Consumers…around the corner and around the world
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor

One of the most popular items in any library is Consumer Reports magazine. In our library, we keep it on the shelves next to the circulation desk, within sight of the staff, rather than back in the reading area with the rest of the magazines. I don’t think I need to explain why. The annual auto issue is kept behind the desk, along with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and a few other items that seem to sprout legs and walk out of our library.

For better or for worse, shopping makes the world go ’round. Literally. If you’re a retailer these days, your customers may well be scattered across the planet. And if you’re a consumer…well, you’re certainly not limited to what you can find in the stores in your neck of the woods. Anyone with an Internet connection can easily buy and sell online. With a unique idea and some practical knowledge, moms and pops the world over can compete successfully in a given niche with The Big Boys.

This week, we’re going to point you in the direction of some resources that will contribute to your understanding of consumers around the world. Even if you’re not doing business globally, most of us find it interesting to see how folks in other countries feel about some of the same things that we consider when we’re about to open our wallets.

+ Anhold Nation Brands Index “is the first analytical ranking of the world’s nation brands. Released quarterly, the Index surveys and analyzes 25,900 consumers in 35 nations to determine how countries are perceived by others in terms of cultural appeal, political stability, investment potential and more.” Register (free), and you can download the executive summaries of their quarterly reports.

+ brandchannel.com “is committed to providing a global perspective on brands.” It offers a selection of free downloadable papers, feature articles, and a briefly annotated directory of firms engaged in various aspects of branding and marketing, and a library of downloadable surveys (PDFs) — e.g., The Best Russian Brands, The Best Chinese Brands, etc. This page provides global brand rankings for the years 2001-2006. Don’t miss brandchannel’s 2006 Product Placement Awards.

+ Consumers International “is the only independent global campaigning voice for consumers. With over 220 member organisations in 115 countries, we are building a powerful international consumer movement to help protect and empower consumers everywhere.” Browsing through this site — which offers news, educational materials, and various publications — provides some insights into a number of issues of worldwide concern, such as food, health, intellectual property and corporate social responsibility. You can download or subscribe to the organization’s free newsletter, which is available in English, French and Spanish.

+ We occasionally post reports from trendwatching.com, a Dutch-based firm, on DocuTicker, our sister site.

trendwatching.com is an independent and opinionated trend firm, scanning the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas. For the latest and greatest, we rely on our network of 8,000+ spotters in more than 70 countries worldwide.

Each of its free monthly trend briefings is focused on a single theme. View all past briefings via the Trend Database. More extensive or customized research is available for purchase.

Several of the large, well-known international consulting firms offer free quality resources — reports, surveys, etc.
+ Accenture: Consumer Goods and Services
+ Capgemini: Retail
+ Deloitte: Consumer Business
+ kpmg.com: Consumer Markets
Note that free registration may be required.

Let’s not forget the blogosphere. A few interesting (English language) blogs we’ve seen:
+ AdBlogArabia, which features regional and international news and features of interest to marketing communications professionals.
+ AdLand (bitching about ads since 1996), where you can browse postings by country.
+ Modern Marketing, a UK-based blog that focuses on “open source marketing“.
+ Site-9 Weblog, by a “digital marketing and PR” consultant who lives in Germany. Incorporates “sporadic German postings for German-speaking readers.”
+ we make money not art is hard to describe but fun to read. Some unusual stuff here — e.g., Indonesians use bank ATM to make sacrifices.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 8th, 2007 and is filed under Business and Economics, Resource of the Week, Source File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.