While the divorce rate has gone down since the 1980s, the U.S. marriage rate is at an all-time low —only 51% of adults were married in 2011, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

Americans aren’t rushing to the altar anymore and the recent decline in the number of Americans getting married shows no signs of reversing.

Some delay marriage to finish their educations, launch their work lives and try to achieve economic security. Marriage is something they do after they have all their other ducks in a row.

Marriage increasingly is being replaced by other lifestyles, such as living alone or living with an unmarried partner and other adult living arrangements.

 Interesting stats from PewResearch Social & Demographic Trends

Scott Rowe, partner in charge of digital marketing, will be presenting to Knacktive students at Northwest Missouri State University on Monday, March 18, 2013, about how to pitch to a client. Knacktive is a student-run, full-service agency combining the departments of Communications, Mass Communication, Marketing/Management, Art and Computer Science/Information Systems. Read More

• Facebook Exchange (FBX) is Facebook’s real-time bidding exchange of selected ad inventory.
• FBX is currently the only opportunity in Facebook to offer retargeted ads or behaviorally targeted ads.
• Announced in February 2012, but not really used until summer.
• Currently, the clickthrough rate is about 40% lower than traditional web retargeting.
• Price per click for real-time bidding on the web is about 80% less than on Facebook.
• Only 12.8% of US marketers have used the opportunity, but more than 60% have bought some form of Facebook advertising.

The effectiveness of FBX is still under scrutiny. According to Facebook, the return is higher and Shutterfly feels their return is four times higher. As with all marketing efforts, success most likely lies within each campaign. If a desired audience is active in Facebook, that space can be important to leverage, with our without FBX.

Check out Kori Miller’s interview on Blog Post Radio – Kori is the host of Back Porch Writer. This morning she interviewed Robin Donovan, head of Bozell Books, on writing a murder mystery. Check out the interview here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/backporchwriter/2013/03/12/writing-a-mystery-with-robin-donovan

Donovan heads Bozell Books, a division of Bozell designed to help authors and budding authors from inception through promotion of their published work. She has authored a novel entitled: Is It Still Murder Even If She Was a Bitch? www.rldonovan.com, and the second in her Donna Leigh Mysteries series is currently being published.

Call me a wimp, but I really hate going to the dentist. Yet I seem to spend a lot of time there, in the past I even went to bad dentists so I had to make a claim for dental negligence. Probably as a result of growing up with non-fluoridated water combined with a fondness for cherry kool-aid. Read More

Kim Mickelsen, managing principal, will present as the Breakfast Keynote Speaker at the Greater Omaha Postal Customer Council’s “Advertising from A to Z” event on Thursday, March 7, 2013. As one of Omaha’s small business owners, Kim will help attendees understand the different fields of advertising and how an integrated marketing campaign can help your business grow. In addition to Kim, we will provide a workshop that runs the gamut of advertising solutions for any business. Read More

• Companies regularly eavesdrop online to understand how people think about them, but they do not always respond/engage
• 32% of people don’t realize anyone is listening
• 40% of people feel their privacy is being invaded through listening
• 50% of people feel companies should be listening to make product/service improvements
• 60% want companies to respond to complaints

The short answer is yes. To some people, listening is creepy. However, if listening to public conversations can lead to improvements, doing so can be important. In addition, if responding can improve sentiment, resolve problems, and/or generate engaging relationships, companies can greatly benefit from listening.

Data provided by Net Base and JD Power research, “Digital Listening vs. Digital Privacy.”

I’ve been a Pandora listener since it was launched in 2005. I listen at the office on my laptop. I sync my iPhone app in the car, and connect my iPad to an external speaker at home when I’m working around the house. It has become such a part of my normal routine that I sometimes forget that not everyone is as familiar with Pandora. Much less, its growth rates and local advertising options. Read More

You’ve made it past the first hurdle – you’ve started writing! If you’ve been following my posts you  either have your own process or now have tools to apply some sense of organization to the chaos. Either way, the book writing journey must be formulated to fit your work habits. Read More

Remember this?

For years and years this linear purchase funnel model was the prevailing marketing theory relative to the customer journey from the moment of first contact to the actual purchase. It was predicated on a model by E. St. Elmo Lewis back in 1989 which is often referred to as the AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action) model. You’ll still find these models in a lot of marketing text books (including the one I’m using this semester to teach an integrated marketing class at Creighton). Read More