A Latino advocacy group's sendup of "God Made a Farmer" adds images of Latinos to the mix. Is Ram listening?

The Ram brand has seen a boost following its Super Bowl ad. Autotrader.com reported a 55 percent increase in search activity for Ram, the trucks division of Chrysler's Dodge; the official YouTube video of the ad had registered more than 6 million views by Wednesday morning, along with more than 12,000 comments. "God Made a Farmer" seems to be this year's "Imported From Detroit."

Ram's site dedicated to the campaign, which declares 2013 the "Year of the Farmer," expands well beyond the Paul Harvey-narrated ad with a section on the late radio broadcaster himself, and information on Future Farmers of America and campaign partner Farms.com (which made a 2011 ad almost identical to Ram's). The site also pledges Ram will make donations to FFA and to "assist in local hunger and educational programs" each time the "Farmer" video is watched or shared, or when a social media badge depicting farmer life is shared.

But the campaign could easily lose its power if Ram doesn't capitalize on it — probably in unplanned ways.Continue reading...

Turns out Gen Y is “greatly misunderstood, and for those looking to connect with them — whether a political campaign or a consumer brand – it is critical to understand that Gen Y cares deeply about the world around them, even if they have their own unique ways of expressing it,” according to Joe Kessler, President, The Intelligence Group, whose latest survey was just released.

“Generation Y: Slacktivism or Social Consciousness?” finds that Millennials are not only socially aware but also uniquely positioned, as digital natives, to meaningfully impact the world of today.Continue reading...

Older customers are more likely to use digital coupons for in-store purchases, with an average 10% increase in median age yielding a 2.49% increase in activation rates for retail coupons in urban U.S. counties.

That's one of the findings from a new study by RevTrax, an omnichannel promotions platform for brands and retailers to drive and measure in-store sales. The new survey of of digital coupon activations shows the relationship between demographics and digital coupon conversion.

“The data we’re releasing illustrates digital’s ability to provide brands and retailers with more precise and detailed insight into the relationship between coupons and consumer behavior than traditional direct marketing has provided over the last several decades,” said Jonathan Trieber, co-founder and CEO, RevTrax.

The study cross-referenced aggregated, non-identifiable digital coupon activation data from millions of coupons between January and April of 2012, parsed by location, income, age, household, education, political affiliation and employment.

“Marketers have begun to realize that digital advertising should not be aligned just with ecommerce marketing budgets," Trieber commente, "but also with brick & mortar budgets, especially given that 90% of retail sales still take place offline.”Continue reading...

The latest intelligence from the Pew Internet Project, the 2012 "Digital Differences" report, finds that one in five American adults surveyed don’t use the Internet, with almost 50% citing irrelevance as the main reason.

The survey, which polled of 2,260 adults aged 18 and older conducted in July-August, 2011, further reveals that 10% of respondents who don't use the Internet have no interest in doing so in the future, although 20% say they have enough technological know-how to do so.

The self-identified Luddites flagged by Pew included, primarily, senior citizens, Spanish-speaking respondents, adults with less than a high school education, and those with under $30,000 annual income. At the same time, the rise of mobile has narrowed the digital divide between white Americans and minorities.Continue reading...

The Millennial generation, 16-34, is in the driver’s seat, 79 million strong compared with waning Boomer’s 76 million. They wield hundreds of billions of dollars annually as influencers of commerce, culture, business and brands – and their clout will only increase as they move into their peak spending years.

In order to better understand the Gen Y (or as some call them, "Generation Lost") cohort born in the 1980s and '90s, The Boston Consulting Group, along with Barkley, and Service Management Group, have collaborated on a new study, "The Millennial Consumer: Debunking Stereotypes."

The just-released research (download it here) surveys 4,000 Millennials and 1,000 non-Millennials (ages 35 to 74) in the U.S. to better define the differences between the two groups, and identify qualities inherent to the Millennials demographic and not just attributable to youthful age.

“Don't believe the hype that Millennials consume less than previous generations,” said Christine Barton, a partner at BCG. “Those companies that truly ‘get’ this generation will have an opportunity to differentiate themselves and forge profitable long-term relationships with Millennial consumers.”Continue reading...

Car brands have become intent upon roping in reluctant consumers from the Millennial generation. That's why Ford has decided to set up shop, literally, in Silicon Valley, and why General Motors has turned to MTV for advice.

Today's twenty-somethings have looked like trouble for a while to America's automakers because they can't be counted on to swoon about cars they way their parents did — and often still do. Of course, the importance of digital connectivity to this generation has been well-established, and Ford has managed to capitalize on it with its trail-blazing Sync infotainment platform.Continue reading...

The first thing you need to know about the third annual BroCon Summit (Oct. 28 in New York) is that it was hosted by the GuyRilla Marketing (get it?) Group.

Moderated by ESPN, BroCon 2012 featured marketing executives from Nike, the NBA, NHL, NFL, Microsoft, EA, and Maxim magazine discussing the latest trends in "Marketing to Men."

The after-party was held at The Russian Tea Room. Did we say Russian Tea Room? We meant Hooters. The after-party was held at Hooters.Continue reading...

With Congressman Anthony Weiner's Twitter scandal at the top of the political news cycle, the social messaging service which allows you to tell people you've never met that you just relieved your bladder is more popular than ever. And there's new data to prove it. 

The Pew Research Center's Pew Internet and American Life Project (Pewternet?) just updated its data on Twitter usage. It's worth a read for the casually curious, and an absolute requirement for marketers and brand strategists.

Most of all, the results should most remind everyone that Twitter users are not at all representative of larger population.Continue reading...