Now, a Michigan State University business scholar and colleagues have developed the most accurate model yet for targeting those fast-moving minnows. The research-based model predicts when during the day people use the varying forms of media and even when they are using two or more at a time, an increasingly common practice known as media multiplexing.

That’s good news for companies struggling to predict when to buy ads on the Internet, television and radio, and in print publications. Previous models for predicting when consumers use media were 60 percent–70 percent accurate; the new model led by MSU’s Chen Lin has proved 97 percent accurate.

“For businesses, our model does a much better job of predicting where your customers are at any given time,” said Lin, assistant professor of marketing. “It represents a significant advancement over other models because much of that work assumed people consumed one type of media at a time.”

The study, published in the academic journal Marketing Science, is based on a survey of the media-consumption habits of nearly 2,000 U.S. residents. Lin and colleagues used the survey data to create their complex forecasting model.

Among the study findings:

• People spend about 35 percent of their time consuming media.
• Television is still the most popular outlet, followed by computer.
• During the weekend, consumers spend more time watching TV and reading print publications and less time on the computer and listening to radio.
• People spend about 1.5 hours a day consuming multiple media at the same time (e.g., surfing the Web while watching TV). This happens more at the start of the workday and before bed—at about 9 a.m. and again at 9 p.m.

Lin also said she was surprised to find consumers still value print media at certain times, particularly in the morning. Print was especially popular when it was paired with other forms of media.

“The old thinking is that print is endangered, but we found that it doesn’t need to be eliminated,” Lin said. “Print can have a second life if it’s cleverly paired with new media such as personal computers and smart phones.”

In fact, Lin said ad buyers should stop considering the different media forms as competing and instead view them as complimentary. For example, print ads should be partnered with radio and Internet media forms in the key time slots when consumers are likely to be using all three forms.

“Our findings underscore the need to move away from a competitive mindset to a coordinated viewpoint,” Lin said, “as consumers increasingly use combinations of media forms in short periods.”

Lin’s co-authors are Sriram Venkataraman from the University of North Carolina and Sandy Jap from Emory University.

From MSUToday: http://msutoday.msu.edu/.

Winning this year’s competition was Maria Sasinowski (advertising), while Kaelyn Iciek-Nicks (marketing), Scott Rinnas (marketing), and Brittany Wolf (communication) rounded out the top four. Semi-finalists included Zach Doerr (marketing), Greg Gariepy (marketing), Evan Spreng (supply chain management), and Brad Sweeney (communication).

Sixty-five managers from eighteen companies participated, including nine firms (ADP, Altria, CH Robinson, Coyote Logistics, Eaton, Ford, TEK Systems, Thomson Reuters, and Tom James) that are sponsors of MSU’s Sales Communication Specialization, a joint initiative of the Broad College of Business and the College of Communication Arts & Sciences. The event also included a career fair for students interested in the selling profession, and nine other firms (Whirlpool, Sherwin Williams, Quicken Loans, Reynolds & Reynolds, Michigan Office Solutions, Kohls, Epitex, CED/All-Phase, and Capital Group) joined program sponsors there.  

The sales specialization, which is open to students of any major, was created in response to the rising stature and importance of sales in an increasingly competitive business environment and the corresponding need for businesses to recruit graduates with advanced competencies in consultative selling. Since the program’s inception in 2009, MSU students have captured three national championships at the National Team Selling Competition held each fall at Indiana University. The All-MSU Sales Competition was established as a learning device for students and as an opportunity to connect students with the business community. 

According to Doug Hughes, the associate professor of marketing who created and organized the event, “The competition is an excellent vehicle for students to test their mettle, showcase their talents, and grow their consultative selling skills.  Business managers appreciate the opportunity to see our students in action and walk away extremely impressed with the quality of MSU students and what they are learning in our program.”

Assistant Professor of Marketing Clay Voorhees and his MBA students have been partnering with Deloitte Consulting on the Deloitte Generation Y Automotive Survey for the past four years. The project, for which MSU has become the lead academic partner, provides students with a unique, hands-on experience. It also showcases the Broad College’s Marketing faculty and their expertise. “We were asked to partner with them based on the reputation of our Marketing MBA program as an applied program with service-learning and executive-level deliveries,” notes Voorhees.

MBA students volunteer to take part in the project, which entails conducting primary and secondary research on consumer attitudes in the automotive industry, turning the results into executive-level findings, and ultimately presenting the results of their analysis to automotive executives at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The students recently presented in front of an audience of executives in a town hall forum of approximately 100 people, including a Q&A session with Mark Fields, Executive Vice President and President, The Americas for Ford Motor Company, Joe Vitale, Global Automotive Sector Leader for Deloitte, and Phil LeBeau, Automotive and Airline industry reporter for CNBC. Voorhees believes that this gives MBA students a chance to not only provide insight to Deloitte Consulting, but also to impact the future of the automotive industry and Michigan’s economy through application of their survey results.

MSU alumnus Ron Goldsberry, an Automotive Consultant for Deloitte and former Vice President of Global Service Business Strategy for Ford Motor Company, has been involved with coaching the student teams. As Voorhees explains, “It’s a rare chance to have a seasoned automotive executive come back and work with students to help shape their presentations.”

For these MBA students, the project offers connections and experience beyond the classroom, preparing them for their future careers. “The project gives students a chance to contribute and connect with others in the industry and get real-world experience . . . it’s not an everyday opportunity,” says first-year Marketing MBA Shelley Szalay. “Any time you get an opportunity to get in front of industry executives and network, validate what you are doing in the classroom, and find out it has real-world value, it’s a worthwhile experience,” adds Chris Kirwin, also a first-year Marketing MBA.

Often, Voorhees and his students work with Deloitte Consulting to take the findings directly to the automotive industry, including past visits to Honda’s North American Headquarters, Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors where they have attended VP-level meetings. “These visits allow students to be the voice of Gen Y directly to the executives and provide great international and national exposure for the program alongside a world-class consulting team with Deloitte Consulting,” says Voorhees.

This is one of many projects at the Broad College where students are going out of the classroom to apply their learning, impacting more than their grades. For more information, including the actual survey results, please visit www.deloitte.com/us/geny or broad.msu.edu.

The study, by Pianpain Yang and Lei Tao, ranked 1,718 innovation management scholars using 1991-2010 data from peer-reviewed research journals, including two top innovation management journals (JPIM and IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management), five top management journals (Strategic Management Journal, Management Science, Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Review, and Academy of Management Journal) and two top marketing journals (Journal of Marketing and Journal of Marketing Research). Using these top 10 journals during the 20-year span noted, 1,229 innovation journals were included in the analysis based on their original contribution to innovation management research. Scholars were ranked by giving full credit to each author of an article, and a second adjusted ranking was done by weighting each author of an article (one divided by the number of authors in the article). Through this process, Calantone was ranked 2nd worldwide for 24 articles with an adjusted rank of 3rd with 8.75 articles.

This is also the first study to rank 625 universities for their current faculty research capabilities in this field. The university ranking was determined by tallying the publication records of current faculty at each university. Universities were then split into first tier (50th and above) and second tier rankings. Using the number of current faculty research publications in the top 10 journals, MSU placed 3rd (first in the Big 10) with 51 articles, with an adjusted ranking of 1st for 44.44 articles. The article credits MSU’s “excellent job in retaining top management faculty” as the reason for its success.

For the full article, visit: www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com.

Recently Dr. Hult co-edited the 40th Anniversary Issue of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science with O.C. Ferrell, Vice President of Publications for the Academy of Marketing Science. Customarily for these anniversary editions, a lineup of very famous researchers is usually recruited for a special commemorative issue. However, this issue shows the extensive network and reach of the editorial team led by Dr. Hult. An assemblage of scholars collectively responsible for over 100 famous and enduring contributions to the marketing literature populates this issue, including authors who established the criteria for structural equations modeling, legends in marketing management, societal aspects of marketing and branding experts, as well as a deep review by a Nobel award winner in economics.

Roger Calantone, MSU marketing department chair, commented that “not only will this anniversary issue commemorate the 40 years of increasing influence of the Journal, but in itself, the special issue breaks new ground in the many areas it touches.”

With the first issue of 2012, the Academy of Marketing Science begins its 40th year of publishing JAMS (now together with Springer). Owned by AMS, which started in 1971, JAMS was conceptualized in 1972 and began publishing its first volume in 1973. As Robert Peterson, the fifth editor of JAMS, commented two decades ago in an earlier anniversary issue of JAMS, 40 years is, “by any reasonable standard, a long time.” His remarks were of course tied to the 20th anniversary, but the 40th anniversary simply crystalizes the importance of the Journal and the sustained influence it has in the field of marketing.

Let us all congratulate Tomas and his staff for providing such a fitting commemoration of the Journal and recognize the thought leadership of Tomas Hult and the four JAMS editorial board members from the MSU marketing department.

The full table of contents for the JAMS 40th Anniversary Issue can be found at http://www.springerlink.com/content/j50047475t4h/.

A majority (59 percent) of Gen Y respondents surveyed prefer an “electrified vehicle” over any other type of car or truck. Moreover, Gen Y consumers heavily favor hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles (57 percent) over pure battery electric vehicles (2 percent) or vehicles with a traditional gasoline-only powertrain (37 percent).

The annual survey, now in its fourth year, canvassed 1,500 Gen Y, Gen X and baby boomer consumers in the United States, as well as 250 Gen Y consumers in China and 300 Gen Y consumers in Western Europe. The survey defines Gen Y consumers as those ranging in age from 19 to 31.

Deloitte conducted the survey in September and October 2011 with help from Clay Voorhees, assistant professor of marketing in MSU’s Broad College of Business.

Deloitte announced the preliminary results of the survey at its Shifting Gears conference today in Detroit. Full survey findings will be released in February.

Craig Giffi, vice chairman and automotive practice leader at Deloitte LLP, said Gen Y consumers may be the game changers in the United States, because, at nearly 80 million strong, they are one of the biggest automobile buying market segments and the largest consumer segment since the baby boomers. According to projections, 40 percent of vehicles sold in the next 10 years will be bought by Gen Y consumers.

From the study, Giffi found that Gen Y consumers are drawn to hybrids for several reasons. Most notably, fuel efficiency: 89 percent of Gen Y consumers are considering buying a vehicle that gets better mileage. This is especially true when gasoline prices rise above $2.75 per gallon – the median price Gen Y consumers see as ‘fair.’

“Gen Y consumers also view hybrid technology as proven and reliable,” says Giffi. “Almost six in 10 Gen Y respondents prefer a hybrid over any other type of vehicle.”

In addition, in-dash technology is the most important part of a vehicle’s interior for a majority (59 percent) of Gen Y respondents, with almost three-quarters (73 percent) seeking touchscreen interfaces. Gen Y consumers also rank smartphone applications as highly desirable in a new automobile (72 percent).

“Gen Y consumers prefer automobiles that are an extension of their social-media and digital lifestyles,” said Joe Vitale, global automotive sector leader, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited.

On average, Gen Y consumers are willing to spend more than $3,000 for hardware that delivers connectivity.

Story via MSU News.

Professor Richard Spreng will lead a study abroad program in China for Summer 2013. The program will be three weeks in China, with on-campus sessions in East Lansing during Spring semester, and we will visit six Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.

Activities will include visits to businesses, guest lectures by local faculty, community service (practice English with Chinese high school students), and historical and cultural excursions.

For more information see https://osa.isp.msu.edu/Programs/program/index/105258 or contact Dr. Richard Spreng (spreng@msu.edu).

Scholarship Opportunities for Study Abroad in China

Amway and Michigan State University are partnering to provide MSU students with the opportunity to study in China through the “Amway China 100,000 Strong Scholarship.” Each scholarship is $5,000.

A total of 15 scholarships will be awarded to MSU students, with 15 to be awarded to students of other accredited four and two-year West Michigan colleges: Grand Valley State University, Aquinas College, Calvin College, Cornerstone University, Davenport University, Kuyper College and Grand Rapids Community College.

For more information see http://studyabroad.isp.msu.edu/scholarships/china.htm.

Pendergast has been actively involved in supporting Michigan State University over the past several decades. The award is bestowed by the board for professional achievements, demonstrated leadership in the mission, values and vision of the university, the evolving theory and practice of marketing, and the support of student connections and the community of Spartans and their engagement.

He has worked for The Dow Chemical Company for the past 22 years and has actively recruited business students since 1995 through interviews, at Career Gallery events, and as a founding member of the Lear Career Center Advisory Council and board member.  He has also been a guest lecturer in MSU Marketing classes, presented at student organizational meetings and supported the Project Green Charitable Business Student initiatives.  Pendergast was also one of the founding members of the Broad College’s Marketing Leadership Advisory Board and initial chair of the Career and Professional Development Committee.  In furthering Spartan connections, he helped to re-establish the Midland County chapter of the MSU Alumni Association and served as fundraising chair in 2008/09.

Twenty-one schools from across the U.S. competed. University of Washington took second place, while Syracuse University finished third.

Thanks, coaches and team, for bringing the national championship back to MSU!

Competition details

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Registration Form

Submit completed registration form to Broad.Busplan@gmail.com