First, lets define secondary research. Secondary sources refers to research that has already been collected and interpreted by others, including government agencies and trade associations. Secondary research is typically general in nature. Secondary research sources are very popular among researchers as they are inexpensive and help form preliminary hypothesis that might often lead to primary research. Primary research is focused and specific collected specifically engineered to answer a researcher’s question. For example, secondary research will tell you how much money consumers spent on watches, but not how much they’re willing to pay for the particular watch design your company has in mind. That would be a question answered only by primary research. Primary and secondary research are most effective when used in tandem. Secondary research lays the groundwork, while primary research fills in the gaps.

Now, a little advice on selecting sources for your secondary research. There is more to gathering secondary sources than just finding on-topic information. Good researchers must take into account all the variables about the source in question, including date, publication, author, potential biases and validity of the research cited. Failure to consider these elements can lead to key strategy flaws as the research used to support your assertions are not as reliable as first believed.

To help ensure that your research is reputable, ask yourself these questions before adding any source to your references page.

1. When was this research published?
A good rule of thumb is that any information older than five years is probably no longer valid. It is also consider the date of important events when evaluating sources. For example, research published during the economic recession might have a very different conclusion than similar research conducted just prior to the economic decline. Most importantly, ensure that you are using the most recent data available.

2. Who is behind the research?
While evaluating sources, it is important to be aware of the the people, companies and financial supporters of the research you might reference. Not only is this important to assess whether those parties are qualified, but also to identify any potential biases or ulterior motives in the data. For example, it might not be a good idea to cite gun statistics from a trade organization that opposes the Second Amendment. This conflict of interest might skew the results of the research. As researchers is important to do a little background research on the responsible parties to ensure the data is as objective as possible.

3. Where was the research published?
The third variable to evaluate is where the research appeared. Knowing the publication, journal or website where the study originally appeared can either add to or detract from the information’s relevance and validity. That being said, it is easy to understand why research appearing in an academic journal might be considered more reliable than similar data originally published on a blog. In the case of source evaluation, the medium often a glimpse into the quality of the research. Academic journals have a rigorous peer-review process to ensure that the research published is credible. Stats you might see discover on a friend’s blog, however, might have lower standards. It might also be beneficial to consider the audience of the publications in which the research appears. This will help you, as a researcher, assess whether the data is applicable to the readers of your research.

It has become a tradition for me to begin each new year at CurrentMarketing by writing a blog post with some resolutions to make the new year more productive than the last. In 2011, I chose three resolutions aimed at all ad agency employees. For 2012, I thought I would put together resolutions for the market researchers of the world.

Now I’ll admit, I am still relative new to the research game. I still have a lot to learn about the business, but sometimes a fresh perspective can benefit even the most seasoned veterans. With that in mind, take a look at three resolutions that will make 2012 your most productive year to date.

1. Be A Consultative Researcher
This past October, I attended the American Marketing Association’s Research and Strategy Summit. In several of the seminars, research executives from various industries all expressed the importance of researchers also serving as business consultants. In the new economy, clients want value. That means that not only want researchers who can dazzle them with regression models and pie charts, but also provide meaning to data. Strive to become a consultative researcher in 2012. Tell a story with the data. Clients will find more value in a two page summary with actionable items than a manual explaining every table and graph in the study.

To help you become a consultative researcher, spend extra time learning about a client’s business. Familiarize yourself with their products, competitors and the industry in which they operate. Doing so will allow you to better interpret information resulting in many more projects from your clients.

2. Strive For Simplicity
As researchers, we all have a tendency to be long-winded. Even when presented with simple research questions, we often produce too much information for clients. Presenting a client with too much information can cause confusion or doubt about the results. It is better to keep information both simple and direct. Every researcher wants to prove just how much time they spent on the project to the client, but trust me when I say that no client will question your dedication when you provide them a short, and direct, answer to the research question.

There are several strategies that can help you produce succinct research, including being choosier about source selection and using the simplest language possible. Also, be sure to read all sources thoroughly. Obviously this takes more time, but doing so will lead to more accurate conclusions.

3. Educate Your Coworkers
Most market researchers do not work at large research firms. Instead the majority of market research professionals work in a small department housed within companies big and small. Many companies do not fully utilize their research department only because they are not aware of all the services that research can provide to the company. If you were to examine the most successful corporations in any industry, I would bet they all have a strong commitment to research and understand the value it provides. That being said, take time in 2012 to educate your coworkers about your capabilities.

A great way to educate coworkers is to hold short, fun seminars on a regular basis. Offer to buy everyone lunch. After all, research is not usually the most appealing subject for most people. This is also a great way for you to brush up on your presentation skills and to disprove the theory that all researchers are introverts.

As I said in my 2011 new year’s blog, feel free to add more resolutions at any time of the year. Be sure to write down and post your goals. Share resolutions with friends and coworkers as you will accomplish much more this way than if you keep them to yourself.

Have a safe and productive 2012!

First, lets discuss indices. The first lesson is knowing when you use ‘index’ or ‘indices.’ Index is singular form of the word, while indices represents the plural. Easy enough, right? In statistics and marketing research, an index number most commonly represents an indicator of average percentage change in a series of figures where one figure, called the base, is assigned an arbitrary value of 100 and the other figures are adjusted in proportion to the base. In other words, numbers less than 100 would mean those items are below average in relation to the base number while those exceeding 100 would be considered above average. The most challenging part of dealing with indices is knowing how to interpret their meaning. Let’s look at example. An index number of 110 can be inferred to mean that this figure is 10% above the “base” average, while an index of 90 would represent a figure 10% below the base average. An index may also be read in exponential form. Thus, an index number of 110 means that figure is 1.1x above the base. This method is often used when the figures represent the likelihood of events. A third way to interpret an index is by index points. These points simply refer the difference between the indices.

Another common, but often misused, concept in marketing research is understanding the difference between correlation and causality. Correlation is one of the easiest descriptive statistics to understand and is one of the most widely used. The term correlation literally means co-relate and refers to the measurement of a relationship between two or more variables. A correlational coefficient typically ranges between –1.0 and +1.0 and provides two important pieces of information regarding the relationship: intensity and direction.

Intensity refers to the strength of the relationship and is expressed as a number between zero (meaning no correlation) and one (meaning a perfect correlation). These two extremes are rare as most correlations fall somewhere in between. A correlation of 0.30 may be considered significant and any correlation above 0.70 is almost always significant. Direction refers to how one variable moves in relation to the other. A positive correlation (or direct relationship) means that two variables move in the same direction, either both moving up or down. For example, high school grades and college grades are often positively correlated in that students who earn high grades in high school tend to also earn high grades in college. A negative correlation (or inverse relationship) means that the two variables move in opposite directions; as one goes up, the other tends to go down. For instance, depression and self-esteem tend to be inversely related because the more depressed an individual is the lower his or her self-esteem. As depression increases, then, self-esteem tends to decrease.

Now the biggest make a researcher can make is to assume that every correlation represents causality. A classic example of this is the correlation between ice cream consumption and murder rates in the U.S. It is true that as ice cream consumption increases, more murders occur, but could it be true that ice consumption leads to more murders. Of course not. The truth is that often two variables are related only because of a third factor, which is weather in this case. When the weather is hot, people are more inclined to buy ice cream. When the weather is hot, people are also more prone to violent acts. With this example in mind, please remember that correlation does not imply causation. Researchers like to identify the relationships that exist between variables as clients often get excited about these relationships and make marketing decisions based on those relationships. It is important that researchers take time to identify why a relationship exists. Sometimes the best tool in a researcher’s toolkit is common sense, and the same holds true when dealing with correlations and causality.

Tune in next month for another edition of Research 101.

For the second installment in the Research 101 series, let’s take a look at two of the misused methodologies in the marketing research industry. These research methodologies are often used interchangeably, but actually refer to complimentary techniques to approach data collection.

Qualitative Research: This technique is intended to explore or better define a research issue. That being said, it easy to understand that qualitative research methods are intended to gather in-depth data. Qualitative methods are meant to address the why aspects of a given hypothesis. Smaller, but more focused samples, are normally used in these studies in order to generate more specific hypotheses that can be further studied via quantitative methods. Hence, qualitative methods are often used earlier in the project cycle. Other characteristics of a qualitative study include an inductive approach to data collection that often avoids numerical analysis. The researcher is usually personally involved and assumes the role of subjectively understanding the opinions of the sample participants. In layman’s terms, qualitative research is often vague, which is why it is used by researchers early on to develop an initial understanding of an issue or problem. Some of the most common techniques include interviews, focus groups, ethnographies and uninterrupted observation.

Quantitative Research: Quantitative research, unlike its qualitative counterpart, is intended to quantify data based on statistical techniques. Quantitive methods are deductive in their approach and typically deal with larger, less focused, samples. While qualitative research helps research first seeking to understand attitudes and behaviors, quantitative research helps to assess the frequency and prevalence of those variables. That being said, quantitative techniques tend to occur later in the project lifecycle once qualitative methods have helped further frame the hypothesis. The researcher is typically detached and impartial during the data collection process as the quantitative approach is analytical in focus as opposed to interpretive. Quantitative research is very precise often using fixed instruments to collect data with the goal of projecting conclusions to a larger population. The process of measurement is central to quantitative research because it provides the fundamental connection between empirical observation and mathematical expression of quantitative relationships. Common quantitative techniques include surveys, polls, audits, click-streams or point-of-purchase studies.

In an ideal situation, qualitative and quantitative research are meant to be used in compliment. Doing so allows the researcher to gain different perspectives and obtain a holistic view of the hypothesis. No one method is better than, nor a substitute for, the other. Each research project should be considered independently so that the best method and technique can be selected based on the clients needs. When budgets are tight, get creative. Think about new, non-traditional ways to gather data. After all, who said market researchers couldn’t be creative.

Tune in next month for our next Research 101 post.

Ciao.

As the research guru here at CM, I get asked a lot of questions. Some questions are more complicated than others, but the answers are usually simpler than the methods used to reach the conclusions. For example, how would you explain to somehow how a car starts? The simplest answer is to turn the key, but we all know there is more to it than that. Same goes for research. The answers can be simple, but the explanations are usually much more complicated.

Enter Research 101. Don’t worry, there won’t be a final exam or even homework. This is simply a blog series I will be writing over the next few months to help answer some of the most common questions surrounding researching methodologies.  My goal with this Research 101 series is to provide readers with an educational foundation in market research techniques that can be applied by anyone in the marketing industry.

This month’s post addresses demographics and cartography. One of the most crucial variables in market research is cartographic boundaries. Boundaries are important because data is only as valuable as the area from which it originates. Most of us are already familiar with the most common cartographic boundaries – states, counties, ZIP codes, cities and towns. In the world of research, however, there are other lesser known classification systems used by the Census Bureau for the purpose of providing a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of data. These cartographic systems, in order from smallest to largest, are census blocks, census block groups and census tracts.

First introduced in 1990, census blocks are statistical areas bounded by visible features, such as streets, roads, streams, and railroad tracks, and by non-visible boundaries, such as selected property lines and city, township, school district, and county limits. Generally, census blocks are small in area; for example, a block in a city bounded on all sides by streets. Census blocks nest within all other tabulated census geographic entities and are the smallest unit for all tabulated data. Census blocks in suburban and rural areas may be large, irregular, and bounded by a variety of features. In remote areas, census blocks may encompass hundreds of square miles. As a result, the population of blocks vary from zero to several hundred. In total, there are approximately 8,200,000 blocks in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

A census block group is a cluster of census blocks having the same first digit of their four-digit identifying numbers within a census tract. Block groups generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people, with an optimum size of 1,500 people. There are about 39 blocks per census group. Block groups never cross the boundaries of states, counties, or statistically equivalent entities, except for a block group delineated by American Indian tribal authorities. Each census tract contains at least one block group, and block groups are uniquely numbered within the census tract. A block group is the smallest geographical unit for which the census publishes sample data. The United States, including Puerto Rico has 211,267 block groups.

Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county delineated by local participants as part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Participant Statistical Areas Program. Census tracts were first used in the 2000 census. Census tracts generally have between 1,500 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of 4,000 people. Each US county has atlas one census tract. Census tracts are designed to be homogeneous with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions. Census tract boundaries generally follow visible and identifiable features.The spatial size of census tracts varies widely depending on the density of settlement. Census tract boundaries are designed with the intention of being maintained over many decades so that statistical comparisons can be made from census to census. However, physical changes in street patterns caused by highway construction and new developments, may require occasional boundary revisions. In addition, census tracts occasionally are split due to population growth or combined as a result of substantial population decline. Census tracts are identified by a four-digit basic number and may have a two-digit numeric suffix. The United States, including Puerto Rico has about 66,000 census tracts.

If you work in an ad agency or creative shop, chances are you spend a lot of time in front of a Macintosh. If you don’t, please take this opportunity to promptly destroy any other computer with a Louisville Slugger. Remember Office Space? You get the idea. Even the people at Microsoft make their ads on a Mac.

A month or so ago, Apple released the latest operating system for Macintosh. Mac OSX 10.7, also known as Lion, is Apple’s seventh installment of its popular OSX platform. And for the first time in history, you don’t need a disc for installation. Lion is available for download in the Mac App Store for $29.

Lion boasts 250 new features for both beginners and serious geeks. I’ve been using Lion since the day it was released to the public and I’ve been pretty pleased so far. Lion is the first operating system from Steve Jobs and company that has been heavily driven by its mobile software, iOS. So iPhone and iPod users new to the Mac platform will already be familiar with Lion even before they log on for the first time.

After spending a few days with the new operating system, I began to notice that many of the new features not only are great for personal computing, but also help improve my workflow at the office. So instead of writing a long winded full review of Lion, I thought it would be best to tell you about the a few new features that are great for marketers.

Mail. When you make your living in advertising, e-mails are never in short supply. On average, I receive about 75 e-mails per day across my work and personal accounts. So keeping my e-mails organized and accessible is one of my primary concerns at the office. In OSX 10.7, Apple released a completely new version of its native Mail client. In this newest version, the application displays messages and opens emails side by side in a two-column view, which is much easier and efficient than the previous single column display. My favorite new feature in Mail is called Conversations. Conversations is a new tool from Apple that automatically groups messages and shows a streamlined feeds of messages in chronological order. This way, you can see how the messages have progressed without having to locate each individual e-mail. You can easily respond, archive, or delete entire chains of messages all with one click. Maybe now it will only take 20 minutes to get through your morning e-mails instead of the usual half hour.

Mission Control. At the office, its rare to ever find someone who only has one app or window open on there Mac. In reality, the busy bees here CurrentMarketing have multiple apps, tabs and windows open in order to work efficiently. Having multiple windows open, however, quickly takes up screen space meaning users must constantly minimize and restore windows to access information. As a part of the new operating system, Apple has added Mission Control, a new application designed to give users the bird’s-eye view of all the open windows and apps. In Mission Control, a row of thumbnails represent the user’s dashboard widgets, desktop and application spaces. The lower part of the screen shows all open windows grouped by application. There’s no limit as to how many windows and documents you can keep organized inside of Mission Control. If users need more space, Mission Control allows them to create a new space by simply dragging an app to the top portion of the screen. Mission Control brings together existing applications, including Exposé, Dashboard and Spaces into a single interface aimed to give users one place to navigate everything on their Mac. The benefit? For marketers and other creative professionals, Mission Control helps us to easily navigate the creative process. In an age where it requires dozens of apps and monitors to develop a single ad, Mission Control is a helpful tool to help marketers organize their ideas in a single space.

Auto Save. In advertising and marketing, ideas are money. As a result, a lot of effort goes into saving that work. I probably hit the save button dozens of times each day to ensure that none of my work is lost.  Auto Save, a new feature in OSX Lion, hopes to add an additional layer of security ensuring that users never have to fear for losing their work. Auto Save takes a snapshot of whatever a user happens to have open on the screen in an app at any particular time, and saves it. Lion issues save commands every five minutes and saves changes in the background so users are never interrupted with dialog or progress bars. Auto Save also includes a revert feature restoring documents to the state they were in when they were last opened. Lion also has the ability to lock documents to prevent accidental changes. Auto Save automatically creates versions of documents each hour they are open. Users can also manually create snapshots of documents. At any time, users can select the “browse all versions” while inside a document to restore a previous version. At this time, Auto Save is only usable in specific Apple apps, including iWork 9.1 (Pages, Keynote, and Numbers) and TextEdit. However, this new feature will become commonplace as developers update their apps to include the many new features of OSX Lion. This new feature is beneficial to the marketing community for all the obvious reasons. No longer having to worry about lost changes will help agencies be more productive while saving their clients time and money. No doubt the Auto Save feature in OSX Lion will be one of the marketing community’s favorite features in OSX Lion.

There you have it. Three great new features in Apple’s newest operating system that will boost productivity at your agency. So thanks to the folks at Apple for providing the creative community with another great tool to help us serve our clients better.

In college, summer meant three things. Insane heat, the end of school and internships. I served as an intern at two different agencies as a student, which helped me prepare for a future career in this business.

Now, I find myself on the other side of the table. As CurrentMarketing’s internship coordinator, it is my job to find the best and the brightest  and give them a peek at life inside an ad agency. Since I have been on both sides of an internship program, I thought I might share five quick tips that might help you land that perfect agency internship.

1. Be Unique. As simple as it sounds, the easiest way to eliminate yourself from getting an internship is to have a bad résumé. Internship coordinators receive hundreds of resumes each year, so the first step in the elimination process is to pitch resumes with typos, grammar issues and bad designs. Instead, try to keep your résumé short and succinct. No résumé should ever be more than one page.  Also be sure to use a type face that is readable and never use a résumé template. Instead make your résumé unique whether it be a different paper size or an interesting layout. Just remember internship coordinators can tell when you have used a template. Be sure to send your résumé in multiple formats, but always include a PDF version. This way, the coordinator can easily print and review your information. The key is to have a resume that is unique, professional and easy to read. If you can do that, you are well on your way to landing a spot inside an agency.

2. Be Confident. The number one trait I look for in an intern is confidence, especially in interviews. This is the time to brag on yourself, tell the interviewer why you are better than every other candidate. Bring work samples and share stories about your experiences as a leader. Confidence also means dressing appropriately. Although you are seeking an internship and not a full-time position, you need to dress as if it were a job interview. Guys, buy a suit and get it tailored. For the ladies, be sure to sport your best business suit. As always for interviews, be on time and armed with extra copies of your résumé and relevant work samples. If you can stick to these basic guidelines, your interviewers will know that you are confident, well prepared and ready to take on the challenges brought on by an internship.

3. Be Passionate. Regardless of the agency, all of us want interns to have a passion for advertising, particularly for the world advertising agencies. That being said, be sure you are well read on the industry. If you don’t already read the trade pubs (Ad Age, AdWeek, etc.), be sure to do so before you apply for an internship at an ad agency. Passion will always outweigh skill. A candidate who lacks experience, but has a passion for the business will always trump someone who might be more qualified but has no idea what goes on inside an agency. Similarly, make sure you do your research on the agency. Familiarize yourself with their clients, work and people. The more you know, the better you will look in your cover letter and interview. I always ask candidates which client of CurrentMarketing’s they would most like to work with. As you might imagine, those who give me a blank stare in return never set foot in our agency as an intern.

4. Be Patient. This lesson is the hardest to learn, even looking back at my own experiences as an intern. The fact is that internship coordinators have other positions in the agency. They might be account executives, creative directors, media buyers or in my case, a research analyst. That being said, please be patient during the application process. Do not bombard the internship coordinator with telephone calls and e-mails as this might ruin your chances. Just remember we have not forgot about you and we will get back to you as soon as possible. So, try not to worry. The best thing to do is respond quickly when an internship coordinator reaches out to you and remain patient throughout the selection process.

5. Be Yourself. This one seems obvious, but it’s very important. The primary purpose of an interview is to see if you are a good fit for the agency’s culture. If you have made it to the interview round, know that you are qualified and now its more about your personality matching the agency. This is why you want to be yourself. If you’re a comedian, crack a joke. If you’re shy, admit it. Perfectionist? That’s okay. Agencies are made up of all sorts of people, but honesty is the golden rule. After all, you don’t want to get the position only to realize you hate everything about the agency life. Its beneficial for both parties to be honest in order to select the intern that best fits the agency in terms of qualifications and personality.

So there it is. Five quick tips to help you land the perfect internship. Internships are the best way to prepare for a career in this business, regardless of your course work or preexisting knowledge on advertising. Here’s one more piece of advice. Keep in mind that everyone fails. To give an example, I applied for more than 100 internships throughout college. So never get down on yourself if you don’t land your first, second or third choice of internship programs. So, be confident, passionate, patient and always be yourself. If you can manage that, I have no doubt spending a summer in an agency will be one experience you will never forget.

In advertising, time is money. Most departments bill clients based on the amount of time it takes to complete each project. So its easy to see why productivity and the efficient use of time is so important to us ad geeks.

But as we all know, productivity has its ups and downs. From Facebook to water cooler gossip, it’s pretty easy to be unproductive at work. Other popular productivity killers include food comas, copier runs and the constant interruptions provided by our iPhones and Crackberries.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. This is another one of those self-help articles where someone is going to tell you that you have to ‘disconnect’ in order to be productive. Not true. That method never worked for me. Instead of a list of don’ts, I thought I would pass along three easy tricks that will make the time you do have, more productive.

1. Clean Your Desk. That’s right, bust out the windex and paper towels because its time to wipe away the years of dust that having been clinging to your desktop. Don’t do one of those half-way jobs either. This way, you can ensure that you get that leftover french fry that is wedged between your desk and the filing cabinet. Researchers at NEC-Mitsubishi found that workers with a messy, unorganized desk spend more than seven hours each week looking for lost items. Cleaning your desk improves productivity because it forces you to reevaluate and sometimes change your workflow, which can sometimes be as simple as moving your office phone to the other side of your desk so that it is easier to reach. When tidying up, try to minimize visual distractions and increase usable desk space. Perhaps the most important reason to de-clutter your desk is for health reasons. Research suggests that the average desk contains more than 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. So, having a clean desk might also lead to better overall health. Just remember your desk is your canvas and sometimes an artist has to start fresh in order to produce their best work.

2. Drink More Water. According to the National Soft Drink Association, the average American consumes more than 600 12-ounce sodas each year. Over consumption of soft drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks and their high levels of sugar and caffeine have been directly linked to obesity, diabetes and fatigue. Not to mention it can also put a strain on your wallet. Instead, opt for the cheeper and healthier option, water. Water regulates body temperature and detoxifies the human body. Your brain is made up is 90% water and without enough of it, you will develop a headache or begin to feel fatigued.  Research has shown that those who drink water throughout the day have higher brain function than those who are reliant on sugary beverages that end up causing dehydration.So replacing your daily Coca-Cola with a glass of water will help you stay alert, improve overall health and help you avoid the afternoon crash.

3. Use Headphones. If you work at an ad agency, then you know it can be a loud place. Listening to music at work can be a great way to help you focus on the task at hand while drowning out nearby distractions. Headphones create a thin barrier between you and your surroundings, which means people will be less likely to bother you when the see you wearing headphones. Research from the University of Windsor found that workers who listen to music during the day had heightened senses of mood and better quality of work as compared to coworkers performing the same tasks without music. In fact, those who listen to music also work more quickly than coworkers according to this same study. In my experience, the key to using headphones to improve productivity is in the selection of the right material. Select music or material that you are familiar with and can easily block out. I find that listening to classical music or movie soundtracks work best in facilitating creativity. Regardless of what material choose, be sure to have a playlist built in advance to avoid the urge to shuffle through your music library all day.

So there you have it. Three easy tips to help you make more of your time at the office. Leave a comment and let me know how these tips worked for you.

Wedding season is upon us. The April showers, or floods for some of us, have led to a boom of proposals and forthcoming wedding ceremonies around the world. You might have heard something about a certain William and Kate getting hitched across the pond earlier this month.

This wedding boom has stretched all the way from Buckingham Palace to CurrentMarketing. Three of our best and brightest, including the boss’s daughter will be saying “I do” this summer. So before I go any further, a big congrats to our own Arica Fessel, Lindsay Trombatore, Meredith Will and Sarah Schardein. I wish all of you the best of luck and many years of happiness.

My interest in this wedding boom stems from the fact that I will be attending seven weddings this year. Yes, you heard right – seven. It appears that most of my college friends, coworkers and high school classmates have decided that 2011 is their year for love. For me, that means busting open my piggy bank for wedding gifts and penguin suits.

While I am happy for all my friends as they start this new chapter in their lives, the researcher in me wonders how is this possible? Has there been a recent demographic, psychographic, socioeconomic trend that has lead to a modern wedding craze and perhaps a forthcoming baby boom? And if so, what does this new trend mean for us as marketers?

So that’s exactly what I did. I put my research cap on and started crunching the numbers. And wouldn’t you know it, the data shows the opposite effect. The average median age of first marriages in the United States has been steadily increasing since the mid 1960s. Meanwhile, the number of marriages in the U.S. has been declining for the past 40 years.

What I did discover, however, is that marriage trends vary significantly by region and state. For example, men and women in Oklahoma and Arkansas tend to marry much earlier than Massachusetts and New York. And coincidentally, states in the midwest and mountain regions have marriage rates that are significantly above the national average. In fact, Kentucky ranks among the youngest of states for marriage with an average median age of 26, which is significantly younger than the US average. Local psychographics clearly play a much larger role in marriage than most marketers originally thought.

So how do I explain my situation? Seven marriages in one year? Well, the data has an answer for that too. According to the American Community Survey, for the first time in US history, college graduates are more likely than young adults without college degrees to be married by the age of 30. In 1990, for example, 75% of all 30-year-olds who did not have a college degree were married or had been married, compared with just 69% of those with a college degree. Among the possible explanations for this change are the shift in economic fortunes of young men without a college degree and their increasing tendency to cohabit with a partner rather than marry. And sure enough, either the bride or groom in each of the weddings I will be attending have a college degree and are also under the age of 30.

So what does all this data mean for us as marketers? The immediate effect is a shift in the general stereotypes associated with millennial marketing. The “me” generation is quickly become the “we” generation. Messages of independence will no longer resonate as well as they once had. Instead, marketers should position products as functional, progressive and on value. Not that value in this context does not mean cheap. This generation will not change its core beliefs, but will look products that provide benefits to both them and their partner. Perhaps luxury brands should consider bundling products. For example, buy one pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, and the second pair is half off.

Looking ahead to the next decade, what can we expect? As a researcher, it’s my jobs to say, “Lets wait and see.” But my hunch is that this trend will continue, and not just for college grads. As the economy still struggles, I believe folks will continue to marry younger, regardless of educational attainment. Marriage provides socioeconomic security, which is invaluable at a time of national economic crisis. And the culmination of these events might just lead to a second baby boom in this country. Either way, marketers must remain constantly aware of these trends as family dynamics are probably one of the most important factors when considering purchasing products and services.

But with all that being said,  I was just happy that I was able to answer my questions. Turns out, it’s just that all my friends happen to be college graduates who live in the Midwest. And according to the data, these are the ideal conditions for a wedding boom.

Just don’t expect this researcher and bachelor to be heading to the alter anytime soon.

You heard right, the CM players are looking for a few talented students or recent grads to roam our halls this summer. We are looking for creative thinkers who are passionate about the advertising/marketing industry. Some places treat their interns like baristas or the newest employee at FedEx Office, but its not all grunt work here. We want you for real client work. Plus, you’ll get to work with some of the most talented and fun professionals in the industry.

Our program is intended to be a growth experience. What you gain depends on your energy, your level of  involvement and how hard you’re willing to push yourself. Our internships are unpaid, but our team will be happy to help you earn college credit for your experience here at CurrentMarketing.

Now for the specifics. We are searching for interns to work in our client services and media departments. Applicants must have senior class standing or be a recent graduate. Most importantly, applicants must have a genuine interest in a career in the fields of business, marketing and/or advertising.

To learn more about the specific positions, click the links below.

Client Services Internship

Media Services Internship

If you think you’ve got the right stuff to work and play here at CurrentMarketing, simply send your resume and letter of interest to internships@currentmarketing.com. Be sure to designate which internship you are applying for in the subject line.

Hurry! Applications are due April 15, 2011. Questions about the program can be directed to me.

Good luck and I’ll see y’all this summer!