October 22, 2010
Weekly Roundup: Marketers point to Africa as the next big thing, our mobile lives and DIY Foreign Aid
Posted by: Jessica Vaughn - New York in North America
-China’s growth is cooling. That makes Africa, especially Ghana, Nigeria, Angola and Kenya, the next big thing, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal, which examines how ad agencies are looking beyond South Africa to set up shops in these countries. And a report from French bank Société Générale examines opportunities throughout the continent.
-A Japanese marketing executive dubs twentysomethings “consumption-haters,” because of their unwillingness to spend, according to a report in The New York Times about the decline in the standard of living among Japan’s middle class after two decades of low economic growth and deflation.
-A Bain report says luxury is back in business: Driven by Chinese demand and a U.S. rebound, global spending could grow 9 percent to 11 percent this year.
-Newsweek ranks the world’s greenest companies for 2010.
-The number of global Internet users will exceed 2 billion in 2010, according to the International Telecommunication Union, which urged developing nations to increase access to broadband, “the next truly transformational technology.” Meanwhile, Cisco releases the Global Broadband Quality Score, revealing that only one in five countries is “prepared for the Internet ‘applications of tomorrow.’”
-A Gartner report forecasts that the global tablet market will exceed 208 million units by 2014, cannibalizing sales of other consumer electronic devices.
-Fareed Zakaria, Editor-at-Large of Time magazine offers up his advice on “How to Restore the American Dream,” suggesting that the government invest in R&D to encourage creation of jobs related to knowledge and innovation, so that the country remains a force in the global economy.
-In the midst of an uproar over online privacy, John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio, authors of Spend Shift, discuss the economic forces fueling the rise of sites such as Alice.com, which trades consumers’ personal information for free goods and discounts.
-CNN.com runs a weeklong special titled Our Mobile Lives, a five-part series on smartphones and their impact on our lifestyle and culture.
-The New York Times declares that toddlers’ favorite toy is the iPhone, prompting a deluge of opinions as to whether it’s a good idea to hand a cell phone to a 2-year-old.
-85 percent of Americans own a mobile phone, one of the “seven key appliances of the information age,” that allow consumers anytime, anywhere access to news and entertainment, according to a recent Pew study.
-On runways and in magazines, The New York Times notices a transition from the “skinny skate-rat” guy to a more mature, masculine man.
-Do-It-Yourself Foreign Aid: Nicholas Kristof examines the rise of social entrepreneurs—passionate people who aren’t waiting for governments, the UN and other big institutions to tackle global issues.
-Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports that “entrepreneurship is all the rage on college campuses these days.”
-The Atlantic asks, “Who wears a wristwatch anymore?” and notes that the digital way of life makes the concept of time fluid, changing the meaning of time among younger generations.
-CNBC reports on how American department stores are adopting fast-fashion strategies — borrowing a page from retailers such as H&M and Forever 21— to better compete.
-The Daily Beast evaluates the book industry’s latest marketing tool: the book trailer.
