The First Planningblog Newsletter

(I've been meaning to do this for ages!)



Business news from yesterday's Sunday Times



"UK Trade & Investment, the government's international business-development organisation, is expected to announce this week the creation of a 12-man strategy group...to promote what it regards as the five key sectors of the British economy; life sciences, energy, the creative industries, financial services and information, communication and telecoms."



"Set up as an antidote to YouTube...Joost has been overshadowed by the success of the BBC's iPlayer, and in America, Hulu, a collaboration between NBC and News Corporation."



"Remember, this is the Congress that passed the Community Reinvestment Act that required the Fed to force banks to increase lending to poor ghetto-dwellers ("under-served communities") who wanted to buy home. Enter the sub-prime mortgage problem."



"The DVD, which was launched in Britain 10 years ago today, has become a key source of revenue for TV producers. They sold 32m last year out of the total number of 248m. Overall volume growth of 9.3%in 2007...consumers are buying more but spending the same, as cheaper discs held the value of the market flat at £2.3 billion."



Random Notes



What does the word "paradigm" really mean?



Have you seen "Our Body The Universe Within"?

UK Account Planning Group

How to brief creatives for advertising. APG Creative Briefing course 29-30 April 2008

How to facilitate inspirational brainstorming and generate fresh and creative thinking. 28-29 May 2008

research. April08 - Market Research Society magazine

$3.5 million video consumption study ...will place observers in the homes and work places of 350 people, watching and recording every one of their media interactions throughout the day...data will be taken down at 10-second intervals on handheld units that allow the user to add observational and anecdotal evidence whenever they choose.

Interesting Statistics

All who download from the web: (from internetworld.co.uk "key statistics")

80% of Brits - anything, 89% 18-34, 71% 55+
50% music. 58% of men, 43% of women
46% software updates
26% photos
26% games
7% adult content

Movies - 26% men, 13% women
TV programmes 18/13
Radio programmes 15/6
Podcasts 12/7

2007 - social networking sites (Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, etc) accounted for 20% of all internet page impressions in the UK.

2004 - UK consumers spent £16 billion online - 262 transactions.
2005 - £22 billion - 310 transactions

£30 billion was spent online in 2007 in the UK - accounts for 12% of total media expenditure.



4% of US women who are college graduates have children out of wedlock (from slate.com)