We take another look at some of May’s research-backed stories from the ResponseSource Press Release Wire.

Tech security

1) A big theme this month is data protection – security company BullGuard found theft of personal information was the biggest online security concern for 87% of its customers, just ahead of viruses (84%), phishing emails (69%) and ransomware (67%). One in ten without paid security software had suffered cyber fraud.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93221/one-in-ten-brits-have-been-victims-of-cyber-fraud/

2) Those concerns are likely to grow as we link more and more aspects of our lives to the internet. Another survey by BullGuard found that 70% of consumers had concerns about privacy invasion by Internet of Things-linked devices, and 23% admitted lacking the technical ability to secure their smart home products.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93355/bullguard-launches-dojo-the-world-s-most-comprehensive-smart-home/

3) Even large organisations, with IT departments to provide support and training, can be as vulnerable as you and me and our talking fridges. Data security and recovery provider Code42 tells us that 75% of CEOs admit to using software without their IT department’s approval – even though almost all of them (91%) are well aware of the security risks involved.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93247/three-quarters-of-ceos-admit-to-using-unapproved-programs-and/

4) And Centrify says any such data breaches are no longer just something for the IT department to worry about, as they can mean both customers and investors lose confidence in the affected company. 27% of consumers say they’ve discontinued their relationship with an organisation that experienced a data breach, and the same research identified a 5% decline in share prices following the disclosure of breaches in 113 publicly traded companies.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93274/protecting-data-no-longer-just-an-it-problem-according-to/

5) Data breaches may be particularly damaging to customer confidence because we place such a lot of trust in organisations to look after our information in the first place. In the same Centrify research, 77% of consumers say they trust banking institutions to protect personal data, followed by healthcare providers (68%). Hard stares all round for other organisations though – credit card companies are only trusted to care for data by 26% of consumers, although they are ahead of social media providers (19%) and airlines (11%). Worst of all are the utilities companies helping us access all these services – only 8% of us think they’re switched on to data security.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93271/study-shows-two-thirds-of-customers-trust-healthcare-providers-to-protect/

Still from Code42’s CTRL-Z Study press release

Also read...

Stereotypes, savings, security, students and social media - stats from June on the Press Release Wire

11 Jul 2017

Technology at home

6) Our reliance on technology causes physical headaches too – The Eye Doctor found 40% suffered reoccurring headaches, tired eyes, dry eyes and fatigue from spending an average 12 hours in front of some kind of screen each day. Lots more tech usage stats on:
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93208/brits-spend-nearly-half-a-year-glued-to-screens/

7) That unhealthy relationship with tech starts young, with more than half of children owning one or more social media account, and 41% of parents unaware that most social media specify that members should be 13 or older. A worrying 85% of parents don’t have any monitoring in place on their children’s use of devices or accounts, says MyFamilyClub.co.uk which is promoting National Unplugging Day on 25 June.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93171/children-as-young-as-holding-social-media-accounts-as-parents/

8) Still, maybe we’re setting a good example for little ones by our own tech usage? Not according to Row.co.uk who says that over a third (35%) of UK mums spend at least 9 hours a day on their gadgets. 21% of mothers said their children would be using their own gadgets during that time. More than half say that the children’s ideal pastime would be playing outside or with their parents.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93253/are-you-a-socia-media-lite-mum-/

9) If the above research has left you scratching your head over what dads are up to while mum and kids are on Facebook, you might want to check it’s not head lice that your little angels have brought home. Two thirds of children will catch head lice at least once during childhood, says the Institute of Mums. Over 1.6 million head lice infestations occur every year in the UK among children aged 4 to 11 years, with peak age at 7-8 years. Such is the psychological effect of talking about head lice that 69% of all survey respondents said they felt itchy while taking the survey.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93183/two-thirds-of-kids-in-uk-will-catch-head-lice/

10) Back to the gadgets, only 11% of us say devices helped us feel content, according to Everest, in a release based on the Danish concept “hygge”. Only 22% of can define it, but 98% of us say our homes affect our sense of well-being – a list of hygge habits is included in: http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93256/brits-secret-love-affair-with-hygge-revealed/

11) Other ingredients for a happy home include natural light (26.4% consider this fundamental to a house) and large safe garden (19.8%) according to doors, windows and blinds company Origin:
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93134/natural-light-tops-the-must-have-poll-for-family-homes/

12) Just as well light is more important than outside space, as garden tool company Fiskars found many people are short on horticultural experience: 23% of adults in their survey have never mown a lawn or raked leaves, a quarter have never potted a plant and a third have never trimmed a hedge. Many of us are foxed by fuchsias and puzzled by pansies – around half of us can’t identify either of them.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93226/41-is-the-age-britons-officially-get-into-gardening/

Out and about

13) A couple of studies on Britons abroad – Holiday Autos found that the average UK holidaymaker knows only 8 words in the language of the countries they visit, and 27% make no effort to improve their local vocabulary before they go. Trainline has better news though, having identified the “Modern British Traveller”. We prefer not to be called holiday-makers (48% prefer “traveller”), respect local cultures and customs (53% of those surveyed), seek out local beers and wines (39% do this) and favour seeing the sights to partying (57%).
Plenty more travel stats in these two Ginger Comms stories:
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93259/brits-jet-off-on-holiday-knowing-only-eight-words-of/
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93200/are-you-an-mbt-modern-british-traveller-signs-revealed-/

ResponseSource and Collective Content: PR and brand journalism

Back in the boardroom

14) 363,000 small businesses plan to stop trading in the next five years, according to a survey commissioned by business for sale marketplace Bizdaq
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93210/million-uk-jobs-at-risk-in-next-years-as-small/

15) UK investors’ interest in businesses in Australia and Japan has seen growths of 81.6% and 67.72% respectively, although European investment is falling. BusinessesForSale.com has more data from its customer research here:
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93119/brexit-effect-on-business-uk-investments-drop-domestically-dive-in/

16) 30% of professional recruitment leaders believe that Brexit will have an impact on financial performance, says the Association of Professional Staffing Companies:
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93159/professional-recruiters-optimistic-about-growth-despite-brexit-concerns/

17) B2B Marketing has surveyed over 600 marketers and found the average B2B marketing salary has fallen by more than £1500 since 2016 to £46,442, a 3.4% drop. Salaries are better if you’re client-side, in London, generalist, hold a certificate or diploma, or can arrange not to be a woman: the average annual male salary rose to £56,529, the average female salary fell to £42,193.
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93126/salaries-for-b-b-marketers-fall-by-as-gender-pay/

18) We love doing a bit of our own research at ResponseSource too. Our third year of research in to brand journalism with Collective Content has seen polarisation with more people saying both that brand journalists are on a par with traditional journalists (25.8% of PR pros agree), or that they never will be (33.1%). Further insights from over 300 PR professionals in the press release and accompanying report:
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93268/pr-community-torn-over-rise-of-brand-journalism/

19) This has been a bit of a dark round-up with pay gaps, technology addiction and business uncertainty, so we’ll leave you with something lighter from fashion company Long Tall Sally. 76% of adult women lack confidence in their fashion choices, but 78% felt they were confident as a child when it came to choosing outfits, and 96% reported they simply “wore what made them happy” up until the age of 10. The company appointed a bunch of six to eight-year-olds as “Little Stylists” to dress six customers and the resulting video gained them nearly 50,000 views on Facebook:
http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/93144/long-tall-sally-launches-world-s-first-campaign-styled-by/

Long Tall Sally Little Stylists

The ResponseSource Press Release Wire distributes stories from PR agencies, businesses, charities and individuals and all stories are archived for journalists to search. Visit http://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/ whenever you’re researching a story and if you don’t find what you’re looking for, then head to the Journalist Enquiry Service on http://journalistenquiries.responsesource.com/send/