stiff competition faced by major jeans marketers from upstarts

Blacks get wired

Bhicks outspent whites nearly 2 to 1 on on-line

services in 1996, paying just under $10.2 million

to America Online, CompuServe, and

otber service providers, says an advance from

"Tbe BuyingPowerof Black America," an annual

study from Target Market News, Chicago.

Additionally, black spending growth on computer

hardware and software eased in 1996

after doubling every year from 199.? to 1995,

gaining $44 million to total $741 million.

The forthcoming report also reveals that

tbe market for apparel and related services

among blacks grew more than 10% last year,

to reach $21.3 billion. Tbe largest category

increases were in clotbing for boys aged 2 to

15, and women 16 and older.

Bluegrass branding

Aiming to l)oost Kentucky's $50 million fruitand-

vegetable industry, the state's Department

of Agriculture recently unveiled a new

logo tbat will tell consumers tbe produce tbey

buy was grown in tbe bluegrass state. The

logo is part of an effort to brand the state's

agricultural products for consumers and

wbolesalers, and will be available free of

cbarge to farmers wbo meet departmental

standards.

Tbe symbol shows a stylized plant in the

center of a circle, surrounded by the words

"Kentucky" and "W^ere quality grows." Future

variations will promote Kentucky

Cbristmas trees and greenbouse products, a

spokesman said.

China comes to L.A.

China will ojicn A LOS Angeles brancb of

Hairun International Advertising to promote

Chinese products in tbe U.S., according to

tbe China Biisiness Daily, Beijing. Hairun's

new office will market Cbinese goods to Chinese-

Americans and Chinese nationals living

in tbe U.S.; tbe firm also bopes to promote

American products in China. The agency's

first promotion will be for a Chinese-made

sbampoo featuring a blend of natural ingredients

and berbal extracts tbat is "expected to

appeal to U.S. consumers," said Hairun

chairman Liu Yanming.

Nielsen may face SMART competitor

Rivalry brings change

to ratings research

By Tim Triplett

Tim Triplett is a free-lance writer based

in St. Charles, ill.

If TV network executives are to be

believed, Nielsen Media Services is an

arrogant monopolist. If Nielsen is to be believed,

the TV networks are simply blaming

the messenger for delivering had news

about the viewership they've lost to cable.

Wbile the truth undoubtedly lies somewhere

in between, the negatively charged

debate ahout TV ratings ha.s resulted in a

re-examination of audience measurement

technology and methodolog}'.

At the center of the dehate is the possibility'

that a new national TV^ rating service

could be launched in the next few years,

bringing competition to a market that

Nielsen has had almost entirely to itself for

decades.

Statistical Research Ine. (SRI), Westfield,

N.J., has heen testing its new Systems for

Measuring and Reporting Television

(SMART) since mid-1996 in 500 Philadelphia-

area homes. So far, the system has

only been used to measure "homes using

TV" (the number of homes that have sets

on) and "persons using TV" (how many

people are watching them).

This month, SRI plans to begin installing

decoders that will record what programs

those people are watching. Once all

the decoders are in place, SRI can begin

"The television

environment is putting

a strain on current

measurement methodSj

and we need to look at

new options for the

future."

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