Women Are Naturally Brand Advocates
Women are more likely than men to act as brand advocates, reports a new study by The Intuition Group, the market research unit of the WPP Group, a full service marketing agency in New York.
The study, which addressed gender views on brand marketing and advertising, found that 91% of women ages 18-39 support brands.
Women also have a strong awareness of when friends are looking for specific products or services and are asked for advice about a specific brand. Other findings include:
- More women (77%) than men (64%) believe the brands they choose reflect their personality.
- While women will advocate brands from a wide range of categories, men tend to advocate brands from just three categories - cars, technology and sports equipment.
- Women are particularly aware of their bonds with brands that offer personal indulgence or pampering.
"Women remain loyal to brands that reflect their primal need for relationships, while men relate to communications that are more practical and straightforward," says Lori Moskowitz Lepler, president of The Intuition Group. "The most successful brand communications connect with women the way women connect with each other."
The survey included 200 men and women. (The Intuition Group, Amy Carr, 212/370-2525)
Association Provides Industry Outlook, Trends
As one of the country's most mature managed care markets, California, continues to provide a model for healthcare in the 21st century.
Forecasting the state's healthcare trends from 1998 to 2005, the California Healthcare Association has published its annual "View of the Future" report for healthcare leaders.
The report, highlights market factors that will impact the state's healthcare delivery in the next millennium, including:
- California's health economy is swelling to more than $150 billion by the year 2000 possibly reaching $200 billion by 2005.
- By the year 2000, several employers will have reduced their healthcare costs by at least 15% from 1995 levels.
- Multilingual Hispanics and Asians will be the dominant racial and ethnic forces requiring new cultural approaches to healthcare delivery by providers and employers. (CHA, 916/552-7516)
Clinical Research Trials Too Confusing
Written informed consent documents for clinical trials may not be clear enough for marginally literate patients, which includes one in five Americans.
Research conducted by Louisiana State University in Shreveport raises serious questions about the effectiveness of communicating key information about treatment risks and various study therapies among patients who have low to marginal literacy skills.
The study, surveyed 183 adults, using two versions of a consent form which outlined procedures, risks and benefits of a clinical trial on a new breast cancer drug. The first version was written at an advanced medical level, the second at a seventh-grade reading level.
Research findings, which appear in current issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, include:
- 62% of the participants preferred the simplified form, finding it more attractive to read and less intimidating.
- But subsequent testing showed that comprehension scores were not greatly improved, 56% (complex form) versus 58% (simplified form).
- Low literacy participants understood only a minimal amount of the content on either form. (Louisiana State University, Shreveport, 318/757-5000)