The idea is that consumers move to being shoppers very quickly and due to new ways of shopping, we need to rethink how we talk about consumers. That today we are experiencing a marriage of consumer and shopper mindsets. There is some truth to this. As technology has changed, people are better able and more quickly move to a shopping phase compared to the past.

Example: I run out of dog food and I open my Amazon mobile app to order the next bag without paying for shipping because I am a Prime member. Fast and easy. I still “consume” dog food, but don’t have to wait till I have time to get to the pet store to buy more. Instead, someone else pulls it from a shelf and makes it land on my doorstep. In fact, the dog food I prefer, I can’t buy at any local pet store. I could even have the dog food on automatic reorder every month so I wouldn’t have to think about it. Does this make me a shopsumer? Or a shopsooner?

When I think about the word without its definition, I think it means a consumer of shopping. But how is this different from the generations of teens that have window-shopped for hours at malls? Are these not consumers of shopping?

Moment of truth: I actually do not like the word consumer. A consumer is someone who buys stuff. The word implies that there is a separate group of people that never buys stuff and is unique from their neighbors. Granted, some people buy as little as possible and there are subsistence cultures that do not buy things in the way others do, but these are the exception rather than the rule.

We are all people that are motivated to buy things as needed or desired. In addition, we have some control over our own scenarios that encourage buying. This is good. As marketers, we should want to know more about the people most interested in our products and services. Knowing more about them helps up communicate in compelling ways.

Shopsumer feels like jargon. Adding a layer of confusion to a fast changing landscape of how people decide they need/want something and ultimately acquire. Instead of creating new, and a bit confusing, language, let’s spend time in helping people find what they are looking for. Deal?

Bozell, a full-service advertising and public relations agency, announces the hires of two new employees. Read More

There has been a noticeable trend in advertising to focus on the happy that different brands can elicit. It makes sense when our larger social issues have been real downers (thinking about the economic downturn, among others). If I can be happy from drinking a Coca-Cola, if even for only a few minutes, that is a small cost item to help think happy thoughts. But have we reached a tipping point of happy overload? Read More

• Only 29% of people feel brand names offer a better quality product, this is down from 43% in 2010
• 54% of people feel quality and spending as little as possible are most important when shopping for everyday items
• 56% of people feel that brand name packaging is more attractive than private label

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Should you create a mobile optimized site or a responsive one? In this episode, Scott and Nathan discuss the benefits and disadvantages of each execution.

Different articles and reports about Moms and their smartphone habits have been crossing my desk lately. By combining information from several sources, a clear picture forms of how smartphones are currently a big part of life for many moms.
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Deanna Meyler, Ph.D., partner in charge of strategic planning and smartargeting, is presenting at the Corporate Researchers Conference on Thursday, October 17, in Dallas, Texas. The purpose of the conference is to show how insights are maximized through recent case studies and real life experiences. They hope to provide practical applicable solutions to research challenges. Deanna is part of a keynote panel, where she will be one of six speakers sharing their real life stories of how, in their research positions, they encountered challenges and persevered. Read More

Bozell, a full-service advertising and public relations agency, earned national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Development Center – Chicago, a regional certifying partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Read More

Robin Donovan, managing principal at Bozell and author of the award-winning blog Menologues, has been selected to join the Meredith Brand Advocate Program, an exclusive collection of blogs who connect readers to the lifestyle issues they are most passionate about.
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• Adobe recently explored how people use mobile tablets.
• People oscillate use between their smartphone and tablet.
• Global websites are now getting more traffic from tablets than smartphones.

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