved with bounce rates currently at 2 percent, down from 6 percent in the first quarter.
Actions speak louder as behavioral targeting grows
Based on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future actions, behavioral targeting is a tactic adopted by increasing numbers of marketers, thanks to the wealth of behavioral information available from customer activity on Web sites and more sophisticated data analytics that make that information easier to understand and use. According to Forrester Research’s Q4 Marketing Benchmark survey, 14 percent of business-to-business marketers currently use behavioral targeting, with another 8 percent reporting that they are planning to use behavioral targeting this year. Experts predict that behavioral targeting will continue to grow as further technological advances make it easier to capture buyer behaviors and automate the segmentation process. |
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