In this occasional column, learn the latest news from around the blogosphere. Learn about the state of multicultural diversity in the marketing research industry, a plan that will help marketers weather the recession and results of the latest Top Marketing Trends survey.
●Multicultural diversity lacking in research industry
The marketing and research industries are missing out by not taking action to encourage multicultural diversity. In a recent interview with Research Magazine, Pepper Miller, president of the Hunter-Miller Group, a US agency specializing in researching black consumers, noted it is imperative for the market research industry to reach out to ethnic minorities.
“Market research is a very white industry and many agencies are way behind in developing relevant techniques for the multicultural segments,” she said. “It’s amazing, because as the country changes to brown, it is imperative that we have relevant research practices and people to serve these communities, and we just don’t have enough.” 
“The black marketing industry needs to come together to promote the value and influence of the black consumer segment,” she added. “Corporate America does not think about black folks until we do something. Change is tough for most industries, and particularly for this one, which controls a big chunk of the messages and images of American culture.”
Miller’s comments coincide with results of recent research published by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which found discrimination against African-Americans in the areas of compensation, employment, promotions and assignments.
●Marketing Plan for Sailing through Rough Weather
A new report helps marketers chart a course for successfully navigating through the stormy economic conditions of today. Published by hawkeye, The hawkeye 2009 Marketing Weather Forecast examines 17 business-to-consumer and business-to-business trends including:
- online vs. traditional media
- the relevancy of cause marketing
- the case for direct marketing and global spending
- reliance on search engine optimization (SEO) and public relations
- mass personalization with pURLs and SaaS (Software as a Service)
- building and sustaining brand trust
- traversing the virtual world
- tapping into mobile technology
“We believe smart marketers will capture ground by looking for short-term growth through clever, skillfully-executed programs, said John Tedstrom, hawkeye’s managing director of Insight and Strategy. “It’s still all about great ideas. But in this environment, knowing how to create them and then get them to market is more important than ever. This year there will be no treading water; it’s literally going to be sink or swim.”
The hawkeye forecast enhances its findings with best practices from Cablevision’s Optimum Lightpath, ING, Häagen-Dazs, MasterCard, HP and Oracle Corporation that illustrate the power of well-planned campaigns.
For a free copy of The hawkeye 2009 Marketing Weather Forecast visit hawkeyeww.com.
●It’s Back to Basics for Marketers
Web 2.0. Global warming. Green marketing. Fuggetaboutit. Marketers are sick of hearing about social media. Instead, they’re getting back to the basics such as customer retention and research. A survey from Anderson Analytics, conducted for the Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG), examined top marketing concepts, buzzwords, global areas of opportunity and targeted customer demographics for 2009 as well as the books and thought leaders marketers most turn to for inspiration.
Not surprisingly, the second annual Top Marketing Trends survey revealed that at least half of marketing executives surveyed believe their marketing budgets will decrease in 2009.
The survey also revealed these key trends:
●Marketers weary of Web 2.0 While twice as many marketers are "sick" of hearing about Web 2.0 and such buzzwords as “blogs” and “social networking”, as last year’s survey, the majority (67%) of marketing executives still consider themselves to be beginners when it comes to social media adoption.
●Focus on Core Concepts Executives are refocusing on the core concepts of marketing. Survey respondents indicated they are most interested in customer satisfaction and retention, followed by marketing ROI, brand loyalty and segmentation. Of the 62 identified marketing concepts, those viewed as least important included: faith-based marketing, six sigma, game theory, anti-Americanism and immigration.
●Insight and Innovation on the Rise Despite the economic downturn, marketing executives recognized the need to innovate and gain insights during a recession. The survey results indicated that 72% of respondents said innovation efforts would stay the same or increase, while 39% say their use of market research will increase this year.
●China and Boomers Offer the Greatest Growth Opportunities When it comes to global growth, among marketing executives, China represents the greatest area of opportunity (53%) with India ranking in the number two spot (17%). In terms of customer targeting, Boomers still are the primary audience for marketers. However, the survey also revealed that the importance of Generations X and Y grew significantly, when compared with 2008 survey results.
●Top Marketing Books & Resources Marketing executives continue to turn to business gurus such as Seth Godin for inspiration, but this year’s survey found new names added to marketers’ favorites including Warren Buffet and Malcolm Gladwell who grabbed the #2 and #3 spots, respectively. Jim Stengl made the Marketing Guru list for the first time. In addition, marketers continue be inspired by some of the industry’s best authors. Books that made this year’s recommended reading list included Good to Great, Groundswell, The Black Swan, Predictably Irrational, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, Purple Cow, and Our Iceberg is Melting.
Tom HC Anderson, managing partner of Anderson Analytics, noted that these trends “signal marketing executives realize that in a down economy, it’s even more important to utilize information efficiently and keep the customers you have.”