White Papers

The new normal in the United States is not anything like it was just a few years ago. Fear and anxiety have replaced confidence and hope when it comes to the economy, and the effects have been felt from the family den to the White House. Optimism is out and pessimism is in, with Americans questioning the future of health care, education, jobs and the political direction of the country. In February 2010, Euro RSCG Worldwide PR and Euro RSCG Life, the public relations arm and the health-focused communications network of Euro RSCG Worldwide, a leading integrated marketing communications agency, commissioned two surveys to try to gauge the mood of Americans on these hot-button issues and others. One survey questioned people nationwide; the other polled residents of Connecticut. Research partners MicroDialogue deployed the two surveys, with each questioning a random and representative sample of 386 people age 18 and older, then analyzed the data. The resultant “U.S. Mind and Mood” white paper provides a series of snapshots of a nation living in a precarious present.

Euro RSCG Worldwide PR’s white paper analyzes data from a survey the agency commissioned of 100 girls between the ages of 13 and 18 about their spending and communications habits. The research reveals that the teenage girl contradicts almost all cultural stereotypes in those areas. But the core finding of the white paper is more sociological than statistical. Tearing down another false platitude about teenage girls, the paper proves that a sense of intimacy with a select group of friends and family drives almost all their social interaction—including shopping, which the study characterizes as a core social activity for teenage girls. The findings are helping to launch a new Euro PR initiative. Eventually focusing on teen boys and girls, the first phase is called The Sisterhood.

In October 2009, Euro RSCG Worldwide commissioned a survey to map the trajectory of social life and social media usage in the United States, quizzing 1,228 Americans from all online demographics. This white paper looks at the macro developments in social media; it also brings in numbers and verbatims about people’s hopes for their social life online and offline before finally drawing conclusions and implications for marketers and their clients. The study found, for instance, that by interacting through online media, American consumers are more connected than ever and have dramatically integrated social networking tools into their lives. According to the study, their world is expanding and narrowing at the same time because of social media’s hyperlocalization quotient. Among the takeaways for marketers: It’s impossible to predict how bits of communication will spread across social media; as most traditional media converge online, communication flows among them, and consumers become messengers. Go to eurorscgsocial.com to see Euro PR’s blog and website that grew out of the survey and white paper.