Yankelovich Marketing Receptivity Survey--Direct Marketing, Mail Order, E-commerce News

Direct Marketing, Mail Order, and E-commerce News from the National Mail Order Association

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Marketers Must Change How They Appeal to Consumers If They Want To
Capitalize on Promise of New Media, According to Study; Yankelovich Unveils
New Marketing Receptivity Study at ARF Conference.

NEW YORK--More than half (55%) of all consumers would be willing to pay a
little extra to get only the kinds of marketing they prefer, but marketers aren't
listening, according to the 2005 Yankelovich Marketing Receptivity Survey. The
study demonstrates that marketers mistakenly believe that the advent of new
media will re-engage resistant consumers - but consumers continue to rebel.

J. Walker Smith, President of Yankelovich Partners, presented this message and
other findings from the study in a speech today at the 51st Advertising Research
Foundation (ARF) Annual Convention. His message was simple - change
marketing practices first, then change media.

"Marketers are mis-framing the debate about how to reconnect consumers," Smith said.
"This is not about new versus traditional media. New media, like digital and wireless
technologies, will never solve the ongoing decline in marketing productivity. The most
resistant consumers are still waiting for better marketing practices, no matter what
media is thrown at them."

Resistance Persists

Consumers' negative opinions about marketing and advertising continue to persist, as
originally uncovered in Yankelovich's groundbreaking 2004 Consumer Resistance
Study and reconfirmed in the 2005 study. Nearly 70% still maintain that they are
interested in products that enable them to block out advertising while 56% say they
avoid buying products that overwhelm them with marketing and advertising. But 55%
also said they enjoy advertising, which has increased from 47% last year. How can
marketers leverage these positive feelings about marketing?

According to the study, the top three marketing practices that consumers want are:

-- "Marketing that is short and to the point" - 43%

-- "Marketing that I can choose to see when it is most convenient for me" - 33%

-- "Marketing that is personally communicated to me by friends or experts I trust" - 32%

The least important marketing practices listed by consumers involve new media:

-- Just 7% prefer "marketing that ties together traditional media with new media like the internet, PDAs or video games."

-- Just 8% prefer "marketing that only uses new media like the Internet, PDAs or video games."

"Improvements in marketing practices are far more important to consumers than the greater
dissemination of new media," Smith said. "To be clear, technology experiences - not media
experiences - are now shaping what consumers want, but not because consumers need to be
'wowed' by technology. Consumers expect marketers to use technology to improve how they
appeal to them."

The Face of Resistant Consumers

The study also unveiled the characteristics of market resisters. This group feels:

-- Less interested by technology - 81% believe society is too dependent on technology.

-- Less involved in the consumer marketplace - 80% consider shopping one of their least favorite activities.

-- Little need for marketers - 80% consider the sale of email lists a serious violation of privacy.

-- Value character, integrity and authenticity and tend to resist fashion and tech trends - 82% identify more with integrity than success.

"If marketers rely upon the latest fads and innovations to try to attract this group, they'll just
meet with more resistance," Smith concluded. "Resisters can only be re-engaged with marketing
that incorporates autonomy, balance and integrity. Forget about forcing technological advances
on this group. Better marketing practices are the natural starting point."

About the Yankelovich Study

Since 1971, The Yankelovich MONITOR(R) study has gathered and trended the values, motivations and attitudes that shape consumers' buying decisions and interactions in the marketplace. Every year, Yankelovich reports on the most telling trends from MONITOR - those that will have the biggest impact on marketers over the coming year. These insights are critical as companies consider their positioning in the overall marketplace with their mass media, retail presence and web efforts. They also help lead strategic thinking, product development or product extensions, and customer relationship management efforts. A 15-minute OmniPlus telephone re-contact survey was conducted among 600 empanelled MONITOR respondents during February 2005.

About Yankelovich Partners

Yankelovich Partners (www.yankelovich.com) delivers measurable breakthroughs in marketing productivity for our clients. Our unique database and segmentation solutions, plus our unparalleled information-based insights into consumer motivations and lifestyles, identify specific, tangible opportunities for competitive advantage by moving clients from simplistic targeting to advanced productivity solutions. Details of our marketing solutions can be found in our new book, "Coming to Concurrence: Addressable Attitudes and the New Model for Marketing Productivity."

Clients include Fortune 500 companies in the retail, financial services, advertising, consumer products, technology, automotive, media, entertainment and insurance industries among others. For over 30 years, The Yankelovich MONITOR(R) has tracked and forecasted consumer value and lifestyle trends. MindBase(R) links the MONITOR information on why people buy directly to databases of customers and prospects. The Segmentation Company, a division of Yankelovich, provides proprietary needs-based segmentation solutions. Yankelovich is headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC, with offices in Norwalk, CT and Atlanta, GA.

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