Scarborough is the leading data compiler of consumer habits and profiles. They interview thousands of people every year in order to build the most interesting correlations of data I’ve found. Let me share some:
-40% of tablet owners who shopped online in the past year spent $1,000 or more. So advertisers are starting to make one-click shopping on tablet browsing much simpler. Did you know that ad servers know what kind of computer you’re on with what kind of connection? And they can serve an ad based on that.
-25% of adults who spent $1,000 on home improvements also listen to Adult Contemporary radio formats. So my AC radio reps can easily convince Ace Hardware and Lowe’s to buy their stations, right?
-59% of consumers who purchased hardware/paint/lawn/garden items and also shopped at the Home Depot are more likely to watch movies. So either Home Depot needs to start a movie rental business, or at least RedBox can make a case that they should have their machines there. It would be a win for guys even more if RedBox promised they’d have NO chickflick inventory and it would get them back to Home Depot every day!
–75% of upscale restaurant diners who bought organic food read a newspaper in the past week. Seeing that newspaper readership is down, newspaper ad reps should use this data to convince the right advertisers that there’s still hope of reaching quality people.
-64% of joggers/runners who bought athletic shoes in the past 12 months watch comedy TV shows. Adidas, Nike, Reebok – are you paying attention? Be there. Heck, get the people in the shows to wear your footwear. 🙂
-57% of adults who traveled 200+ miles in the past 7 days and spend 30 minutes or more traveling to work saw digital video displays at least one time in the past 30 days. This one was for me. 😉
While the NSA has to go through a ton of data in order to find dirt on an individual, advertisers only have to know a couple of your habits and can then figure out most of the rest of the pieces in order to advertise to you what they want you to buy. So if Target can figure out you’re pregnant, maybe the NSA should just hook up with the IAB to figure out if you’re a danger to the U.S.?
Nah, this is getting too heavy. Let’s just stick with advertising!
If you didn’t get to read about how the IAB is tracking you and whether you want to let them know if they’ve hit or missed the mark, check out my past posts on the topic here and here.
Patti is still learning 
The researcher in me loved this post. 🙂 I came across another tidbit of research you may find interesting: consumers in crowded settings prefer safety-oriented options and are more receptive to prevention-framed messages than promotional messages – See more at: http://researchindustryvoices.com/2013/09/30/crowds-affect-consumer-behavior-researcher-says
Thanks Jen! This was my favorite key-takeaway – “For example, our findings indicate a store would benefit by selling and marketing products differently on a crowded Saturday during the holidays versus a Tuesday morning in August,” she said. “And even within the same day, stores might consider changing their signage or product placement to account for different levels of crowding.” – See more at: http://researchindustryvoices.com/2013/09/30/crowds-affect-consumer-behavior-researcher-says/#sthash.WNCsTQ7A.dpuf