Some actual positive economic news has emerged over the past few days. The Consumer Confidence Board released new survey results that show another big gain in consumer confidence in May – up more than 14 points over April. This puts the Consumer Confidence Index at its highest level in eight months.
JD Powers (via AdWeek) is reporting a slowdown in the rate of decline in new-vehicle sales. Which isn’t great news, but it’s better news than the auto industry has heard lately.
And the NPD Group (via Marketing Charts) is reporting that consumers feel more positive about the economy and are slightly less worried about their job. Their ‘General Economic Perception Indicator’ rose more than four points in April. The survey also showed a 7% decline in consumers who were ‘very concerned’ about the security of their jobs.
However, NPD’s Retail Response Indicator still shows that consumers are only buying what they need, and that they’re shopping around for the best deals and promotions.
The Ad-ology Research Advertising’s Impact in a Soft Economy survey asked consumers when advertising is the most helpful, and the number one response was ‘when checking for sales.’ Ad-ology also asked these consumers what they think makes a good ad, which means this is what your clients’ ads should look like right now:
- Focus on value
- Advertise the price as well as the percentage off
- Talk about product quality
- Don’t insult consumers’ intelligence
Keep all of these points in mind as you help your clients craft their advertising message to help translate this growing consumer confidence into sales.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Michelle OBrien