Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!tamsun.tamu.edu!mtecv2!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Newsgroups: usa-today.trends,americast.usa-today.trends Subject: trends Tue, Sep 1 1992 Message-ID: Date: 1 Sep 92 08:40:11 GMT Organization: American Cybercasting Lines: 117 Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com 09-01 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update Sept. 1, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network COMPANIES HELP RELIEF EFFORT: Companies are flooding media fax machines with announcements detailing their efforts for Hurricane Andrew victims. Exxon says it is donating $300,000 to the Red Cross, Chevron says it is giving $200,000. Kelly Services, the nation's largest staffing support company, is providing 200 hours of free temporary help. COMPANIES SEE RETURN: Every time there's a natural or community disaster, businesses respond. But are they giving their time and money out of the goodness of their hearts? "I think there is some human heart involved but rarely will a person give something and never want something back," says Sondra Thiederman, president of Cross-Culturally Communications, a business consulting firm in San Diego. COMPANIES OFFER GAY BENEFITS: Silicon Graphics Inc. said Monday it will extend employee benefits to same-sex partners in the USA. The workstation manufacturer joins a small group of companies, including Lotus, to offer benefits to gay partners. Gay employees and their partners will have to sign an affidavit documenting that they are "spousal equivalents." MAGAZINES DELIVER GAINS: Magazine circulation is picking up. Of almost 500 magazines tracked by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, more than half reported gains the first six months this year from the same period last year. Almost twice as many reported subscription gains than reported losses. And newsstand sales were generally better than a year ago. (For more, see special Circulation package below.) MAGS POPPING UP FAST: Publishers have been pumping out magazines at a red-hot pace this year, says Samir Husni, a journalism professor at the University of Mississippi. But he says the weekly pace of new finds has been frantic. He found 13 or 14 last week and the same number the week before. In July, he estimates, he found more than 100 new magazines. CRAYONS HAVE MORE COLORS: Binney & Smith, maker of Crayola Crayons, has a new set of politically correct colors. My World Colors contains 16 skin, hair and eye colors, including tan, black, mahogany and salmon. Also included: peach, known pre-1962 as flesh. My World Colors was designed for teachers, but the collection piqued consumer interest. The company decided to take the colors retail this summer. ROBOTS MAY REPLACE FARM WORKERS: Japan is trying to replace farm workers with robots. The country's farming population is dropping and more than 30% of its remaining farmers are age 65 or older. Japan's agricultural ministry believes a robotic farm worker could plant and harvest crops under remote control. The country hopes to put the robots to work in the fields by the year 2010. LASERDISC PLAYERS SELLING FAST: Laserdisc players are selling fast. The Electronic Industries Association reports sales are up 27% over last year. More people are buying TV:VCR systems too - sales are up 24% over last year. But the interest in camcorders isn't what it used to be - sales are down 4% from last year. COMPANIES PROFIT FROM DISASTER: Stocks of some companies that would logically benefit from rebuilding efforts in Florida and Louisiana - home builders and building-materials makers - jumped last week. Dycom Industries of West Palm Beach, Fla., which builds electrical stations and service buildings, expects to reap a lot of business. Also doing well: Shingles maker Elcor and home manufacturer Fleetwood Enterprises. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON CIRCULATION: INSIDE HOLLYWOOD DOES WELL: As has been the case for a while, special-interest magazines tended to do better than large, mass-circulation magazines. Among the biggest gains: Inside Hollywood, launched in January 1991, posted the largest percentage gain for the period: Circulation rose 326% to 182,158. Much of that came from promotions through direct-mail agents such as Publishers Clearinghouse. DIFFERENT VIEWS ON JUMP: Frank Herrera, vice president of Hearst magazines, believes newsstand sales may be perking up because the economy is improving slightly and because of a push announced in March by Wal-Mart, the USA's biggest retailer, to expand the magazine space in its stores. Joe Walsh, president of Curtis Publishing, says, "Maybe stuff hasn't been as good on TV the last few months. ONE CATEGORY WAS OFF: Newsweeklies didn't fare well on newsstands. All three were down compared to last year's sales during the Persian Gulf war. On newsstands, Time was off 20%, Newsweek 19% and U.S. News & World Report 18%. But newsstand sales account for only 3% to 6% of the newsweeklies' total circulation. Total circulation was down at all three by smaller amounts. (End of package.) Trends & Marketing Editor: Michele Coleman. (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. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM