Free Stuff: Reports, Presentations, and White Papers
Periodically, the VALS™ team offers complimentary copies of reports, presentations, or white papers to the general public. We invite you to download any of the following materials that are of interest. Please keep in mind that these materials are for your information only, and that by downloading them, you agree to the following limited use terms:
- You may not use downloaded material or include it—in whole or in part—within a larger document that you intend to publish until you have completed and submitted a VALS™ Reprint Permission Form and have received permission to do so.
- You may not resell downloaded material in whole or in part to a third party.
- All intellectual-property rights of materials that you download are owned by Strategic Business Insights.
Please contact us to discuss how to become a VALS client and apply these insights to your business.
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US Consumer Confidence: The Bulls and The Bears [November 2011]
Consumer confidence numbers indicate the health of the US economy; swings are predictors of consumer demand. Which consumers are optimistic (bulls), which consumers are pessimistic (bears), and which consumers are most likely to have lost confidence?
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In Search of Contributors[May 2011]
For many organizations that rely on donations and contributions, the past two years have been difficult. At minimum, almost two-thirds of all organizations report fewer gifts; at least the same proportion report smaller gifts. At the same time, 68% of surveyed organizations report an increase in the demand for services.
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A Primer about Evolving Media Channels[October 2010]
Media choice continues to expand at the same time that many companies' marketing and media budgets remain flat—at best—and competition increases for consumer dollars. As a result, many companies charge their advertising agencies to spend their ad dollars more prudently than in the past. But what is the best way to do that?
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VALS™ FAQs[August 2010]
This document provides answers to the most frequently asked questions about VALS™.
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VALS™ Brochure[updated June 2010]
The VALS™ Brochure is a convenient reference document about VALS. It highlights VALS features and benefits, applications, segments, and history. Companies often use printed copies of the brochure to introduce new or prospective users to VALS.
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Highlights: Young Adults and the Financial Crisis[February 2010]
How are young adults—an increasingly difficult group to reach—reacting to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? The ongoing financial and economic crisis has left few households unscathed, and the effects of this downturn on adults across the country are widespread. Young adults are taking action by making a concerted effort to cut back on spending and live within their means.
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Garbage In, Garbage Out: Survey-Question Design[February 2010]
Gathering valid survey data that can be acted upon with confidence requires a careful approach to survey question design. When companies field surveys without paying attention to survey questions, the most important ingredients to any marketing strategy may be suboptimal. Considering the kinds of effects and decisions about survey questions presented in this white paper can significantly increase the return on investment when conducting marketing research.
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GeoVALS™: Connecting Motivations with Geography[January 2009]
This free study (updated with 2008 data) provides a brief overview of GeoVALS™ and highlights topline findings from analysis by the VALS research team.
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The Economy and Consumers' Emotions[April 2009]
In mid-February 2009, SBI recontacted 1556 households that participated in the 2008–09 MacroMonitor—a comprehensive, macroeconomic survey of U.S. households. The benchmark study also included questions to allow SBI consultants to help clients understand consumers' emotional states and how emotions link to attitudes and behaviors.
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The Use of Focus Groups in Research[December 2008]
This white paper points out several key considerations for companies conducting focus-group research and provides some words of caution. The paper also suggests ways in which companies can decide whether focus groups are appropriate for the research task at hand. The overall goal of this paper is to stimulate practitioners to become more selective in the use of the method.
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Benchmarks and Trends in Landline, Cell-Phone, and Internet Coverage of U.S. Adults[November 2007]
A variety of recent research findings indicate that landline-phone coverage of the adult population is on the decline. Such findings have sparked debate about how best to represent the adult population in research, given that the gold standard has been to contact people through landlines by means of a random-digit-dial methodology. Such findings have also been the impetus for overblown claims about who is over- or underrepresented among landline, cell-phone, and Internet universes.
