Paul Seabrook (pictured) examines the latest fast.MAP survey results.
Websites – whether independent, comparison or brand-owned – together continue to be people’s main financial service research routes, each used by around three out of ten consumers, according to new research.
Also revealed are people’s main reasons for selecting the financial brands they use – they include the [...]

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Delegates planning to attend the annual USA DMA conference and exhibition in October, have the chance to give it more of an international flavour this year.
After the 2011 show, visitors from around the world expressed hopes for less US-focused programming this time. Organisers have responded by asking for ‘best in class’ international case studies to [...]

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Founder/chairman of ACTON International, US-born Jon Lambert (pictured) died of cancer towards the end of last year. He was an acknowledged international marketing expert and penned many excellent features for DMI over the years, particularly sharing his wide knowledge of the Asian market.
His daughter, Allison Lambert, told DMI: “He fought a hard, but swift, battle with pancreatic [...]

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Advertising spend in the UK grew by 1.5 per cent in the third quarter of this year to £3.8bn, with a similar rate of growth expected in Q4 (+1.3%) according to new figures from the Advertising Association and Warc.  
Cinema (+18.8%) and radio (+13.4%) recorded strong increases but these were offset by sharp downturns for [...]

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It depends on their age, reveals a survey into uptake of e-loyalty offers.  
It seems like not a day goes by without the announcement of a new piece of technology to help us stay connected – whether we are price-checking in store or talking to our friends.  
For some, change is the next logical step, [...]

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Research suggests that more of us are now going online via phone than from fixed-line computers - six in ten Brits already use mobiles for e-shopping. But will m-commerce truly take off and can it benefit local high street traders?
Town centres across the UK have changed forever since the recession. Iconic names like Woolworths, Virgin Megastore [...]

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Columnist Doug Sacks rants from the USA. You can argue with him here: doug@focus-worldwide.com
Business seemed to pick up around September. Best results are for those having contracts and business with the federal government. Business in Washington, DC is booming – the rest of the country, not so much. DC building construction is rampant and traffic [...]

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Research has uncovered many reasons for marketers to be cheerful, says David Cole (pictured) – managing director of research company fast.MAP. 
A record nine out of ten UK adults now open their marketing mail, the highest number since fast.MAP launched the annual Marketing-GAP Tracking Study in 2005.
Add this to an increase in the number opening both [...]

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‘Generation Y’ presents a dilemma for marketers with almost two-thirds (63%) of 19-29-year-olds in the UK saying they are not interested in using a mobile device as a debit or credit card. This proportion is even higher in the US where three-quarters (74%) say they are not interested in the prospect of being able to [...]

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Ninety per cent of Chinese consumers trust foreign brands over domestic ones, and shoppers in Brazil, India and China say they are significantly more likely than Americans and Canadians to use a credit card for something they can’t afford. The results of a global study on shopping behaviour and consumer loyalty also found Brazilians are [...]

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