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The Foster Letter —

Religious Market Update

The FOSTER Letter is a bi-weekly e-mail religious market intelligence report targeted to Christian market channel and ministry leaders.  Each issue reports on news, trends, events and research that will directly or indirectly impact your audiences and businesses in a convenient summary format  Better informed leaders make better choices!

Researched, Edited & Published by Gary D. Foster

Excerpts from the

January 10, 2008 edition of

The FOSTER Letter—Religious Market Update

Book Age Not Over Young adults are the heaviest users of public libraries despite the Internet. They most frequently research health conditions, job training, government benefits and other problems. 21% of Americans 18-30 with such questions have turned to public libraries vs. 12% of general adult finds a joint Pew Internet and Univ. of Illinois study. At the library they access the Internet, reference books, newspapers and magazines. Library usage drops gradually as people age — from 62% among Americans aged 18-30 to 32% among those 72 and up, with a sharp decline just as Americans turn 50. It is theorized young adults used to finding information online are likely to crave even more and realize they need to turn to libraries to get it. Young adults are also the most likely to know libraries have transformed into information hubs, with computers and databases alongside stacks of printed books. (AP 12/31/07)

Happiness People who attend religious services weekly or more are happier (43% very happy) than those who attend monthly or less (31%) and seldom or never (26%). Pew Research has found this correlation to be consistent over the years. The same pattern applies within all major religious denominations. (PWB 12/28/07) 

Basics Most Important According to Top Marketing Trends for 2008 by Marketing Executives Networking Group, key areas for ’08 are: Marketing Basics (60% Very Important) which include concepts such as customer satisfaction, customer retention, segmentation, brand loyalty and ROI. Search Engine Optimization ranked 2nd at 42% followed by Green Marketing at 32%. On global issues, 52% viewed China as the region with the best future opportunity, with India a distant second at 20%. The most important target market group is Baby Boomers, with 88% ranking them as either very or somewhat important. Gen X (86%), Hispanics (86%), Women (85%) and Gen Y (84%) are catching up to Boomers as customer targets. (Center for Media Research Brief 1/2/07) 

Communicate According to a Watson Wyatt Worldwide survey, U.S. worker confidence in senior management declined between ’04 and ’05 from 51% to 49%. Confidence that senior management makes changes to 1) stay competitive dropped from 57% to 53% and 2) control costs fell from 59% to 55%. Where senior management is “highly engaged” with its workforce, confidence levels actually rose as much as 30 points. I can help you transform your workforce through a cost-effective confidence building communication strategy. Contact me at 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com.  (CFO 3/07) 

Circular Entertainment Nokia predicts that by 2012 up to a 25% of the entertainment consumed globally will have been created, edited and shared within their peer circle rather than coming out of traditional media groups. (Center for Media Research Brief 1/4/07) 

Kids Follow Parent Models 91% of kids want to help others, says a new Kid, Inc. study of 6- to 14- year olds. 58% chose volunteering over playing video games; 38% would rather see money for their gifts go to a worthy cause instead of receiving a present. More than half responded that they have the ability to make a positive change in the world, while 9% said kids who volunteer are “nerds.” But, when given a choice between participating on a sports team or a club that raises money for a worthy cause, 51% chose the fundraising club. Behavioral Associates’ Robert Reiner said, “If a child’s parents are interested in giving back, there is a chance that they will be interested, too. But if adults can’t deny instant gratification, why should we think kids can?” (PWB 12/21/07) 

Spiritual Values in Collegians A UCLA study found college juniors are more likely to be engaged in a spiritual quest compared to when they first entered college as freshmen. The study showed 41.2% of freshmen in ’04 reported they considered developing a meaningful philosophy of life “very important” or “essential.” 3  years later in ’07, 55.4% agreed. 48.7% of freshmen in ’04 said “attaining inner harmony” is “very important” or “essential.” This jumped to 62.6% by ’07. This suggests college is influencing students in positive ways that will better prepare them for leadership roles in our global society. The rise in spirituality also comes as more students feel depressed, overwhelmed by everything they have to do, and feel that their college life is filled with stress and anxiety. The study found growth over the 3 years in spiritual values, such as integrating spirituality into their lives and becoming more loving person.s Also, more juniors reported wanting to reduce pain and suffering in the world, being thankful for all that has happened to them, and higher levels of ecumenical worldview. As juniors they are more likely to agree that “non-religious people can lead lives that are just as moral as those of religious believers.” Despite the rise in spirituality, college students are not making it to religious services. While 38.6% attend services less frequently, only 7% increase their frequency after entering college. Attendance drops from 43.7% in high school to 25.4% in college, and the rate of non-attendance nearly doubles. (Christian Post 12/20/07) 

Greeting Cards Although the Greeting Card Association says 20 paper cards are sent for every e-card, online card volume is soaring. The reasons are; you can literally send them at the last minute, they’re often free and they don’t require paper. Yet, “When it matters, it’s mailed. You don’t put an e-mail on your refrigerator,” says Joanne Veto of the USPS. The average American household mailed 26 holiday cards in ’06, up from 21 in ’04 and 18 in ’02. People are holding onto tradition. (USA Today 12/26/07) 

Reality Check CBA’s CEO Bill Anderson states, “It starts with the customer (or constituent). It ends with the customer (or constituent).  The fact is, our competitors don’t put us out of business. Our customers (or constituents) do, and they do it when we give them permission by not being their best preferred option.” Let me help make sure you are not inadvertently giving your customers or constituents permission to put you out of business or ministry. Contact 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com.  (CBA Resources+Retailers 1/08) 

Catholics have overtaken Anglicans in church attendance in Britain, according to a Christian Research study. Around 862,000 worshippers attended Catholic services each week in ’06, exceeding the 852,000 who went to the Church of England. Attendance at Anglican services has almost halved over the past 40 years as Britain has grown steadily more secular. Only 6% of the population attends church regularly vs. 40% in the U.S. (Reuters 12/23/07) 

Album Sales in the U.S. plunged 9.5% in ’07 from ’06, as the recording industry had another weak year despite a 45% surge in the sale of digital tracks. A total of 500.5 million albums in the form of CDs, cassettes, LPs and other formats were purchased in ’07, down 15% from the ’06 unit total reports, Nielsen SoundScan. (NY Times 1/4/08) 

Most Religious Nations Nigeria, Brazil, India and Morocco are among the most religious nations in the world, claims a major study. More than 96% of the population in these countries described themselves as religious in the survey conducted by the German think tank, Bertelsmann Foundation. The study distinguished between religious and highly religious people. People classified as highly religious are those that worship and pray regularly and attach a high relevance of faith in their lives. In Nigeria, with a fairly even split between Christians and Muslims, 92% of the population said they are highly religious. The U.S. had 89% of its people describing themselves as such, with 62% considering them-selves to be highly religious. Europeans were significantly less religious than rest of the world. The most religious nations in Europe were Italy and Poland – overwhelmingly Catholic– with about 87% claiming to be religious with 40% being highly religious. Meanwhile, Germany, Austria and Switzerland had an average 70% religious and about 20% highly religious. The least religious country in Europe is Russia with 50% being religious and only 7% highly religious. Thailand and France were other nations with the smallest percentage of religious people.  (Christian Post 12/19/07) 

Population The 1/1/08 population of America was projected to be 303,146,284—up 2,842,103 or 0.9% from 1/1/07. In January ’08, the US is expected to register 1 birth every 8 seconds and 1 death every 11 seconds. International migration will 1 be person every 30 seconds. The net result: a total US population increase of 1 person every 13 seconds. The world population is more than 6.6 billion. (U.S. and World Population Clock 12/31/07) 

Christian America 82% of Americans in ’07 identified with a Christian religion, 51% Protestant, 5% “other Christian,” 23% Roman Catholic and 3% another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon. 11% had no religious identity, and another 2% didn’t answer. 62% of Americans are members of a church or synagogue. About a third attends once a week, with another 12% almost every week, with only 17% never attending. 40% and 45% of Americans report they attended church or synagogue in the last 7 days. 56% say religion is very important vs. 17% who say it is not. 32% say religion is increasing its influence while 61% say it’s losing it, with 7% saying it is unchanged or did not answer. (Gallup 12/24/07) 

Planning Pays “There are two areas in finance where world-class organizations have actually increased spending relative to revenues. One of those is compliance, and the second is planning and analysis,” says Bryan Hall, a Hackett Group finance consultant. I can help you craft and monitor your plan. Contact 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com. (CFO 12/07) 

Teens Financially Illiterate Only 34% of teens know how to balance a checkbook, and 29% are already in debt, according to a Charles Schwab Teens and Money survey. David Ramsey notes that in ’06, high school seniors scored an average of 52% on a basic financial literacy survey, and 19% of all bankruptcies are filed by people under age 25. (One News Now 1/3/08) 

LifeWay Christian Stores has signed a letter of intent to buy the long-established Christian Book & Gift Stores in Olathe,. and Topeka, Kansas., from co-owners and industry veterans Ken Hite and Larry Haege. Expected to close by 3/1/08, the acquisition will bring the total number of LifeWay outlets to 147 in 25 states. (Various Sources 12/07)

For information on how to become a subscriber to the entire 3-4 page Foster Letter---Religious Market Update, E-mail us at: subscribe@garydfoster.com