UK is fastest growing bottled-water market

British consumers have been drinking bottled water at a faster rate than any other European country over the past five years, according to a report by independent market analyst Datamonitor. However, the UK lags behind Italy, France and Spain in terms of overall volume.

On average, British people drank 41 litres per person in 2007, which represents a compound annual growth rate of 8% between 2002 and 2007 - the fastest in Europe. Datamonitor predicts this will rise to 57.8 litres by 2012.

Per capita consumption is highest in countries where the drinking of bottled water is more established, such as Italy, at 234 litres per person per year, France (142.5 litres) and Spain (143.2 litres).

The increase comes despite environmental concerns associated with bottled water, and high-profile campaigns such as The Evening Standard's Water on Tap scheme to make tap water freely available in London restaurants and bars.

Datamonitor consumer markets analyst Nick Beevors says bottled water is chosen in favour of soft drinks, rather than tap water. He says: "It is growing in popularity as people choose it over other soft drinks because it does not contain calories, caffeine, or artificial colours."

Taken from somewhere, but I can't remember where

Don't forget the old folk!

The mature market is being neglected and misrepresented by marketers, with over 60 per cent of the over 50s believing that advertising aimed at them presents them as infirm or immobile.
New research commissioned by mature marketing agency Millennium showed that three quarters of over 50s think that the only products specifically targeted at them are life assurance products, false teeth and incontinence plans.

More than half (59 per cent) of the over 50s claimed that today’s marketing did not target them and was irrelevant, rising to 65 per cent among the over 65s.

The research also showed that online marketing is viewed as the most influential channel among the over 50s, and that only 39 per cent claim to be brand loyal when shopping.

Millennium managing director Fiona Hought says: “The over 50s have grown wise to marketing techniques. The research indicates that the influences of the mature market are changing, but it seems marketers are failing to adapt and communicate effectively, if at all, to cash in on the ‘grey pound’. Marketers need to focus efforts on using the right channels to present clear and targeted messages to attract potential consumers.”

..pinched from Precision Marketing

News on Youth

Almost three-quarters want to know the news, with 51% of the 1,000 respondents surveyed at the start of May saying it was important and 23% saying it was very important. Meanwhile 25% of female respondents said news was not very important.

Q Research has just completed a survey of news consumption among 11-25-year-olds on our mobile phone panel. We wanted to understand how important news is to young people and which sources they use. In particular, we wanted to assess how much this generation relies on the internet and mobile phones to access the news rather than the traditional sources of newspapers, TV and radio. Liam Corcoran, MD of Q Research discusses the findings.

Almost three-quarters want to know the news, with 51% of the 1,000 respondents surveyed at the start of May saying it was important and 23% saying it was very important. Meanwhile 25% of female respondents said news was not very important.

Respondents were asked to select all their sources of news. TV topped the list at 85%, followed by newspapers at 66% of respondents. News websites (excluding those of newspapers) and radio were a tied choice at 46%. Just 28% said that they use newspaper websites, less than those who read magazines for the news (31%).

There are key differences in media choice by age and gender. The older the respondents, the more likely they are to use digital for their news. While TV is the top choice for all age groups, respondents aged 21-25 are most likely to use newspaper websites - 44%, compared to 28% of 16-20-year-olds and only 16% for 11-16-year-olds. However, the younger respondents are using other news sites, with 46% of 16-20-year-olds and 42% of 11-16-year-olds logging on. Of our 21-25-year-old respondents, 19% have headlines delivered via their mobile phone, almost twice the number of the younger respondents.

Men are more likely to get news via their mobile phone. This is a trend we've seen in past surveys, where women are less likely to download content on their mobiles. The men in our survey were more likely to cite digital sources as their preferred news source, with internet and TV neck and neck. The women were more attracted to traditional media, with more selecting radio and newspapers as their favourite.

These results challenge a widespread assumption that young people have little interest in news. Young men especially are avid consumers and many will pay for instant news on their mobile.

..again, stolen...but unsure where from