Michiganders Agree: Purchase at the Store

Michiganders agree with North Carolinians. 30.7% of them said that when spending over $200 for something, they almost always purchase products from a store. A close 30.3% will compare store prices and Internet prices to see which has the better deal. 29.5% of Michiganders said they will do product research on the Internet, but generally make purchases from the store.

This data shows that Michiganders are pretty evenly split on how they approach making big purchases, not completely unlike North Carolinians.

Different than North Carolinian respondents, however, young Michiganders did not have such a dramatically low response rate to answering that they do internet research and purchase at the store. 31% of the 18-24 year olds answered this way, as compared to 6.4% of their North Carolinian counterparts.

Is there a reason for the similarities and differences? Do they have any bigger implications? What do you think?

Michiganders Say No to Purchasing Cars at Target or Meijers

These days everybody talks about Target excursions like they're the highlight of the week. Friends swap information about how much they spent on their lamps, kitchen supplies and new bathing suits and enjoy bragging about the deal they clinched. However, Target may not be the best place to shop for all purchases.

According to the Brogan Survey, 53.7% of Michiganders would NOT be willing to purchase an automobile from Target or Meijers.

What's even more interesting, though, is the distinct difference in responses provided by 25-34 year olds as compared to Michiganders in other age groups. 25-34 year olds was the only age group whose majority answered "yes" when asked, "If Target or Meijers sold automobiles produced especially for them by GM, Chrysler or Ford for a fixed price, generally speaking would you be willing to purchase an automobile from these stores?" In fact, 54.5% of them said yes and only 36.4% said no. All other age groups had between a 48.3% and 67% "no" response rate.

It seems that the 25-34 year olds are confident enough in their experiences to know what they're doing, to not need a dealer, and to be hip and trendy by shopping at Target or Meijers. The other extreme is the people in the 65 and older crowd who were significantly more likely to answer "no" than any other group. 67% of them would not consider purchasing an automobile from the retail stores.

How about you? Would you purchase your next car from Target or Meijers? Why or why not?

Michiganders Use Ads Too

Michiganders use advertisements in the same way as North Carolinians. According to the Brogan Survey, 41% of them pay attention to advertisements when they need to purchase something, while 35.2% of them pay attention to ads just to stay informed.

Interestingly, demographic trends in response to this survey question are the same in both states as well. Women and African Americans in Michigan are more likely than their counterparts to pay attention to advertisements for informational purposes; 40% and 38.2% respectively. Men and Caucasians are more likely to pay attention to advertisements when they need to buy something; 42% and 43.3%.

These strikingly similar results and trends make the findings that much stronger. What do you think? Is there a reason there are differences in demographical trends for paying attention to advertisements? Let us know.

Michiganders Chime In: "Desperate Housewives" Should Go

Michiganders feel the same way as North Carolinians--"Desperate Housewives" should go! But unlike the runner-up show in North Carolina, the one in Michigan was a close second and didn't involve watching disheveled people struggling to survive.

27.2% of Michiganders would cancel "Desperate Housewives" and 23% would cancel "American Idol" if given the chance to be a network television executive. That means Michiganders aren't quite as keen on the singing competition as North Carolinians (even though North Carolina respondents didn't absolutely love the idea of keeping the show either).

In both states, E.R., CSI and Twenty Four seemed to be favorites, with few people wanting to cancel them. Looks like drama wins...who doesn't like commiserating and watching others' drama instead of their own sometimes? What show do you think needs to get the boot? Let us know. For more television cancellation results in North Carolina, click here.

Leaders' Importance to Economic Improvement

Clearly, many people have major concerns about the economy. We're sure it isn't just the Michiganders who evaluate their leaders critically. The Brogan Survey and various media outlets have allowed interesting conversations and thoughts to surface about issues crucial to everyday life.

As we said in earlier blogs, Michiganders graded their leaders below average. We found in the crosstabs that race played a factor in who people thought were the biggest obstacles to the economy.

What we'd now like to examine is how people responded to the question, "And of these five groups, which ONE group is the most important in helping to turn Michigan’s economy around?" Most Michiganders, 46% of them, thought elected officials are most important in improving the economy. 24.2% thought it was up to the business leaders. The pie chart shows the distribution of responses to this question.

Who do you think is most important in turning the economy around? How do you feel the economy is where you live? Who is to blame/praise for that? Who would you like to see contributing more to an improvement?

Younger Adults Enjoy Negotiating Car Prices, Brogan Survey Says

Despite what many people believe, just as many women as men prefer negotiating the purchase price of a car. Both genders were split pretty evenly when asked if they prefer a negotiable or fixed price, according to the Brogan Survey.

What many people don't even think about, however, is whether a price preference difference exists based on age. Turns out, it does.

An unexpected 89.7% of 18-24 year olds enjoy negotiating the purchase price of a car. Nearly twice as many of them answered this way as compared to the other respondents, who had only 42.7% to 48.9% saying they enjoy negotiation.

What do you think about this? Is there a reason for the difference in preference? It would seem as though the more experience you had in making big purchases, the more confident you would become, the more enjoyable getting a good deal would be. Michiganders say otherwise. Are young adults seemingly invincible in their negotiating capabilities? What are your thoughts?

Importance of Car Manufacturer Varies By Age

Purchasing a car requires consumers to consider many different automobile qualities. Interestingly enough, the Brogan Survey found that the importance of where the car is made varies greatly by age.

When asked, "Would you say it is very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not important at all that the automobile you purchase be made in the United States?" the older population of Michigan was much more likely to respond "very important" than the younger population.

In each age group that included people over 35, over half responded "very important" to the above question; from 54.6% of 35-44 year olds to 71.3% of the 65+ crowd answering in such a way. On the other side of the age spectrum, only 34.5% of 18-24 year olds and 30.3% of25-34 year olds said it was "very important" for their car to be made in the U.S.

Approximately double the portion of the 35 and over population felt purchasing an automobile made in the U.S. was "very important" as compared to the 18-34 year olds. Click here to view crosstabs.

Is there a generation gap in the way we buy? What does this mean for different industries? Or is there just a change in what Generation X values? What do you think?

Michigan Residents Split on Chrysler Sale

New data from the Brogan Survey shows that Michigan residents are decidedly split on what the sale of the company from Daimler to Cerberus Capital will mean.

• The highest number (39.5%) felt it would make no difference
• Second place, at 33.3%, were those who thought it would help the company perform better
• 17.8% said it would make the company perform worse

So, you could say that most (57.3%) feel that it won't make it any better. Or you could say that most 72.8% feel that it won't make it any worse. Or you could say that optimists outweigh pessimists by 2:1, as we chose to in our press release.

As you can see, it's relatively easy to spin these things. We're working hard to not spin this data, but to provide it as clearly as we can, showing what we find interesting about it and then sharing the details so you can decide for yourself.

What do you think? Is the Chrysler sale good or bad for Michigan?

Michigan Leadership Survey Has Lots of Data

While Daniel Howes of the Detroit News correctly excerpted parts of the recent Brogan Survey questions on Michigan leadership in today's Crisis of Confidence story, there was much more in that line of questioning.

To read our press release on the subject, click here.

The report card part of the findings were interesting. The 600-person telephone poll asked adults statewide to grade groups of leaders based on how well they are "currently serving the State of Michigan." The choices were aligned like a report card: A, B, C, D or F. The report card results are:

• Civic group leaders B-
• Business leaders C
• Education leaders C
• Union leaders C-
• Elected leaders D+

Note that we intentionally did not focus on any one person, any one organization or any one political party. We were more trying to get at the mood of people in the state to serve as context in advance of the Mackinac event than trying to do a typical political poll.

What do you think? Read all the data from these questions here, completely unfiltered, including cross tabs by region, ethnicity, gender and age. Once you do, leave a comment telling us what you think of all this.

Our Michigan Launch is a Page 1-A Story

The Detroit News certainly found our first Michigan Brogan Survey findings to be of interest. Check out this front page headline, "Crisis of Confidence".
In the story, columnist Daniel Howes notes some of the findings of "Brogan's report-card style survey." We're pleased with the coverage, to be sure, and hope the findings help frame a constructive, productive discussion during the Mackinac Conference.

Which Counties Are in Which Regions?

You'll see in the Brogan Survey that we've divided responses into regions so we can look at geographic differences in how people respond. (Our divisions largely mirror the national DMAs, or Designated Market Areas, assigned by Nielsen as television markets. That's why the "Charlotte" region goes all the way up to the Virginia border, for example--because the Charlotte TV market does.)

Here is the list (NC first, MI second) of which counties are in which regions (the number after the region name is how many of the 600 survey respondents come from that region, and that's proportional to the population):

NORTH CAROLINA
REGION ONE/ WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA (50): Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Yancey

REGION TWO/ CHARLOTTE: Alexander, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Richmond, Rowan, Stanly, Union, Watauga

REGION THREE/ PIEDMONT-TRIAD NORTH CAROLINA: Alamance, Alleghany, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Montgomery, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, Yadkin

REGION FOUR/ SOUTHERN NORTH CAROLINA (39): Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender, Robeson, Scotland

REGION FIVE/ TRIANGLE REGION (176): Chatham, Cumberland, Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Nash, Northampton, Orange, Person, Sampson, Vance, Wake, Warren, Wayne, Wilson

REGION SIX/ COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Gates, Greene, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Washington

MICHIGANNORTHERN MICHIGAN: Alcona, Alger, Alpena, Antrim, Baraga, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Clare, Crawford, Delta, Dickinson, Emmet, Gogebic, Grand Traverse, Houghton, Iosco, Iron, Kalkaska, Keweenaw, Lake, Leelenau, Luce, Mackinac, Manistee, Marquette, Mason, Mecosta, Menominee, Missaukee, Montmorency, Newaygo, Oceana, Ogemaw, Ontonagon, Osceola, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Schoolcraft, Wexford

WEST/SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN: Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, Kent, Muskegon, Ottawa, St Joseph, Van Buren

CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Jackson, Lenawee, Montcalm

EAST CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Arenac, Bay, Genesee, Gladwin, Huron, Lapeer, Midland, Saginaw, Sanilac, Shiawassee, Tuscola

OAKLAND COUNTY: Just Oakland County

MACOMB COUNTY: Just Macomb County

WAYNE COUNTY: People who live in Wayne County, but not in the City of Detroit

CITY OF DETROIT: People who live in the City of Detroit

REMAINDER OF DETROIT MSA: Livingston, Monroe, St Clair, Washtenaw

Margin of Error of the Brogan Survey

The Brogan Survey is a 600-person telephone survey. As a result, the simple answer to the margin of error question is +/-4% at a 95% confidence level. If that's the answer you need, then you're all set.

Many people don't really understand margin of error, which is surprising, since Statistics classes where just ooohhhh so fascinating. The +/-4% that you see in the paper all the time is the worst case scenario for the margin of error. That's the margin when 50% of people answer a question yes and 50% answer no. So the actual split is somewhere between 50/50 and 46/54 either way.

As the population gets more united in any answer (for or against something), the margin of error decreases!

• So if 60% agree in a Brogan survey question, the margin is 3.92%
• If 70% agree, the margin of error is 3.67%
• If 80% agree, the margin of error is 3.2%
• If 90% agree, the margin of error is 2.4%
• If 99% agree, the margin of error is 0.8%

Bored yet? No? Ok, glutton, here comes your punishment...

Some people ask how 600 people can accurately represent the 8 million or so people in each state we survey in... Well, they can't entirely accurately, which is why you have margin of error in a survey. But if you jumped up to interviewing 1,100 people, the margin of error would only reduce to 3%--and the survey costs way more to conduct. And that's, well, bad, mostly for us...

But the fact is that even if you interviewed 1 million people, the numbers won't change too much either way. That is, unless you did a survey that was really poorly designed, so that all callers were very much alike. But if you do a true, random-digit dial phone survey, where all areas of the state are equally represented, and ethnic breakdown matches the state, and income breakdowns are accurate (like we do), you get a pretty good idea of what the entire state is thinking.

If you're not bored yet, you're a stronger person than I am...

Why Does Brogan Conduct the Brogan Survey?

Our philosophy as an agency can be summed up by a quote from Professor Robert Lauterborn, the chair of the advertising department at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the author of Integrated Marketing Communications, who said:

"The only sustainable source of competitive advantage is superior knowledge of the customer."

So, for our clients to win, we have to be better at understanding their customers than anyone else. That's why we invest so heavily in secondary research tools. To supplement that, we decided to conduct our own original research in our primary business markets: Michigan and North Carolina. The Brogan Survey was born out of that idea.

We have no vested interest in the answers to these questions. We're not advocating for a particular position, product or candidate. We're simply working to understand the mood of the consumer in markets that are key to us and to many of our clients.

Please let us know what you think of the survey using the comments field.

Introducing the Brogan Survey

Coming mid-May 2007, the Brogan Survey will ask consumers in North Carolina and consumers in Michigan a series of questions to gauge their attitudes on the economy, health care, business and marketing issues and current events.

The Brogan Survey is a statewide, 600-person, random digit dial telephone survey conducted by human interviewers, not robo-calls. The survey is statistically valid, with the sample stratified to ensure a representative sample of all areas of the state proportional with actual population distribution.

The Brogan Survey debuts in May of 2007 with the first North Carolina poll. The first Michigan poll will take place in June of 2007. The Brogan Survey will be conducted six times a year (three in Michigan, three in North Carolina).

We'll use this blog to share the results with the blogosphere. We hope you enjoy. Please leave a comment to let us know your thoughts.