Citizens View on NC Leaders Slightly Different than MI

In recent surveys conducted both in North Carolina and Michigan by Brogan & Partners, it was found that southerners and mid-westerners seem to think alike when it comes to their state’s leaders. When asked to rank how well civic group leaders, business leaders, education leaders, and elected leaders are serving their states, the North Carolina public gave out mediocre but passing grades, while Michigan citizens were slightly less satisfied. Despite the difference among the individual grades, however, these states both agree that civic group leaders are doing the best while they are least pleased with elected officials.

To read the North Carolina press release on this issue, visit Brogan's website.

Although there is a direct correlation between the level of grades given in both North Carolina and Michigan, respondents gave differing opinions when asked which one group they think is the most important in helping their state’s economy grow. In the mid-west, the public found elected officials to be the most important, while North Carolinians chose education leaders.

As Jim Tobin said in the press release, “[The overall survey numbers] suggest that most people aren’t wildly unhappy with elected leaders, but they seem to be asking for more from them.”

When considering this, it makes sense that Michigan citizens believe them to be the most important in helping their economy grow. However, when examining North Carolina’s results, it seems a bit odd that their respondents graded elected officials the lowest, yet found business leaders the most creative and education leaders the most important.

So, what exactly does North Carolina want from their elected officials? They believe they are serving the state poorly, but they do not find them to be all that creative or important in helping their economy grow.

What do you think? How can these results be explained?

North Carolina to Leaders: Take Drought Seriously

Survey results from the Brogan Survey released today show that 85% of North Carolinians think the drought in our state is serious or extremely serious. (Click on the chart below to enlarge it.)


You can read the full press release here.

71.8% said more needs to be done, while only 1.3% said that less needs to be done. 20.3% felt that enough was being done to address drought conditions.

75% indicate they are personally cutting back, versus 23.5% who are not.

The likelihood that a North Carolinian considers the drought serious increases as you move West. This is most evident when you compare our regional breakdown with the map of current drought conditions shown here.

In our survey, here are the percentage of people in each region who classified the drought as "extremely serious":

• Western: 52.0%
• Charlotte: 56.7%
• Piedmont: 48.7%
• Southern: 38.5%
• Triangle: 46.0%
• Coastal: 31.7%
  

Here in Raleigh, starting next Tuesday, we can only water our lawn once a week. That restriction was reported in the paper on 8/23, the same day we were finishing up our calls, which started Monday, 8/20. Most were completed prior to that news being widely known.

Have you cut back? Is Raleigh doing enough? Is Charlotte? How about in the mountains?

Let us know what you think.

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?

Sticking With The Store

When making a purchase of over $200, most North Carolinians almost always purchase products at the store. 27.5% of them will compare store prices and internet prices to see which has the better deal, and 18.8% will do product research on the Internet, but generally purchase products from a store.

47.6% of respondents in North Carolina answered "I almost always purchase products from a store" when asked "when you are thinking of making a major purchase of more than $200, which of the following statements best describes you?" and given five choices.

Notably, only 6.4% of 18-24 year olds said they do internet research and purchase at the store. 20.4-23.8% people in age groups that ranged from 25 to 64 year olds picked the answer that indicated this.

A purchase of the new iPhone may warrant a different answer since it is in such high demand, or does it? If you knew it was being sold on ebay for cheaper, would you buy it online instead of at an apple store? How about with your other $200+ purchases, like furniture, etc? How do you go about purchasing those things?

Drugs or Obesity? Different Age Groups Disagree About Biggest Health Threats

America has huge health concerns. That's nothing new. From bigger proportions of fast food, to drug abuse, to binge drinking, to eating disorders, we know we are in bad shape. Not all of us agree, however, on what the greatest threat to public health in the state of North Carolina is.

You may be interested in findings from the Brogan Survey that reveal which of four choices--obesity, smoking, alcohol or drugs-- people find are the greatest threat to health. Overall, 38% felt drug abuse is the greatest threat, followed by 30.8% who felt obesity is more of a concern. What may be the most interesting though, is how people in various age groups answered differently.

People ages 18-24 were the most likely to say obesity is the greatest threat to health-- 40.4% of them-- and least likely to say drugs are the biggest problem, 29.8%. People 65 and older answered in just the opposite way, being least likely of any other group (23.9%) to answer obesity and most likely to answer drugs (46.9%) when asked what the greatest health concern is.

Does that seem odd to anyone else? Aren't fingers typically pointed at teenagers and young adults for drug abuse? Aren't older people more likely to be less active and gain weight with age?

Our findings can suggest a variety of things. Do you think the older population overestimates drug abuse in the state or country? Is this because of the media's portrayal of young people? Are younger people more attuned to the obesity problem? Do they learn about it in school or base the level of health threat on people they know, indicating more overweight friends than drug addicts?

Nifong's Investigator To Lose His Job

You thought it was close to over, but it's not. The infamous Duke Lacrosse Case and the chaos that surrounds it is not out of the limelight yet. Its focus, for a brief moment, is on someone other than Nifong.

The News & Observer reported today that Linwood Wilson, Nifong's chief investigator, will not be employed at the Durham district attorney's office tomorrow. Wilson was a big part of the lacrosse case.

We wonder what would happen if we gave the Brogan Survey to North Carolinians now. Would their faith in the state's justice system be different than it was in May? Then, 64.6% of respondents felt the justice system in North Carolina "usually gets it right". Do you think some of those people will join the 22% who answered "usually gets it wrong"? How about you? Where do you stand?

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.

Women and African Americans Most Likely to Use Advertisements to Stay Informed

As may be expected, females pay more attention to advertisements for informational purposes than do males. According to the Brogan Survey, 39.7% of North Carolina women pay attention to stay informed and 33.1% pay attention when making purchases. Men in North Carolina, on the other hand, are slightly more likely to pay attention to ads when making purchases (35.3% of them) but less likely to pay attention just to stay informed--only 27.7% of them reported doing that.

Instead of getting into the psychological topics of why that might be, let's stick with talking about advertisements. They are at the top of their game even in the midst of a "leave me alone and just give me my coffee" type of society. Now, stop and think about the commercial you always loved or can't get out of your head. Maybe it's the "Can you hear me know? Good" commercials , the old Budweiser commercials or the Geico commercials. Do you remember the message they were sending? Did they inform you? Do you ever actively seek out advertisements to stay up-to-date on new products or services?

Other survey findings show that African Americans are more likely to pay attention to advertisements to stay informed than Caucasians;40.1% as compared to 29.8%. When interested in making a purchase, however, only 27.6% of African Americans pay attention to ads while 38.8% of Caucasians do.

Do you have any ideas why that might be? Are you surprised about our findings?

In a High-Tech Society, Advertisements Still Doing Their Job

These days it's rare to meet someone who doesn't use the internet, ad blocking software or TiVo. If you don't own a TiVo you probably know someone who does and, chances are, you've bummed off that person on more than one occasion. If you don't have ad blocking software well, why not? Maybe you're like many of the North Carolinians we surveyed who value the messages of advertisements.

Remarkably, in this world of increased technology and impatience, advertising still serves as a vital source of information for consumers, according to the people themselves.

That's right. 33.6% of North Carolinians said they pay attention to advertisements to stay informed about new products and services. 34.2% of them pay attention to ads when they need to purchase something.

Also interesting is the breakdown of who pays the most attention to advertising...stay tuned for that information in the Brogan Survey results later this week. But for now, are you surprised that 2/3 of people purposely pay attention to advertisements? Do you?

Not Using iPods?

It's a daily occurrence... laughing at the driver next to you who is ruthlessly bopping his head and belting out that all-too-familiar song. But, apparently, he's probably just jamming to the radio.

Even though electronic stores sell equipment that connect iPods to car stereos, people still claim that they do not use an iPod or similar MP3 to listen to music. That's not just limited to the car, it includes any other time music is being played.

76.8% of North Carolinians do not use an ipod or similar MP3 to listen to music, according to the Brogan Survey. Over half of the 18-34 year olds claimed they did use such a device, but older respondents responded much more negatively--users accounted for just between 5.3% and 18.9% of their population.

Also interesting was that more males than females claimed to use an iPod or MP3 and more African Americans than Caucasians did as well. 28.7% of males said they use a similar device while only 16% of females do. Just 18.7% of Caucasians said they use an iPod or MP3 device and 27% of African Americans do.

Do these results surprise you? Do you think people in your state would answer differently? Do you use an ipod or MP3? 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.

More Trouble for Nifong

The News & Observer reported today that Nifong may be in more trouble. Superior Court Judge W. Osmond Smith III from the Duke lacrosse case filed a memorandum saying that, besides the N.C. State Bar, he also has the power to discipline Nifong.

The Brogan Survey and findings from its crosstabs show that most North Carolinians want Nifong, prosecutor of the Duke lacrosse case, to have his license revoked. Endless talk about him, the Duke lacrosse case and the N.C. justice system appears all over the virtual world in blogs and forums. Our survey was mentioned here, among many other comments about the situation.

Sure, we all have our doubts about the justice system from time to time. But when a case like this occurs these doubts turn into anger? outrage? bigger questions? lose of hope? How do you feel about the case/Nifong?

What do you think about the filed memorandum and its timing? Does that say something in itself? Tell us what you think...

North Carolinians Support Disbarring Nifong, Brogan Survey Says

According to the Brogan Survey results, 49.2 % of North Carolinians support disbarring Mike Nifong, prosecutor of the Duke Lacrosse case.

The case certainly raised eyebrows and called North Carolina's justice system into question. As the case and its implications became hot topics across the United States, we thought it would be revealing to ask questions about perceptions of the justice system in North Carolina.

Results showed that 64.6% of respondents felt the justice system "usually gets it right" while 22% felt it "usually gets it wrong". What is particularly interesting is that many more Caucasians answered "usually gets it right" (71%) than African Americans (50.7%).

30.9% of African Americans answered "usually gets it wrong" as compared to only 19% of Caucasians responding that way.

Finally, the divide in support for revoking Nifong's license is quite staggering when race is factored in. More than double the amount of Caucasians support revoking his license--57.3% compared to 25.7% of African Americans.

Just another interesting tidbit discovered from the survey. How do you feel about the justice system? The Duke Lacrosse case? Do you think there are implications to the varying opinions between races?

Strong Support for Smoking Ban Varies By Age and Gender

When asked "would you support or oppose a ban on smoking in North Carolina restaurants and bars?" responses varied depending on age of the person answering. According to the Brogan Survey results, only 27.7% of 18-24 year olds would "strongly support" such a ban. All other age groups had between 43% and 50% of their respondents selecting "strongly support" as their answer to that same question.

Another interesting finding from the survey is that many more women strongly support the ban than do men. 53.3% of women said they would "strongly support" the ban on smoking in North Carolina restaurants and bars while just 38.3% of men answered the same way.

For a full crosstab of the results, click on the link.

Is there a reason why young adults and women seem to have stronger feelings about supporting the ban? What do you think?

Gas Prices Still Soaring

Gas prices in North Carolina averaged a little over $2.83 one month ago, just before respondents completed the Brogan Survey. Based on that price, 59% of respondents told us they had been forced to postpone other purchases. Fast forward to today and the average cost of regular unleaded gas in North Carolina is nearly $3.15, according to AAA's Media Site for retail gasoline prices. That is a $0.32 increase in just four weeks! What does this mean for North Carolinians? Our guess is that the 26.8% who said they didn't intend to change how much they drive this summer will be reconsidering.

Different parts of the state are being affected pretty evenly, with Charlotte, the Triangle and Fayetteville all seeing an increase of $0.31 in the last month. The national average of regular unleaded gas was up to $3.22 as of Monday, coming up $0.12 in the past week.

With no sign of a slowdown in price increase, what will people do? It'll be interesting to see how Memorial Day Weekend turns out; catching up on LOST episodes instead of driving to the beach anyone?

TV Show Cancellation Wishes Vary by NC Region

In yesterday's post, we shared the data on which popular TV shows North Carolina residents surveyed would cancel first. Today, we look at that data by region of the state, and there are significant differences.

• American Idol has a lot of haters in the Southern region, where 19.4% of respondents would tube that show. That's a sharp contrast to their neighbors to the north, where only 1.8% of Coastal residents would get rid of the show.
• The Coastal folks don't like 24 much. They were the most likely region to pick that show to cancel, at 8.8%. The Southern region disagrees again, where only 2.8% would cancel 24.
• The Charlotte region wants to vote Survivor off the island. 24.7% are done with that show. Only 8.3% in the Southern region feel the same...most of them continue to give the show the immunity necklace.
• Speaking of islands, the Southern region also had 19.4% of folks wanting to get rid of Lost, putting it in a tie in that region with Idol. Charlotte has the most Lost fans, with only 6.5% choosing to cancel Locke, Kate, Jack and Sawyer.
• Nobody got too worked up about canceling E.R. (Now it could be because most people thought it was canceled years ago, but that's just us talking here...). The North Central region had 7.1% in favor of taking the show off life support. In contrast, the Western region had nobody (0.0%) give their votes to snuffing out E.R.
• CSI didn't have many people eager to investigate it, either. The Charlotte region at 3.9% slightly edged out the Triangle (3.7%) and the the Coastal (3.5%) region. The North Central folks came in lowest, at 0.9%.
• Everyone saved their animosity for Desperate Housewives, which might just prove that the brightest stars also flame out most brilliantly. The Coastal region kept their powder dry from other shows and used it here, with 40.4% saying they are tired of Wisteria Lane. The Southern region of the state was kindest, coming in at 25.0% who were no longer mourning the passing of Mary Alice.

With the American Idol finale going tonight, we may head to the Southern region, where we're confident it won't be showing... But hey, that's just us...

NC Says: Please cancel "Desperate Housewives"!

At the Brogan Survey we like to ask the occasional fun question as well as the serious ones, just to mix it up a bit.

This North Carolina survey asked 600-people: "If you were a network television executive and you had to cancel one show, which of the following shows would you cancel first?" We rotated the orders of choices so as not to have any bias in the order they were read.

Desperate Housewives "won" in a landslide, meaning people in North Carolina are really ready for that show to go... American Idol came in a surprisingly strong third. (Angry Sanjaya fans maybe??)

Here are the results, the most often canceled first:

• Desperate Housewives: 31.5%
• Survivor: 20.2%
• American Idol: 14.2%
• Lost: 11.9%
• Twenty Four (24): 5.6%
• E. R.: 4.1%
• CSI: 3.1%
• Don't know/refused: 9.5%

We think the picture above shows the Housewives mourning their dwindling fame...

The 600-person telephone survey was conducted May 3-7, 2007 for Brogan & Partners by the Glengariff Group of Chicago. The questions were not commissioned by any candidate, company or organization. You can read press releases that came from the larger survey here.

What do you think? Which show would you cancel first? We thought maybe 24 was the most tired show, but the anti "Housewives" crowd came on strong... Do you agree?

Income Optimism Varies

When we asked North Carolinians: "Thinking about six months from now, do you think your income will be higher or lower than it is today? Or do you think your income will be about the same as today?", we got a wide variety of opinions.

Most people in North Carolina thought there incomes would stay the same. However, some interesting breakdowns in the cross tabs. African Americans were more likely than Caucasians to say they expected their income to rise, but they were also much more likely to say they expected it to fall.

Young people were the most optimistic, as might be expected, with a steady consistent leveling off with age. Males were also more optimistic and more pessimistic than females, suggesting a bit more volatility there.

The 600-person telephone survey was conducted May 3-7, 2007 for Brogan & Partners by the Glengariff Group of Chicago. The questions were not commissioned by any candidate, company or organization. You can read press releases that came from the larger survey here.

Piedmont Pessimists

When asked whether they thought the North Carolina economy was stronger, weaker or about the same as the national economy, there was a real variance in opinion by region of the state.

The Piedmont was by far the most pessimistic. In that region, on 8.0% said the N.C. economy was stronger. Contrast that with the Southern region, where 27.8% felt that economy was stronger. The Charlotte region, the Western counties and the Triangle were all 18 or 19%.

Why the Piedmont pessimism? We don't know. Maybe you do. Leave your best guess as a comment.

NC: African Americans Much More Likely to Support Ban on Tobacco

One interesting piece of data from the question about banning smoking in North Carolina entirely, is that African Americans were significantly more likely to support such a ban.

To be specific, the exact question asked was: "Would you support or oppose a North Carolina law that would ban tobacco use entirely?" And then we asked, "And would that be strongly support/oppose, or somewhat support/oppose."

Here's how the answers differed by race:

Caucasian:

• Strongly support 17.9%
• Somewhat support 8.4%
• Somewhat oppose 15.8%
• Strongly oppose 54.9%

African American:

• Strongly support 28.9%
• Somewhat support 6.6%
• Somewhat oppose 19.7%
• Strongly oppose 42.8%

So 35.5% of North Carolina African-Americans would support a complete ban on tobacco in the state, versus 26.3% of Caucasians. And the opposition is softer among African-Americans as well.

There's a lot of interesting data in this survey. Watch the blog for more data, or better yet, use the tool to the right to subscribe so you can see the latest at a glance...

Most importantly, share your comments... No log-in required. They can be anonymous...