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VALS™ Lens Applying VALS™ to current events August 2014

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In this issue:

In Mobile Devices: Shocking Boredom

A recent study by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Virginia showed that men would rather self-administer electric shocks than sit in a room for 15 minutes doing nothing. The deceptively simple situation—sitting in a room to think without the distraction of mobile devices or the internet—apparently caused such boredom in the study sample, that two-thirds of the studied men decided they would rather shock themselves than endure another minute with their own thoughts. One subject shocked himself 190 times in 15 minutes. According to Fall 2013 VALS™/GfK MRI data, 19% of men completely agree that they like to be connected, either by phone or internet, at all times. Innovators men agree at an average rate with the statement, whereas Strivers and Experiencers men are 38% and 60% more likely to agree, respectively. College students are overrepresented in psychological studies, and Strivers and Experiencers are overrepresented among college students, partially explaining the large shock effect in the study.

Read more about the shock experiment

In Sports: A Soccer Update

Now that another World Cup event has drawn to a close, the time has come to take stock of any shifts in popularity of the sport since the last World Cup in 2010. Of all US adults, 3.21% identified themselves as soccer "superfans" in 2010, after the last World Cup. The latest available Fall 2013 VALS/GfK MRI data show a modest increase among superfans to 4.54%, even before the most recent World Cup. Interestingly, Innovators showed only average identification as superfans in 2010, but were 90% more likely than average to self-identify as superfans in 2013, even surpassing Experiencers. However, Innovators in 2013 were less likely (7.6%) to have actually played the sport in the past 12 months, in comparison with Innovators in 2010 (10%). The shift among Innovators from players to consumers is also evident in TV-watching rates, with 10% of Innovators indicating they watched soccer on TV in 2013, comparison with only 5% in 2010. Marketers would do well to monitor the shifting popularity of soccer from more youthful audiences to more sophisticated ones, to adjust their advertising spending accordingly.

In Music: Shifts in Consumption

Pop superstar Taylor Swift, in a recent Wall Street Journal article, provided her take on the declining state of the music industry. Ever the optimist, she believes that music artists will continue to be financially successful if they manage to form deeper bonds with their fans than they had in the past and develop creative ways to give fans exciting experiences. In the article is an analysis of the shifts in music consumption, from nearly 100% distribution through compact discs in 2003, to 61% distribution through subscription/streaming services (21%) and digital downloads (40%) today. Indeed, only 0.71% of the population bought a new compact-disc player in 2013—a base rate too small for VALS to interpret reliably. Of Experiencers, 50% consumed downloaded audio in 2013, followed by 32% of Innovators. Music streaming through services such as Pandora, Spotify, or Rhapsody appeals equally to Innovators and Experiencers, at about 37% within each group. Finally, attendance at music performances varies by genre, with Innovators drawn to rock and classical performances, and Experiencers drawn to country and electronic artists.

Read more about Taylor Swift's analysis

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