Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.trends From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: trends Thu, Mar 12 1992 Date: Thu, 12 Mar 92 05:46:03 EST Message-ID: 03-12 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update March 12, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network PEPSI BREWS NEW PRODUCTS: Seems that everything but soft drinks are brewing among soft-drink makers these days. PepsiCo this week said it would market Canadian spring water Avalon. Earlier this year, PepsiCo started distributing Ocean Spray juices and Lipton ready-to-drink iced tea in an effort to be a "total beverage" company. And two rivals also see iced tea as a potentially hot product. (For more, see special Drinks package below.) LEGALIZED GAMBLING A HIT: Gambling fever has caught on in Colorado. Gambling was legalized in three Colorado towns last year, and now 27 other communities are trying to get in on the gambling profits. The communities have embarked on petition campaigns for a spot on the November ballot to expand limited stakes poker, black jack and slots. Some $32 million has been raised in the towns in four months since legalization. MORE NATIONAL PARKS RECYCLING: Everglades National Park in Florida recently became the sixth to join the park system's recycling program, which later this year will add the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The 2-year-old program last year recycled 220 tons of plastic, aluminum and glass from visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Acadia, Yosemite and Mount Rainier national parks. RECESSION PUSHES UP TV VIEWING: Network TV viewing levels are up and the economic downturn could be the reason. Last month, for the first time in 15 years, network TV's share of viewers rose, from 62% in February 1991 to 63%, while cable's fell from 19% to 16%. Networks like to think this is because of quality programming. But CBS ratings chief David Poltrack admits, "The recession keeps people indoors." PROGRAMS GEARED TO LOWER CLASS: Gerald Celente of the Socio-Economic Research Institute in Rhinebeck, N.Y., which studies trends, says the recession is keeping people in front of the TV set. "There are two factors," he says. People have less discretionary income, but also, "most of the programming is geared toward the lower economic end and the growing lower class is more apt to watch television." ANYONE CAN BE LIKE WAYNE: Wayne Campbell brought his world to local access TV in "Wayne's World," now a hit film. And just about anyone can do it. "You just pay your $35 and you're on," says hairdresser Le Maire, whose "Unwind With the Sweeties" ran for nearly two years on Los Angeles cable. Many cable systems charge no fees. Public-access cable users provide 10,000 hours of programming a week. CONDOMS SOLD AT CONCERTS: Condoms, the blockbuster souvenir at U2 concerts, could become rock merchandising's next sensation. On its current Zoo TV Tour, the Irish band is selling Achtung Baby condoms, named after its hot-selling album. The two-condom package sells for $3, with some proceeds going to AmFAR, Amnesty International, Rock the Vote and Greenpeace. CARRAGEENAN IN HOT DOG MARKET: A hot dog made with carrageenan is the latest entry into the low-fat weenie war, which claimed 30% of frankfurter sales last year. Vienna Sausage Manufacturing Co.'s Deli-Lite, using carrageenan to bind beef, water and flavorings, will be introduced in May. Reduced-fat dogs already on the market include Hormel's Light & Lean; ConAgra's Healthy Choice; and Oscar Meyer's low-fat dogs. AUTO ACS GO CFC-FREE: Automakers have begun making cars that don't use ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons in their air conditioners. Ford Motor Co. has begun making CFC-free Tauruses. And several of Mercedes-Benz's 18 models feature CFC-free air conditioners. Instead, they use a less-efficient chemical, HFC-134a. By the end of the 1994 model year, all new cars and light trucks are expected to be CFC-free. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON DRINKS: COMPANIES TEST ICED TEA: In addition to PepsiCo's distribution of Nestea ready-to-drink iced tea, there's Coca-Cola, which started test-marketing Nestea in January with Swiss company Nestle. Root-beer maker A&W Brands has followed with plans to market Tetley iced tea with Allied-Lyons of Great Britain. The companies "can leverage (existing) distribution systems," says PaineWebber's Manny Goldman. WATER HAS GROWTH POTENTIAL: Along with ready-to-drink iced tea, bottled water has a strong potential for growth. Analysts expect that soft-drink consumption will increase 2.5% a year through 2002. But the International Bottled Water Association expects that bottled-water sales will flow much more quickly, about 9% per year for the next decade. `A LOT OF TEA': There are no estimates for growth in iced-tea revenue - now about $450 million a year in the USA - but the market is virtually untapped. "People don't want to drink soft drinks all the time, so tea can be a good business," says Goldman. "If you can achieve a 1% share of the carbonated-soft-drink market, you're talking 80 million cases a year. That's a lot of tea." (End of package.) Trends & Marketing Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. 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