Toronto, ON – Beyond celebrity endorsements and social media reviews, traditional media opinions still reign supreme in shaping Canadians’ purchasing decisions, although there is a significant generational gap, according to new research conducted by Vision Critical on behalf of the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF).  For example, when asked whose opinion of a new product matters more – an editor’s or a celebrity’s – a full 42 per cent of Canadians reported caring more about an editor’s opinion, compared to only four per cent who felt a celebrity’s take mattered more.

“Our study delved into the dynamics of influence on Canadians’ shopping habits, examining media influences, ‘circles of trust’, and the impact of social media on our buying process,” said Carol Levine, chair of the CCPRF. “What we discovered is that hierarchy of influence is a much more complex force than people may expect.”

According to The Impact of Influence poll findings, commissioned by the CCPRF and conducted by Angus Reid/Vision Critical, when Canadians are ready to purchase a product or service today, the hierarchy of go-to research sources plays out as follows:

• Facebook trumps Twitter (21 per cent versus 15 per cent), but blogs trump Facebook (29 per cent versus 21 per cent)
• Company websites, however, trump blogs by more than a 2:1 ratio (68 per cent versus 29 per cent)
• Ultimately, traditional media sources – newspapers (86 per cent), TV (83 per cent), radio (78 per cent), and magazines (73 per cent) — still outrank all of the above as the go-to source for information

But this equation of influence changes dramatically for younger generations:

• Almost four in ten Canadians (38 per cent) aged 18-34 consider blogs to be one of their top research sources when purchasing a product or service, compared to less than half that (16 per cent) of Canadians aged 55 or older
• YouTube mirrored the same pattern, with 27 per cent of Canadians under 34 years of age reporting it as one of their top research sources versus only 15 per cent of the boomer generation (adults over the age of 55)
• Moreover, 18-34 year old Canadians were twice as likely as their older counterparts (aged 35-54) to list social media sources such as Facebook as credible news sources (22 per cent versus 12 per cent).  Interestingly, they were also more trusting of company websites as credible news sources than boomer Canadians (23 per cent versus 10 per cent)

“A significant portion of our younger generation sees blogs, YouTube, Facebook and company websites as credible sources of news. This suggests to us, that in their minds – and in contrast to older Canadians – the boundaries of credibility between news, “circle of trust” conversations and marketing are blurring,” explained Levine. “In our social media world, where one individual’s opinion can stand out against a sea of other information, ‘exposure’ as we know it is passé; young Canadians are hand-picking who they want to pay attention to, no matter the source.”

In addition to generational differences, there is a wide gap between how all Canadians are influenced today, versus how self-identified socially engaged respondents are influenced on what to purchase.  For example, The Impact of Influence study found:

• If a blogger posts a positive product review that is contradictory to a traditional news report (newspaper or magazine), average Canadians are more likely to believe traditional media according to the survey (32 per cent versus 13 per cent).  In contrast however, self-identified influencers were almost twice as likely to believe bloggers over media (21 per cent versus 13 per cent)
• 41 per cent of self-identified “early adopters” of new products and services, and 41 per cent of avid smart phone app users count on blogs as one of their top research tools, when considering buying a product or service, compared to 29 per cent of the general population
• While one in five Canadians (21 per cent) rely on Facebook to research new product/service information, in advance of a purchase, that figure jumps to 30 per cent among self-identified social media savvy consumers
• 35 per cent of bloggers use YouTube for researching products and services they are considering buying whereas only 21 per cent of average Canadians do the same
• Just over six-in-ten poll respondents (62 per cent) who considered themselves to be the influencers among their social circles, said they would visit their favourite stores online to stay in the know. This figure drops to 52 per cent when looking at the national average
• Interestingly, almost 1 in 3 Canadians (31 per cent) admit conducting research simply as a means to justify their purchase

“The vast differences in media usage and social media credibility among socially engaged Canadians compared to other Canadians have great implications for PR professionals and marketers as a whole,” said Levine. “The mind map of the socially engaged Canadians in contrast to their counterparts shows us that the future of public relations lies in strategies that are inherently share-worthy by design.”

About The Impact of Influence study

From the context of shopping habits, The Impact of Influence study dissected the opinions and behaviours of socially engaged Canadians including experimenters, early adopters, and social media savvy consumers such as bloggers, and avid smart phone app users to discover who and what influences them.  The study then examined how far behind average consumers lag in their thinking patterns.

Survey Methodology

From September 29th to September 30th 2011, an online survey was conducted among a sample of 1,014 Canadian adults, who are Angus Reid Forum panel members. The margin of error — which measures sampling variability — is +/- 3.08%, 19 times out of 20. The sample was balanced by age, gender and region according to the most recent census data. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About CCPRF

The Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms (CCPRF) is a national organization of relations consulting firms operating in Canada. The CCPRF is dedicated to promoting the role of public relations in business strategy and organizational performance.  The goal of the Council is to promote the professionalism and development of public relations consulting and provide thought leadership in areas that influence industry growth. The CCPRF also aims to advance the business of public relations by building its value as a strategic business tool, by helping member firms manage successful and profitable businesses, by promoting the benefits of a career in public relations consulting and by providing professional development. For more information visit www.ccprf.ca

About Vision Critical

Vision Critical pairs the world’s leading market research specialists with the most innovative software developers, marrying the precision of market research with the speed and power of online technology. Serving over 600 global brands through offices across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, Vision Critical creates powerful software and research solutions like Sparq™, the world’s leading community panel program. For more information, please visit www.visioncritical.com  and follow Vision Critical on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/visioncritical

]]> http://www.visioncritical.com/newsroom/vision-critical-research-finds-traditional-media-opinions-most-influential/feed/ 0 http://www.visioncritical.com/newsroom/vision-critical-national-panels-appoints-new-director-of-quotations-and-partnerships/ http://www.visioncritical.com/newsroom/vision-critical-national-panels-appoints-new-director-of-quotations-and-partnerships/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:16:18 +0000 Jessica Lubell http://www.visioncritical.com/?post_type=news&p=8232 (Toronto, ON) January 31, 2012 – Vision Critical National Panels appoints Bouavanh Chatooria to Director, Quotations and Partnerships. Ms. Chatooria has been with Vision Critical for two years and has been a key contributor to the turn-around and rapid growth of National Panels during that time. Ms. Chatooria will be a key driver in building-out the Springboard B2B Network capabilities alongside consumer ones.

“In the ever-changing world of online sample, we need to keep our finger to the pulse of the industry and sources of quality sample as it rapidly evolves and Bouavanh will take the lead in that role.” says Rob Berger, Senior Vice President, Managing Director – National Panels at Vision Critical, “Working alongside Chris Andaya, this talented team will bring the Springboard Network and National Panels to even higher levels of growth in 2012.”

In addition to Sparq^TM, the world’s most advanced and widely used online community panel system, Vision Critical’s suite includes Firefly Surveys, a research tool that capitalized on the power of online social engagement through qualitative and quantitative surveys; and Customer Experience Management (CEM), a centralized web-based portal that gathers and integrates customer feedback to provide intuitive reporting capabilities to system users on a hierarchical basis. Actionable insights emerge that can quickly and directly impact business strategies. Vision Critical continues to win awards and recognition from their impressive product offerings, technology solutions and evolving partnerships.  Most recently, Vision Critical was named as one of the most innovative research firms by industry experts, GreenBook Blog.

About Vision Critical

Vision Critical pairs the world’s leading market research specialists with the most innovative software developers, marrying the precision of market research with the speed and power of online technology. Serving over 600 global brands through offices across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, Vision Critical creates powerful software and research solutions like Sparq™, the world’s leading community panel program. For more information, please visit www.visioncritical.com  and follow Vision Critical on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/visioncritical

The well-attended event focused on the important role of online community panels in market research. “The growing importance to anticipate the consumer’s changing needs makes the immediate feedback from community panels an extraordinary strategic tool for businesses.” states Antonella Massari, senior executive vice president of UniCredit Group.

Vision Critical’s executive vice president Ray Poynter, a keynote speaker and the author of Handbook of Online and Social Media Research, presented the latest trends in market research methodologies and showcased the rapid changes brought by proliferation of social media. Italian consumers embrace new technology with enthusiasm, especially mobile Internet and use of social media. It should be noted that Italy has one of the largest mobile phone markets in Europe and one of the highest mobile internet penetration in the world.

Dinko Svetopetric, Director of European Partnership at Vision Critical showed the audience why now is the right time for Italy to join the online and community revolution. Svetopetric told the audience that “It’s like having a room full of your best customers next door, and it’s always on!” – a message that was quickly picked up by leading Italian financial reporter il Sole 24 Ore.

The Online and Social Media Event was organised by Demoskopea who recently announced that they were partnering with Vision Critical to bring community panels to Italy. “We are thrilled to see such a significant number of leading Italian companies interested in community panels.“ says Fabrizio Angelini, Director of Demoskopea. “Today’s event demonstrates Italy is at a tipping point of recognizing a fresh and engaging way of listening to customers.”

About Demoskopea SPA

Demoskopea is a major privately owned Italian independent research group, with over 45 years of activity and a network of international partnership. The Digital Intelligence Division is focused on netnography and in developing new research techniques through augmented reality and internet applications.

About Vision Critical

Vision Critical pairs the world’s leading market research specialists with the most innovative software developers, marrying the precision of market research with the speed and power of online technology. Serving over 600 global brands through offices across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, Vision Critical creates powerful software and research solutions like Sparq™, the world’s leading community panel program. Follow Vision Critical on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/visioncritical

To read the entire article, click here.

About Vision Critical

Vision Critical pairs the world’s leading market research specialists with the most innovative software developers, marrying the precision of market research with the speed and power of online technology. Serving over 600 global brands through offices across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, Vision Critical creates powerful software and research solutions like Sparq™, the world’s leading community panel program. Follow Vision Critical on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/visioncritical

For more on the latest #AskVC findings and for Ray Poynter’s Vision Critical blog, click here.

About Vision Critical

Vision Critical pairs the world’s leading market research specialists with the most innovative software developers, marrying the precision of market research with the speed and power of online technology. Serving over 600 global brands through offices across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, Vision Critical creates powerful software and research solutions like Sparq™, the world’s leading community panel program. Follow Vision Critical on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/visioncritical

Vision Critical’s IT Director, Diraj Goel, was interviewed and spoke on how the use of HP servers and client care has made responding to ever-changing client needs easier.

To listen to the podcast, CLICK HERE.

The predictions were highlighted in a blog post by Anderson Analytics – Odintext Managing Partner Tom H. C. Anderson that featured bold forecasting by market research CEO’s industry-wide.

To read the entire post, click here.

To read the full article, click here.

According to the study, 47 percent of consumers in the United Kingdom choose online methods, such as email and web chat, to register complaints while 33 percent pick up the phone and 17 percent write a letter.

Five percent of 18-35 year-olds use social media first.

The study included platforms such as letters, email, phone calls, social media and web chat.

To learn more, click here.