A new study from Accenture reveals that 66% of consumers changed brand loyalty in 2011 due to dissatisfaction with customer service, even as satisfaction with overall services provided increased.

The Accenture Global Consumer Survey polled 10,000 people in 27 countries on ten issues about service expectations, purchasing intentions, loyalty, satisfaction and switching.Continue reading...

Luxury brands aren't the only segment targeting the "1 percent," the uber-rich slice of the population that has been taking a lot of heat from the so-called 99 percenters. It is these wealthiest consumers, occupying rarefied air, who vote with their checkbooks, so their preferences are closely considered and carry a lot of clout.

So what is the high net worth consumer looking for? First and foremost, superior quality, according to "Luxury Branding and Marketing: A Global Comparison of Wealthy Consumers in Top Markets," a study just released by Luxury Institute. The survey analyzed wealthy consumers with a minimum annual income of $150,000 or the local currency equivalent in China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

A broad majority (73 percent) of wealthy consumers think superior quality is the most important attribute that defines a luxury brand, followed by craftsmanship (65 percent) and design (54 percent). But increasingly, customer service is becoming a key consideration (47 percent). Customer service is even more important to Chinese consumers, who say that service has improved (63 percent).Continue reading...

Market research group Lab42 asked a question branding and marketing pros ask all the time: Is anyone even paying attention to advertising?

The three forms of advertising Lab42 focused on were online banner ads, ads in free phone apps, and ads in music streaming apps.

Some of the findings are expected (pop-ups are annoying!) while others are surprising (31 percent of respondents claimed to never fast-forward through commercials in DVR-ed programming). The survey findings in an eye-catching visual graphic:Continue reading...

A new study from loyalty marketing company LoyaltyOne's Colloquy arm, sponsored by Epsilon, sheds light on current consumer attitudes toward brand loyalty in the context of current global economic challenges. The study looks at consumer attitudes in two sectors: emerging economies (Brazil, China and India) and developed economies (Australia, Canada and the U.S.). 

The study reveals how consumers in emerging markets respond differently to new brands and product opportunities than do their counterparts in developed nations. In emerging economies, 35 percent of shoppers welcome foreign brands, while only about 7 percent of consumers in developed countries felt that foreign competition was positive. In fact, 90 percent of Chinese consumers trust foreign brands over their own brands.

Consumers in Brazil and India were happier with their own domestic brands than the Chinese, but not nearly as much as consumers in developed economies. In Australia, Canada and the U.S., consumers are over twice as likely to trust their own brands versus ones from other countries.

Obviously, this presents an opportunity for well-established brands from developed nations to make significant inroads with consumers in emerging countries. This could explain why so many American brands, for example, have pursued an expansion strategy in such countries as Brazil, China and India, even as the same brands pull back and regroup in other sectors.Continue reading...

Got something to say about a hotel owned by Starwood? Well, they want to hear about it. 

Starwood Hotels and Resorts is the first U.S. global hotel owner to provide an online-review function on its own website so that visitors to Sheraton, Westin, W and other Starwood brands can share how they feel, according to USA Today.

Of course, opening up their hotels' websites to surface the opinions of guests and providing ways to share them via Facebook or Twitter isn’t necessarily a good thing, particularly if one of the thousands of people who stay in a Starwood brand each night has a bad experience.Continue reading...

Ben & Jerry's appears to be the first brand to publicly side with the Occupy Wall Street protests. The Unilever-owned, socially pro-active ice cream-maker's homepage shows a message of solidarity that states, in part:

"We know that words are relatively easy but we wanted to act quickly to demonstrate our support. As a board and as a company we have actively been involved with these issues for years but your efforts have put them out front in a way we have not been able to do. We have provided support to citizens’ efforts to rein in corporate money in politics, we pay a livable wage to our employees, we directly support family farms and we are working to source fairly traded ingredients for all our products. But we realize that Occupy Wall Street is calling for systemic change. We support this call to action and are honored to join you in this call to take back our nation and democracy."

Read the full statement below. Know of any other brands showing their support? Post a comment below.Continue reading...

Nielsen just released a pair of research reports, “Reaching the Right Audiences Online: Early Findings from Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings,” and “Beyond Clicks and Impressions: Examining the Relationship Between Online Advertising and Brand Building,” that bring to light several emergent trends:

• While some websites perform well in reaching a target audience, nearly all campaigns reach a large number of consumers not valuable to the brand advertiser

• Advertisers wanting a strong online brand presence must move beyond traditional web metrics to verify if their money is paying off 

• Online delivers audiences more effectively than some popular TV shows.

• Click-through rate is not the right metric to measure brand impact – as virtually no relationship exists between clicks and brand metrics or offline sales

• Brand metrics for online campaigns can predict offline sales impact.Continue reading...

In the midst of the sweltering heat across America this week, Honest Tea conducted a little experiment.

On July 19th, the Coca Cola-owned beverage brand set up unattended kiosks in 12 cities, inviting the public to enjoy a chilled drink, but to also leave $1 on the honor system — to test Americans' honesty (a riff on the brand's name).

The winner?Continue reading...