â–¶ Less-Great Expectations of Corporate Sponsors: The list of things adversely affected by the recession now includes corporate sponsorships, as consumers are increasingly critical of companies that spend frivolously. According to the study of American consumers conducted by Performance Research:
• 32% of respondents said they are paying less attention to corporate sponsorships than they were a year ago;
• 62% want to see less spending on sports sponsorships for companies experiencing financial difficulties;
• More than 66% have a lower overall estimation of how corporate America conducts business versus how they did so one year ago;
• 74% are thinking more about wasteful corporate spending now than ever before;
• 69% think there should be restrictions on sponsorship spending for companies receiving federal assistance;
• 64% feel it is more important than ever for companies to appear humble; and,
• 64% are impressed when hearing of a company cutting back on corporate hospitality.
Source: Performance Research
â–¶ Social Networking Is Ubiquitous, Ageless: According to Nielsen Company’s “Global Faces and Networked Places” report, active reach in member communities (i.e., social networks) now surpasses that of e-mail at 67% to 65%.
These communities now reach 5% more of the Internet population than they did one year ago. This growth rate beats that of the other four largest sectors: search (1.9%), general interest portals and communities (1.9%), software manufacturers (1.4%) and e-mail (2.7%).
The report also revealed that the world’s most popular social network— Facebook —is visited monthly by three in every 10 people online across the nine markets in which Nielsen tracks social networking use. Other key findings include:
• In terms of sheer audience numbers, the greatest growth for Facebook has come from people aged 35-49 (+24.1 million);
• Facebook has added almost twice as many 50-64-year- old visitors (+13.6 million) than it has added under 18-year-old visitors (+7.3 million); and,
• The biggest increase in visitors during 2008 to “Member Community” Web sites globally came from the 35-49-year-old age group.
The report concludes that a key reason why advertising on social networks hasn’t been as successful as it has with traditional media is because social networkers serve as both the suppliers and consumers of content. Therefore, members have a greater sense of ownership around the personal content they provide and are less inclined to accept advertising around it. As the site becomes more attractive to advertisers, it becomes less appealing to members who see highly targeted ads as invading privacy.
Source: Nielsen Company
â–¶ Layoff Alternatives: Good news for employees who fear losing their jobs because of the recession: Many CFOs of American companies are seeking money-saving alternatives to layoffs, according to the 2009 Q1 “CFO Outlook Survey” conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. Respondents cited the following measures they are considering to avoid layoffs:
• Salary freezes: 51%
• Redistribution responsibilities: 29%
• Elimination of bonuses: 29%
• Restructuring: 29%
• Salary decreases: 20%
• Shortened work week: 16%
• Mandatory unpaid time off: 11%
• Option to telecommute: 3%
Additional findings include:
• 54% of respondents want their board to act as a partner in exploring ways to get through the challenging economy;
• 24% want the board to act as counsel to the CFO;
• 20% want the board to serve as a sounding board for CFO concerns; and,
• When asked when they believe economic indicators—such as bond yields, mortgage interest rates, U.S. unemployment rate and rising GDP—will collectively improve and result in the start of a U.S. economic recovery, an overwhelming majority (83%) predict that signs of a recovery will not begin until the first half of 2010 or later. PRN
Source: FEI & Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business