According to those surveyed, at some point in 2009…

• 46% of Americans talked face-to-face with neighbors about community issues.
• 22% of Americans signed up to receive alerts about local issues (such as traffic, school events, weather warnings or crime alerts) via email or text messaging
• 21% of Americans discussed community issues over the telephone.
• 20% of Americans used digital tools to talk to their neighbors and keep informed about community issues.
• 11% of Americans read a blog dealing with community issues.
• 9% of Americans exchanged emails with neighbors about community issues and 5% say they belong to a community email listserv.
• 4% of Americans communicated with neighbors by text messaging on cell phones.
• 4% of Americans joined a social network site group (e.g., Facebook) connected to community issues.
• 2% of Americans followed neighbors using Twitter.

[Note: Emphasis added. Because survey participants could respond affirmatively to more than one option, the sum of percentages is > 100%.]

One of the take-away messages from this report is that while high-tech communication modes have a place in how Americans stay connected to one another and to their community, use of these modes does not (yet) surpass good ol’ fashioned discussions over the backyard fence or across porches. If one’s marketing objective is to mobilize grassroots support, to build local awareness of an issue, or to mobilize a community to action, these data seem to suggest the best kind of “word-of-mouth” tactic may be the original kind – by encouraging people to literally talk with one another.

[Survey methods note: The survey was conducted via telephone (either landline or cellphone) with a random sample of 2,258 American adults. The full report can be downloaded here.]

With this in mind, it may surprise you to learn that 40% of US residents reportedly do not wear any sun screen or sun block (not even “a few days” during the summer!), according to a recent public opinion poll (i.e., Marist Poll, interviewing a nationally representative survey of 1,004 US residents; brief methods write-up here).

During your next venture outdoors, please do this…

…so you may avoid this:

Artist rendering of second Columbus State Community College campus

On June 28th, the ribbon cutting for the second campus (located very near one of the locations we suggested 7 years ago!) will take place.  I’d like to think we helped provide the foundation for that building – pun intended.

Although I vacationed in the Gulf of Mexico a number of times as a child, I admit to having an impoverished sense of the Gulf’s scale – its immensity. Perhaps that’s why I was taken aback when I learned of this website, http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/, which takes oil spill data gathered by the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and then maps it onto your geographic location. Such an exercise reveals that the main axis of the oil spill stretches a distance equivalent to the space from Cincinnati, OH to Cleveland, OH.

This graphic provides support for the argument that presenting data in a creative, visual manner can often have more of an impact then presenting data solely with the written word.

For those who are interested in exploring and creating other data visualizations of the BP Oil Spill, check out this NOAA website.

Assuming this is a real pattern, why are outlet malls located like this? Because the cost to develop such properties in low population-density areas is less than the cost to develop in high population-density areas? Possibly. Because locating an outlet mall between two (or more) major metropolitan areas allows an economy of scale when promoting itself and its brands? Perhaps. Because market research predicts an outlet mall can entice some percentage of the nearly-catatonic drivers moving between two (or more) major metropolitan areas? Maybe.

Another possible explanation for the success / popularity of outlet malls can be found in the social psychological literature: cognitive dissonance and one of its outcomes, attitude change via dissonance reduction. As hinted at in Ellen Shell’s recent book, Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, the act of making a substantial effort (e.g., a two-hour round-trip to buy GAP jeans at an outlet mall) to purchase an item may be justified – either consciously or sub-consciously – by changing a dissonant or conflicting thought / emotion. Consider the following:

• I don’t like to drive an hour to go shopping
• I like to wear GAP jeans
• I like to buy GAP jeans for less than full retail price (i.e., $50 at the outlet)

Assuming there is tension – dissonance – amongst these thoughts and feelings, one way to reduce this tension is to reconsider how I feel about traveling to this location. In other words, because I don’t usually like to drive an hour just to go shopping, there MUST be a good reason for why I did so. Enter the psychological mechanism of dissonance reduction! I may feel more positive (or at least closer to neutral) about driving an hour to go shopping at this outlet mall if that’s where I think I can find great deals.

Even better (for the outlet mall, not necessarily my wallet), such dissonance reduction may lead to a positive feedback loop of sorts. That is, once I’ve rationalized how I feel about driving an hour to the outlet, SURELY the next time I go I’ll find fantastic deals there. Right?

As you make your next road trip and you come across an outlet mall surrounded by miles and miles of undeveloped, rural space, take a moment to consider: how much of the decision to shop there is driven by shoppers’ rational, savings-maximizing thought vs. outlet mall developers’ savvy location and marketing?

In addition to telling you more about who we are and what we do, we’ll use the website as a vehicle to share interesting (at least to us!) news & observations from the worlds of marketing, research, data, and design with you.

Thanks for visiting!

The Strategy Team, Ltd. recently evaluated programs for Ohio Grantmakers Forum (Education Initiative) and the Community Shelter Board (Stable Families, Unified Supportive Housing System).

The Strategy Team, Ltd. recently completed a quasi-experimental evaluation of Ohio Department of Health’s pandemic flu preparedness messaging.