Book of Tens: Stats That Mattered for Media and Marketing in 2011

This was meant to be a Book of Tens post for this week's issue, but since we in AdAgeStat-land are apparently numbers-challenged -- oh, the irony -- and submitted too many items, we got disqualified. It's your gain, however, as you get all 14 stats that mattered most for media and marketing in 2011. 1.) 50 million -- The big number from the Census everyone was talking about was the number of Hispanics, which crested this milestone for the first time. Later the Census and the New York Times found that even more people in the U.S. (51 million) are at or near the poverty line. 2.) 50% +1 -- Some time this year the children being born in the U.S. tipped to majority-minority, according to Brookings Institute demographer William Frey. It'll take the population as a whole decades before the white population is not the majority, but the newborns are there now. Diversity marketing is in for a makeover. 3.) Half of kids under 8 (and 40% of 2- to 4-year-olds) have access to a smartphone, iPad or some other mobile media device. 4.) In October 2011 Facebookers in the U.S. spent 136,000 aggregate years on the site, according to Comscore. That's more time than… well, all of recorded history. 5.) The U.S. added just 11.2 million households between 2000 and 2010, the -- slowest household formation rate we've seen in a long time. This impacts industries like construction and any sort of household goods and services and is helping to keep the recovery slow. 6.) When asked all the reasons they subscribe to a local paper, 85% said local news, but nearly four in 10 said "habit," according to the Ad Age /Ipsos Observer American Consumer Survey. 7.) Nuclear families account for just one-fifth of all households but more than one-third (34%) of total consumer spending. Nationwide there are 1.3 million fewer of them in 2010 than there were in 2000. 8.) One in three consumers can't afford your product: The 2011 Discretionary Spend Report from Experian Simmons finds 34.5% of households have less than $7,000 to spend on non-essential goods. Just over half have less than $10,000 to spend on entertainment, education, personal care, clothing, furniture and more. 9.) How big is big? The big four agency holding companies have nearly twice the revenue of the next largest 46, $40.1 billion to $21.5 billion. 10.) Don't count out old media. Fifty-seven percent of millennials indicated in a study from OMD that TV was the first way they hear about products and services. 11.) Is this surprisingly low, or high? In a survey from Insight Express' Digital, 56% of mobile users admit to using their phones to text, call, etc. while on the throne. 12.) For the first time in American history there are now a million more female than male college graduates, according to the Census. 13.) Here's the stat that mattered most to me personally in 2011: The twin birthrate is up 76% since 1980, reaching a new record of 33.2 per 1,000 in 2009 (the latest year for which Center for Disease Control data are available) 14.) The non-U.S. portion of P&G's measured-ad spending rocketed to 71% last year from 22 % in 1986. Sixty-three percent of the company's revenue came from outside the U.S. in the year ended June 2011. Did we miss any critical numbers? Let us know in the comments, or tweet us @adagestat.

Book of Tens: Stats That Mattered for Media and Marketing in 2011

Featured Stories