r=.XTERNALFACTORSTHATAFFECTPLANNING 121
industry, whereincreasinginterestin:Jsingcomputerstoconnect(e-mail,theWeb)
is drivinginterest.ManyAmericanssaythatthesetechnologiesareimprovingthe
qualityoftheirconnections,makingit easiertostayintouchwithfriendsandfam-
ily,and,overall,"makinglifebetter."Thegrowthinconnectionsisreflectedin
personalrelationshipsaswell:Americansarefeelingbetteraboutthefamily and
moreconnectedtotheircommunities.Indeed,satisfactionwithmanyaspectsof
communityis atrecordlevels.ManyarepursuingspiritLlalconnections.Andthis
senseofconnectionisapparentinthemarketplaceaswellincause-relatedmar-
ketinganda greaterdesireforbrandstogobeyondthebasicslikequalityandvalue
(whicharenowexpected)toconnectinnewwayswithconsumers.
- "Diversity/Destiny":Diversityis destinyforAmerica.Andnotjustinsomefa'."-
offfuture.TheU.S.increasinglyis"theworld'snation":ourforeign-bornpopu-
lationhasalmosttripledinthepastthirtyyears.African-Americans, Hispanics,
andotherminoritiesmakeupthemajOlltyofthenation'spopulationgrowthin
thepastdecade-andwillaccountforanevenlargerproportionofthenation's
growthintbedecadetocome.Theresultiscreatingnew,distinctivedemographic
segmentsthatmustbeunderstood.Itisalsochangingsociety.Americaisbecom-
ingmulticultural.Americansaremuchmoreappreciativeofethniccustomsand
traditionscomparedtotwodecadesago.Wherepastgenerationsmayhavedefined
theAmericancharacterintermsofpioneerheritage,Americanstodayseestrength
inourstatusas"ameltingpot."Indeed,beinga meltingpotis nowseen<'$a core
sourceofAmerica'sgreatness,almostequaltotheworkethic, thefreeenterprise
system,theConstitutionandsystemofgovernment,andthenation'snaturalsplen-
dor.Multiculturalismdefinesthenation's tastesinareasfromfoodtopopularmusic.
RoperanalysisshowsthatAmericanssharemanybasicvaluesandconcernsacross
racialandethnicgroups.A:thesa:netime,thedatasuggestthattherecontinue
tobemanydistincjon~aswell.Tosucceedinthisyearofdiversity/destiny,mar-
ketersneedtoknowbothsides.
- "Marketingbylifestage":Marketershavetraditionallyreliedonstandarddemo-
graphicstounderstandandpredictconsumerbehavior.Ourresearchshows, how-
ever,thatlifestagecanbea morepowerfulpredictorofconsumerattitudesand
behaviorthantraditionaldemographicanalysis.Forexample,a 49-year-oldwoman
startinga secondmarriageandsecondcareermayhavemoreincommonwitha
29-year-oldwomanstartingherfirstmarriageandfirstcareerthanshedoeswith
another49-year-oldwomanwhoselastchildjustmovedoutofthehouseClas-
sifyingAmericansbythelifeeventstheyhaveexperienced,ratherthanbydemo-
graphictraits,canyieldinsightsandunderstandingintoa marketthatmight
otherwisehavebeenoverlooked.InconjunctionwithModemMaturity,Roperhas
identifiedsevenlifestagesegmentsthatdemonstratetheappealandrewardsof
marketingtoconsumersbylifestage.
