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Forrester: Americans Continue To Adopt Digital Lifestyle

Largest Annual Consumer Survey Offers Insight For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Cambridge, Mass., September 2, 2009 . . . Americans of all ages continue to adopt a digital lifestyle according to the largest annual survey of consumers’ technology adoption and attitudes by Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). “The State Of Consumers And Technology: Benchmark 2009, US” is a graphical analysis of Forrester’s North American Technographics® Benchmark Survey, 2009 (US, Canada) of nearly 48,000 respondents. A rich data asset for Consumer Market Research professionals’ product planning and go-to-market strategy assessments, the survey includes more than 1,400 data points and data on 378 US brands. It is the largest ongoing survey in the world to explore consumer attitudes, ownership, and use of technology.

Highlights of the report include:

• Devices. High-definition televisions (HDTVs) and home networks were two of the fastest-growing consumer technologies in 2008. Over the next five years, nearly 39 million US households will get their first high-definition set and more than 30 million homes will add network connectivity. Forty-four percent of US households have a laptop, and the average American family owns two personal computers.
• Media consumption. While media consumption among all Americans is split evenly between new and traditional media, on average, consumers younger than 40 spend almost 2 hours a week more with new media than they do with traditional media.
• Mobile. Four in five US households now have a mobile phone; families with older children have nearly three mobile phones per household, the most of any age segment. Eight percent of consumers own a smartphone.

“US consumers are making an inexorable transition to an all-digital, Internet-powered world,” said Forrester Research Principal Analyst Charles S. Golvin. “The Internet pervades all aspects of Americans’ lives, from how we shop and buy, how we communicate, how we entertain ourselves, and how we seek out information to how we manage our personal relationships. While today these digital activities are constrained to the home and the office, in the next several years consumers will increasingly rely on a ubiquitous Net that is instantaneously accessible on a wide variety of devices, from mobile phones to laptops to new form factors such as eReaders.”

This is the 12th annual Consumer Technographics Benchmark mail survey. This year, Forrester performed a life stage analysis of the data that looks at technology adoption of singles and families, both young and old.

“The breadth of the survey, in conjunction with its sample sizes, allows Consumer Market Research professionals to examine and trend the behaviors and attitudes of even the most niche target markets,” said Forrester Research Consumer Insights Analyst Jackie Anderson.

Read more about the report on The Forrester Blog For Consumer Market Research Professionals.

About Consumer Technographics

Forrester Consumer Technographics is the largest and longest-running survey of technology’s impact on consumers. Since 1997, Forrester has surveyed more than 2 million households and individuals worldwide and today provides data and insights on consumers in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Marketing and strategy professionals rely on Forrester’s Consumer Technographics data for unique insights into how technology affects the way consumers select, purchase, use, and communicate about products and services.

About Forrester Research

Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. Forrester works with professionals in 20 key roles at major companies providing proprietary research, customer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more than 26 years, Forrester has been making IT, marketing, and technology industry leaders successful every day. For more information, visit www.forrester.com.

Why broadcasters need to jump onto the Internet Radio tsunami now!

A new national survey of consumers shows 34% would listen to Internet Radio in the Car!

The survey was conducted by Mark Ramsey Media and VIP Research.  As reported by Media Daily News:

“MRM and VIP found that 34% of those surveyed said they would listen less to traditional local broadcast radio stations — long the dominant drive-time medium for advertisers — if they had access to Internet radio in their car.

Given a choice between having Internet radio in their dashboard or a broadcast radio in their iPod, 58% of all respondents opted for Internet radio in the dash.

This isn’t the only data suggesting Internet radio could pose a threat to traditional radio in drive-time listening. A survey by J.D. Powers released earlier this month found that car-buyers’ favorite audio system feature was the ability to play music file formats of their own choosing, such as MP3 files or iTunes.

Separately, in January, Internet audio service Pandora struck a deal with electronics manufacturer Pioneer Corp. that will allow consumers to bring Pandora’s personalized audio content to their automobiles. Pioneer is manufacturing a multipurpose navigation and media device, priced at $1,200, that will allow iPhones customers to stream the online music service to their car stereos — after they download a new app that allows the devices to link up.”

Read the entire article at Media Daily News

Green Rain Marketing is riding the wave of this huge change in consumer listening habits with www.moneytalknetwork.com, a site providing the best personal finance and consumer advice audio programming and featuring some of America’s best broadcast professionals and some you have not heard of…but will soon!

Green Rain Founder on the Radio

Mike Schiano will return as a guest on Financial Lifeline Radio on May 21 from 3:30pm to 4:pm eastern time talking about today’s hottest economic and personal finance issues.

Don’t miss Mike as he takes to the airwaves on Orlando’s 50,000 Watt 540 WFLA on Friday May 22 from 3-6pm. Mike will sit in for Bud Hedinger on The Bud Hedinger Live Radio Show.

If you are out of the listening area, tune in at www.540wfla.com.

It’s our chance to talk about more than money including today’s hot topics. If you have some ideas let me know.

See you on the Radio!

Mike Schiano

P.S. I am also sitting in for Bud on May 28 and 29th! Don’t miss the shows.