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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

July 25, 2008 edition of

The FOSTER Letter—Religious Market Update 

 Brain Fitness software sales hit $225 million in ’07, up from $100 million in ’05. Alvaro Fernandez, CEO of market research firm SharpBrains, says, “The brain fitness market passed a tipping point in ’07 thanks to the convergence of a very proactive boomer generation hitting their 60s.” Many boomers have seen their parents struggle with Alzheimer’s, and an estimated 10 million of them are now expected to develop the disease. There is “reasonable evidence” that challenging your brain by learning new things can stave off the cognitive decline that comes with aging. But brain fitness programs differ from traditional learning by focusing on drills for specific cognitive abilities, such as concentration and retaining information. There is no one brain “exercise” guaranteed to work for everyone. The U.S. brain fitness software market is poised to reach $2 billion in ’15. (AP 6/19/08) 

Teen Pregnancies Up The National Institutes of Health reports U.S. teen pregnancies rose from ’05 to ’06 (the first time since ’91). Federal health experts don’t know why, because not enough data has been collected to say whether or not it’s a trend. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 7/18/08) 

Missionaries Threatened Skyrocketing fuel prices are threatening to cut the aviation lifeline to hundreds of missionaries in remote places around the world. Mission Aviation Fellowship says most of the ministry’s 134 planes burn aviation fuel the price of which has shot up to $13 a gallon and could still go higher. (CR Daily 7/10/08) 

No Standing Still Even as it turns in its best financial results in decades, McDonald’s is doing a global brand-strategy study to ensure it keeps its momentum. Mary Dillon, EVP of Global Marketing, notes, “Consumer needs and attitudes change every day, so we have to be out ahead of it.” Are you staying ahead of your consumer or constituent? Contact me at 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com.  (Media Daily News 2/6/07)

’08 ICRS Attendance was down, but spirits were upbeat. Professional attendance (total number of people less exhibitors and youth) was 2,386, down 17% from 2,875 last year. Total attendance fell from 9,266 in ’07 to 7,448 in ’08, while the exhibitor staff  count was down from 6,007 to 4,787 (a result of the smaller exhibits for many companies). International attendance was 739 visitors from 63 countries, compared to 748 from 59 countries a year ago. Among the 353 exhibitors occupying 992 booth spaces were 66 first-time participating suppliers. In comparison, ICRS’s general market counterpart BookExpo America saw its attendance drop from 36,112 a year ago to 28,492 in ’08. Next year’s 60^th anniversary ICRS will be in Denver 7/12-16. (Foster Network 7/18/08) 

Total Spending on advertising and marketing in the U.S. will reach $412.4 billion in ’08, an increase of 3.9% or roughly $15.5 billion over ’07, according to a forecast from Outsell. (Media Daily News 7/18/08) 

Bible Believing Among the more religiously observant Christians in America, the term “evangelical” is unpopular, according to a Baylor University study. Nearly 70% of evangelical and black Protestants say “Bible-believing” better describes their views. Nearly as many preferred the term “born-again.” Only 15% of all respondents called themselves “evangelical”, and within that group just 2% said it was the best description. (The Globe and Mail 9/11/06) 

A New Segment of wealthy Americans has emerged according to Nielsen’s Claritas Services. It represents 19% of all U.S. households and is known as the New Mass Affluent. These wealthy Americans were born of the post-war boom, raised in middle-class suburbs and benefited from college educations and years of economic prosperity during the 90’s bull market. Today they’re well-heeled empty-nesters. This emerging group is defined as households with incomes above $100,000 and income producing assets of $100,000 or more. This puts them in the top 19% of all Americans, earning more than double the national median income of $49,280. They collectively own more than $22 trillion in assets. Some 22 million households now earn over $100,000, a 23% increase from a decade ago after adjusting for inflation.  (Center for Media Research Brief 7/10/08) 

Kerusso, after sitting at #35 for the last 2 years, has climbed to #24 on the annual list of 2008 Top-Volume Decorators by Impressions magazine. Kerusso’s 33% growth rate puts them in the top 10 fastest-growing companies on this annual top-50 list. (CBA Resources+Retailers Industry Brief 7/7/08) 

Listen Organizations need to listen to their customers in a way that shows those customers are valued. This is especially important because customers’ expectations are constantly changing. If, for example, company A answers its toll-free number in 1 ring, and you are that person’s next call, she will expect you to answer in 1 ring as well. Customers and donors judge you on what they think ought to happen, not on what you’ve ‘trained’ them to anticipate. Let me help you hear customers and donors. Contact me at 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com.  

Ashes to Diamonds A company in Switzerland transforms the ashes of the dearly departed into a diamond of up to 1 carat in 6-8 weeks. A pound of ashes is enough to make a diamond; a human body leaves behind an average 5.5 to 6.6 pounds of ashes. The carbon, which makes up about 15% of the ashes, is subjected to extremely high pressure and heat which transforms it into graphite and then, after more pressure and heat, into a diamond. The cost ranges from $4,400 to $16,700, depending on the size of the diamond. (afp.google.com) 

Christian Radio A recent Wilson Research Strategies survey finds the most popular reason for tuning in to Christian radio is to listen to Christian music (56%) while 40% of Christians tune in to listen to sermons and teaching. Those who listen to Christian music are predominantly women ages 18-44 and are more likely to attend church less frequently, while those who tune in listen to teaching/sermons tend to be older (both genders) and attend church more frequently. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 7/18/08) 

Donors & Dollars Decline The number of donors and the revenue of the 72 large organizations tracked in the Target Analytics Index of National Fundraising both declined when Q1 of ’08 is compared to Q1 of ’07. It is the first time that both donors and revenue declined across the entire index since it has been tabulated beginning in the fall of ’01. While the number of donors has been declining for more than 2 years, the revenue generated by the remaining donors has made up the difference and more. (Non Profit Times 7/7/08) 

Dead or Disabled 52% of people in the U.S. would rather be dead than disabled says a Disaboom study, a website for disabled people. 63 % of younger Americans chose death over disability. 56% of Americans 65 and older would rather die than live with a disability. Those with more education and higher incomes were more likely to choose death. Disability touches more than 54 million Americans. (LifeSite News 7/15/08) 

If It Ain’t Broke—Fix It “Too many people hold onto good ideas for too long simply because they work,” claims Larry Bossidy, former chairman of Honeywell and author of Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters To Get Things Done Right. Smart business strategy not only means setting growth plans for the business or ministry and taking steps to improve productivity, but also identifying the things (margins, inefficiencies, customer/donor satisfaction) that put an organization behind where it wants to be. I can help you confront the issues that separate your business/ministry from greatness! Contact me at 419-238-4082, Gary@garydfoster.com or www.garydfoster.com. 

Religious Book Sales rose 3.7% in May, according to The Assoc. of American Publishers. The month’s sales were $38.8 million, but year to date were down 11.4%. Overall, book sales decreased by 1.8% at $670 million and were down by 0.7% for the year. (Christian e-Tailing 7/17/08) 

Religious Youth The majority of teens and young adults in most parts of the world are religious, finds a 21-country study by a German think tank. 85% described themselves as religious, and nearly half said they were deeply religious. Only 13% said they were not interested in God or faith. Among young Americans, 57% pray daily. Survey leader Dr. Martin Rieger said: “The assumption that religious belief is dwindling continuously from generation to generation is clearly refuted by our worldwide surveys, even in many industrialized nations.” (CitizenLink 7/16/08) 

Book of The Year The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association category winners of the ’08 Christian Book Awards and the Christian Book of the Year were announced during the recent International Christian Retail Show in Orlando. For the first time in the award program’s 30-year history, a Bible and an audio product won the Christian Book of the Year: The Word of Promise™ New Testament Audio Bible (Thomas Nelson). The 6 Category Winners for the ’08 Christian Book Awards are: Bibles: Discover God Study Bible, Tyndale; Bible Reference & Study: An Old Testament Theology by Bruce K. Waltke, Zondervan; Children & Youth, Teen Virtue: Confidential by Vicki Courtney, B&H Publishing; Christian Life: When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box by John Ortberg, Zondervan; Fiction: In Search of Eden by Linda Nichols, Bethany House; Inspiration & Gift, Step into the Bible by Ruth Graham, Zondervan. (ECPA Rush to Press 7/13/08) 

New Ellison Research on U.S. adult attendance at worship services found the traditional definitions of “churched” (attend services monthly or more often) — and “un-churched” (do not typically attend frequently enough to be considered “churched”) often doesn’t tell a complete story. If adults are placed in more realistic categories based on their normal behavior, attendance stats at religious services would look like this: 11% attend more than once a week. 22% attend once a week. 14% attend 2-3 times a month. 5% attend once a month. 9% attend occasionally, not on a regular basis. 10% attend only on religious holidays. 29% do not attend at all. The study also found if an adult attended worship services regularly at some point before the age of 18, there is a 55% chance that person is currently attending once a month or more. If the person never attended prior to age 18, there is only a 21% chance he/she is currently attending worship services on a regular basis. When someone grows up in a home where both a mother and father occasionally attend religious services, there is a 62% chance that individual is now regularly attending services as an adult. If only 1 parent attends services occasionally, there is a 50% chance that grown adult is now regularly attending worship. But when an individual grows up with neither parent regularly attending worship services, the chances of that person regularly attending is only at 33%. Ron Sellers, President of Ellison Research, said, “We estimate that up to 43 million adults who do not regularly attend worship services will visit a church or place of worship at some point during the year.” (The Christian Post 7/17/08) 

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