400,000 people stopped golfing last year. And 160 golf courses nationwide closed in 2013.
Some blame the economy for the trend.
Personally, I can think of about a bazillion ways to spend a beautiful day that are more fun than going to a golf course.
Via New York Post
What's not to love about TV pitchman Ron Popeil? I'm utterly fascinated by his infomercials, watching them with the rapt attention I usually reserve for National Geographic specials and Royal weddings.
This undisputed King of Infomercials turned 79 on Saturday. God bless him and many happy returns.
In Ron Popeil's honor, I want to share a couple of stats I found on Slate:
Infomercials are still kicking ass.
“Half a dozen global studies, conducted by the likes of Goldman Sachs and Columbia University, have found that companies employing women in large numbers outperform their competitors on every measure of profitability.”
— The Atlantic
Image: DC Women Kicking Ass
According to this article in Salon:
In a study in the journal Pediatrics, children who tasted identical graham crackers and gummy fruit snacks, some with and some without cartoon characters, “significantly preferred the taste of foods that had popular cartoon characters on the packaging.”
Where do men learn about men's grooming products? Mostly from an equal combination of word-of-mouth and ad circulars/coupons/mailers, according to eMarketer.
Word-of-mouth I can understand. But ad circulars? I didn't think anyone paid much attention to them anymore.
My husband learned about the Nivea line of men's grooming products from me. I bought him some of this balm as soon as it appeared in the drugstore. It smells great.
A Fast Company article reveals what makes some Internet stories go viral, including some of the science behind it. In a nutshell:
Recent research suggests that emotions hold the secret to viral web content. Articles, posts, or videos that evoke positive emotions have greater viral potential than something that evokes negative feelings, but both do a better job recruiting clicks than neutral content.
Read the whole article here.
Image: The Guardian
According to a New York Times article, annual consumer spending on gluten-free products is projected to increase by 50% from 2013 to 2016.
The article quotes Harry Balzer, vice president at the market research company NPD Group:
About 30 percent of the public says it would like to cut back on the amount of gluten it's eating, and if you find 30 percent of the public doing anything, you'll find a lot of marketers right there, too.
Image from Wikimedia Commons
According to CNN, Americans consume about the same amount of chocolate per capita as they did 20 years ago.
Unfortunately for the individuals who make the chocolates, automation has resulted in fewer chocolate-making jobs.
Notice the only brands to make all three lists are Amazon.com, Subway and Ford.
I also find it interesting that Independents have more brands in common with Republicans than Democrats. In Massachusetts, where I live, Independents tend to be Liberal.
Last, does anyone else find it weird that so many people think so highly of V8 vegetable juice? If I had to guess which beverage made at least two of the lists, I would have guessed Budweiser or Coca-Cola.
Via AdWeek
