I recently saw a great example from Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill showing how to request a boatload of subscriber information in a seemingly unobtrusive and gentle fashion. The key is to make your subscribers feel needed, appreciated, and welcomed when they read your emails and when they divulge their personal secrets. In the case of Rubio’s, they did not even have to give me a coupon or discount to encourage my participation. (I would note that offering a discount can be helpful in other situations, though.)

Rubio’s sent me an email asking me to join an exclusive panel where I could share my opinions and advise the restaurant on what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong, and what they need to be doing better. This in itself is a great idea and goes well beyond the typical subscriber survey.

Once I clicked through the email I was sent to a page where I updated my demographics, answered a bunch of questions, and joined the panel. The questions went well beyond the typical demographics such as date of birth, gender, and location. They also asked my marital status, eating habits, education level, how many kids I have, how large my bank account is, plus much more. In other words, they asked me enough questions to make the US Census jealous!

The end result for me was that I did not feel like I was being hounded for information. And who knows, it might be kind of fun to see where this advisory panel idea goes. Rubio’s is doing something different in email marketing. Even the subject line – “An Exclusive Invitation for You” – was well thought-out, taking the approach of offering value (improved customer experience) rather than asking for something.

• Seventy-one percent of new TV buyers in 2009 reported purchasing either an LCD or plasma TV, more than double the rate in 2006
• Nearly half of all TV buyers reported that the screen size of their most recent purchase was 40 inches or larger
• Between 2006 and 2009, ownership of VCRs among US households dropped 13% to 79%. Meanwhile, DVR ownership doubled
• The most popular mobile function today is taking pictures, which 70% of mobile phone owners do each month
• Video gaming among adults grew a relative 9% between 2007 and 2009, with half of almost all adults now saying they own or play games

• Over the past year, all modes of transportation, except for buses, have seen a decrease in the percentage of vacationing Americans using them for travel. This likely due to the fact that fewer Americans are vacationing away from home.

• Thirty-two percent of Americans who vacationed domestically within the last 12 months are enrolled in at least one frequent flyer program.
• Southwest tops the list of airline companies on which domestic vacationers flew during the last 12 months.
• The South Atlantic region is the top domestic destination among Americans who traveled for vacation in the last year, followed by the Pacific and Mountain states. Fewer than 10% of American vacationers traveled to New England last year.

• Seventy-five percent of all U.S. Adults say they eat chocolate or hard candy.
• Ninety-six percent of American children ages 6 to 11 say they eat chocolate or hard candy with little difference across age groups. Older kids, though, indulge more frequently than their younger friends.
• Specifically, kids ages 10 and 11 are 16 percent more likely than the average kid to say that they eat 6 or more servings of candy per month. Young children ages 6 and 7 who are most reliant on their parents for their candy supply are the least likely to have 6 or more servings a month.

• The most liked brands differ greatly by age group, with 5th Avenue as the top choice for children that are 6 and 7 years of age, Nutrageous for 8-9 year olds and Nestle Treasures for children ages 10 and 11.

Experian Simmons reviewed data from its Spring 2009 National Consumer Study/National Hispanic Consumer Study to gain insight on Americans who play in fantasy sports leagues. For this report, this consumer is defined as being very or somewhat interested in the NFL and having participated in a sports fantasy league in the last 12 months. Certain trends were uncovered specific to this group, including:

• Fans that work full-time and are employed by others are the Americans most likely to have participated in a fantasy sports league during the last 12 months.
• Those who are most likely to have participated in a fantasy sports league are between the ages of 18 and 44; and close to a third of them are between 25 and 34 years old.
• They are most likely to have never been married.

• More of these Americans live in the Midwest in a residence they own rather than rent. Furthermore, they are most likely to live in a house rather than in a condominium/co-op/apartment or mobile home.
• These consumers are so tech-savvy that their friends turn to them for advice on electronic equipment and are 80% more likely than the average adult to be electronic product trendsetters.
• According to Experian Hitwise, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football is the number one website these Americans visit for their fantasy football needs – making up about half of the total visits to this custom category.

Source: National Consumer Study/National Hispanic Consumer Study Spring 2009 Full Year