Posts tagged with "Morning Consult"

Above, among those wanting to lose weight, 73% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the idea of taking a weight-loss injectable. (Image source: International Probiotics Association)

Despite heavy marketing, most Americans reject the new weight-loss drugs

October 8, 2024

A new national survey has found that—despite intense marketing—most Americans do not want the new weight-loss injectables, such as Wegovy and Ozempic, reports EurekAlert.

The survey of 2,025 American adults was conducted by Morning Consult for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit organization with more than 17,000 physician members.

Asked to respond to the statement, “If I wanted to lose weight, I would rather take an injectable weight-loss drug, rather than make a diet change,” only 23% agreed or strongly agreed, while 62% disagreed or strongly disagreed and another 14% said they were not interested because they did not need to lose weight. Among those wanting to lose weight, 73% disagreed or strongly disagreed with the idea of taking a weight-loss injectable.

In addition, most people who begin the drugs discontinue their use, despite the likelihood of weight regain. In August, Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate Prime Therapeutics reported that fewer than half of users were still using the drugs at six months and fewer than one-third at 12 months. The findings were published in the Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy.

“The new findings do not mean that Americans do not want to lose weight; rather, most would prefer to change their eating habits than inject a medication,” said Neal D. Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee. \

The survey also found that about two-thirds of respondents were interested in plant-based diets. Asked “If a plant-based diet might cause significant weight loss, I would be interested in trying it, at least briefly,” among those who wanted to lose weight, 68% agreed or strongly agreed, while 32% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Research published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that a vegan diet is more effective for weight loss than a Mediterranean diet. The new study compared the diets head to head in a randomized crossover trial and found that a low-fat vegan diet has better outcomes for weight, body composition, insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol levels, compared with a Mediterranean diet.

Research contact: @EurekAlert

Above, former President Donald Trump. (Image source: Damon Winter/The New York Times)

Trump pledges to get revenge on Ron DeSantis’s backers

March 3, 2023

Several former supporters of ex-President Donald Trump attended a donor retreat hosted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the last weekend in February and—after learning who was in attendance—Trump has promised retribution, reports Newsweek.

The former president launched his third run for the White House last November; and many 2024 polls suggest his main rival for the Republican nomination is DeSantis, who has yet to reveal his plans. In most polls, Trump ranks above potential opponents—including DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence; and Nikki Haley, who announced her bid in February.

The DeSantis donor event took place in Palm Beach, just a few miles from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort where the former president held his own gathering on Thursday, February 23, according to CBS News.

The guests at the DeSantis gathering included Roy Bailey, who was national co-chair of Trump’s fundraising effort with the Republican National Committee in 2020,; and Mick Mulvaney, who served as Trump’s White House chief of staff for 14 months.

However, the name on the guest list that most seemed to perturb Trump was David McIntosh. The former U.S. representative is now the president of the Club for Growth, a conservative nonprofit that advocates for tax cuts. The organization opposed Trump’s campaign for the Republican nomination in 2016.

Trump singled out McIntosh in a post on Truth Social late on Tuesday night, February 28, aiming jabs at the former lawmaker and his advocacy group.

“Failed former Congressman David McIntosh and his Globalist friends at Club for No Growth, who fought me all the way in 2016, and LOST, and then fought me again in 2020 Senate Races in Ohio, Alabama, North Carolina, New Hampshire, plus more, and LOST AGAIN, are now threatening to spend money against me early because their new boy, Ron DeSanctus, the man who wants to cut Social Security and MediCare, has dropped so drastically in the Polls to me,” he wrote. “No Growth Members know there will be RETRIBUTION!!!”

Some Republican  have voiced concern over Trump becoming the GOP nominee in 2024—suggesting that the former president is a distraction and more divisive than other primary candidates.

Lori Davis, who worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign in New Hampshire, said his critical and judgmental approach had turned some supporters against him. “I like Donald Trump. But he has gone too far polarizing. It’s going to be an uphill battle for him in this primary because of his divisiveness. People are tired of the drama,” Davis said.

“I’m seeing that people want DeSantis. He has a lot of the Trump philosophy, but is not as bombastic,; he’s not attacking people 24/7. People are tired of that. It gives them headaches.”

However, poll tracker FiveThirtyEight still shows Trump leading DeSantis in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination. In a compilation that includes research by YouGov, Emerson College, Morning Consult, and Echelon Insights, Trump is in front of DeSantis in every head-to-head, sometimes by as many as 30 percentage points.

Research contact: @Newsweek

Above, Washington Capitals superstar Alexandeer Ovechkin wears a Caesars Sportbook patch on his uniform. (Photo source: FanSided)

Surprisingly, many fans covet NHL jerseys embellished with corporate sponsor patches

December 23, 2022

As the 2022-2023 National Hockey League (NHL) season gets underway this week, players will—for the first time—skate in jerseys adorned with corporate sponsors’ logos. And perhaps contrary to conventional wisdom, hockey fans don’t really mind the branding at all, reports Morning Consult.

Jerseys in major U.S. professional sports leagues long excluded any corporate advertising, unlike international soccer, European hockey, or NASCAR, where companies’ logos traditionally appear on uniforms, becoming ubiquitous with some sports and entertainment properties. 

That changed in 2017, when the NBA began allowing its teams to sell jersey patch advertising, adding incremental revenue to the organizations’ bottom line and leading other leagues, such as MLB and the NHL, to start similar initiatives.

MLB currently is in-market trying to secure sponsorships starting next year, while the NHL is debuting its new advertising-infused jerseys with the start of this season.

“One of the coolest parts about these investments is you’re a part of the team’s history forever,” said Cameron Scholvin, chief operating officer for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team has inked a multiyear deal with Columbus-based auto glass company and existing sponsor Safelite for the brand’s logo to appear on the Blue Jackets’ jerseys.

Americans generally hate most forms of advertising. But new Morning Consult data shows that self-identified NHL fans have relatively lukewarm opinions toward corporate advertising on players’ uniforms, with 1 in 3 fans (33%) saying, “It’s fine regardless of who the corporate sponsor is.” A plurality of NHL fans (43%) said they at least “somewhat support” advertising on players’ jerseys, while 31% of sports fans said the same.

However, nearly 1 in 5 NHL fans (17%) said displaying a sponsor’s logo on uniforms is “wrong regardless of who the corporate sponsor is.” But compared with U.S. adults and overall sports fans, the league’s fans also had the strongest opposition to brands appearing on players’ jerseys. Nearly 1 in 4 NHL fans (23%) said they at least “somewhat oppose” the practice.

The mixed fan support for the new sponsorship placement hasn’t negatively impacted teams’ sales talks. “A real push in the last month” has contributed, in part, to NHL franchises “well surpassing” the league’s original jersey patch deal expectations, according to Brian Cull, NHL’s group vice president of Business Development. 

Keith Wachtel, NHL’s EVP and chief business officer, said in November that teams could collectively generate at least $100 million in annual jersey patch revenue, but that figure has since increased. For comparative purposes, the NBA projected $225 million in jersey patch value ahead of the 2021-22 season, its fifth year with uniform advertising.

For the patch program, the NHL has put in place several specific rules:

  • Deals have to be a three-year minimum term, but a five-year maximum term;
  • Teams can partner with sports betting companies for their home jerseys but only if their respective home markets have legalized betting; and
  • Clubs can partner with only one or two different companies.

The jersey patch program not only provides teams with an opportunity to secure incremental revenue from existing sponsors, but also to work with nontraditional sports marketers, said Cull, who cited the Toronto Maple Leafs’ home jersey patch deal with Dairy Farmers of Ontario as an example.

Some of those interviewed, including Cull, said that team and agency executives originally viewed cryptocurrency and NFTs as specific sectors for jersey patch deals, but due to economic uncertainty, inflation and insolvent companies, agreements in those industries have not come to fruition.

Teams also must work with the sponsor and the NHL on how a brand’s logo will appear on the jersey. On a white jersey, logos must appear against a white background; while on a dark jersey, a company’s logo must appear against the same color dark background, according to NHL guidelines. A proposed patch mock-up is then sent to the league, where it’s reviewed by legal, club business affairs, and consumer products departments to ensure compliance is followed.

When NHL fans were asked in the Morning Consult survey if they would prefer to purchase their favorite NHL team’s jersey with or without a sponsor’s logo, 30% said they would buy one with the brand’s marks; compared with 47%, who said without. Among the surveyed demographics, Millennials had the strongest desire to purchase their favorite team’s NHL sweater with a sponsor (31%), while Baby Boomers had the least (6%).

Research contact: @MorningConsult

Photo source: Ruin My Week

Zoom, Peacock, and TikTok lead the fastest-growing brands of 2020

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December11, 2020

While the pandemic has been anything but good for most U.S. businesses (think: restaurants, bars, air carriers, movie theaters, and gyms), some brand names actually saw rapid growth during the shutdown; as Americans relied on digital and vehicular delivery of food, prescriptions, cleaning products and masks, pet products, entertainment, and even business and casual meetings.

Now, Morning Consult has published its annual “Fastest Growing Brands” list, which it describes as “the definitive measure of brand growth for both emerging and established brands, showcasing a wide range of companies and products that have accelerated their consumer appeal and awareness in 2020.”

On this year’s list, the top spot was claimed by digital meetings provider  Zoom, Fast Company reports. No need to guess why, right? Surprisingly NBCUniversal’s fledgling video streaming service took the number-two spot. Less of a surprise was the brand that claimed the number-three honors: TikTok, a leading destination for short-form mobile video.

Morning Consult says that all the brands on this year’s list were shaped by changing consumer behavior resulting from the pandemic: “Nearly every brand that occupies a spot on the Fastest Growing Brands list is meaningfully connected to pandemic-related behavior, from at-home entertainment to cleaning products to pharmaceutical companies.”

The top 10 on Morning Consult’s fastest-growing brands of 2020 are:

  1. Zoom
  2. Peacock
  3. TikTok
  4. Instacart
  5. DoorDash
  6. HBO Max
  7. WhatsApp
  8. Microsoft Teams
  9. T Mobile
  10. Pfizer

You can check out the full list of brands here.

Research contact: @FastCompanyTop b

Above, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. (Photo source: Alchetron)

Don’t count Schumer out: He plans to force votes on evidence, testimony that will ‘squeeze’ Republicans

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January 14, 2020

While, in the run-up to the impeachment trial, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has appeared to be unflinching in his support of President Donald Trump, he should not underestimate his political rival, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Politico reports.

Indeed, although McConnell already has locked up enough Republican votes to ignore demands for a bipartisan framework for the trial, his Democratic counterpart is preparing a counteroffensive. Schumer plans to force a series of votes designed to squeeze vulnerable Republicans and harm them on the campaign trail if they side with Trump, the news outlet says.

Democrats argue the half-dozen at-risk GOP senators will need some daylight between them and Trump to get reelected. And if they vote against Schumer’s motions to hear new evidence and witness testimony, they’ll be seen as Trump sycophants — undermining their bids and boosting Schumer’s odds of becoming majority leader.

Support for obtaining new documents at the trial is “even stronger than we thought, with large numbers of Republicans supporting it,” Schumer said in an interview with Politico. “And when you go against what the American people feel strongly about, on an issue they’re paying attention to, it’s not a good idea.”

Public surveys in key swing states back up Democrats’ claims. Polling from Hart Research found that 63% of voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and North Carolina would react unfavorably if their senator voted against calling witnesses or subpoenaing documents during the Senate impeachment trial.

Another poll from Morning Consult found 57% of voters believe the Senate should call additional witnesses. That includes 71% of Democrats, 56% of Independents, and 40% of Republicans.

What’s more, the president’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s offer to testify has given some momentum to Democrats’ calls for witnesses and documents about the White House’s decision to withhold military aid to Ukraine. Democrats also want to hear from Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Office of Management and Budget official Michael Duffey, and Mulvaney Adviser Robert Blair.

“If the Republicans ram through process that ultimately leads to no witnesses, I think they do it at their own peril,” Senator Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey), a former chairman of the party’s campaign arm, told Politico. “Some of these members: They have an audience of one. But I think they forgot that there’s a broader audience that they’re going to have to face at election time.”

“The procedural votes may be more important than the vote on removal or acquittal. Because what will matter more to voters than where a senator lands is how he or she got there,” said Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster for Hart Research. “So if Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) or any of the other Republicans vote for acquittal and the takeaway for voters is this is a political or partisan vote on an important issue, that will have a long lasting impact.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that she will release the articles of impeachment to McConnell this week.

Research contact: @politico

U..S. President Donald Trump (left) and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo source: The News-Nigeria)

Trump unleashes torrent of tweeted threats against Iran

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July 24, 2018

President Donald Trump sent out a furious, all-caps tweet aimed at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani late on July 22, warning the leader to stop threatening the United States, the Huffington Post reported.

In a late-night screed similar to his “fire and fury” harangue against North Korea last August, the POTUS warned the Iranian politician and Islamic cleric, “NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH, BE CAUTIOUS!”

According to the German publication, Deutsche Welle (DW), President Rouhani began the exchange earlier in the day by warning the United States that Iran could shut down international oil shipments in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, if Washington continues to provoke his nation—as Rouhani believes America has done by backing out of the nuclear deal framework that it signed with its allies in 2015.

After refusing to support the deal, the Trump administration also had demanded that signatories to the framework end all imports of Iranian oil when the sanctions go into effect in November, but the State Department rolled back those demands saying it would work with countries on a “case-by-case basis.”

“We have always guaranteed the security of this strait,” Rouhani told diplomats in the Iranian capital last Sunday. “Do not play with the lion’s tail; you will regret it forever.”

“Whenever Europe has sought an agreement with us, the White House has sown discord,” Rouhani said. “Americans should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace,” he added. “Likewise a war would be the mother of all wars.”

Rouhani and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei have both rejected calls to negotiate with Trump over a replacement sanctions relief deal.

Brigadier Gen. Gholam Hossein Gheibparvar, a commander for the country’s Revolutionary Guard, brushed the threatening tweet from President Trump off on July 23 as mere “psychological warfare” against the regime, saying Trump wouldn’t dare act on his threats, the Associated Press reported.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on July 23 reiterated Trump’s warning to Iran, telling Fox News that “if needed, and steps are required, this president is not afraid to take them.

“He’s certainly not going to tolerate the leader of Iran making threats against Americans, making threats against this country, making threats against Israel,” Sanders said. “This is a president who is going to stand up and make sure he is doing what is necessary.”

A majority of Americans wanted the Trump administration to adhere to the Iran nuclear deal, according to a public opinion poll released in early May by Morning Consult and Politico. The poll, which included online interviews with close to 2,000 Americans registered to vote, showed that 56% of respondents expressed support for the deal, while 26% expressed opposition to it. The pollsters described these numbers as a “record high” in support of the deal, and a “record low” in opposition to it.

Research contact: editors@morningconsult.com

Erik Prince (center) told The Daily Beast that he tried to set up a back channel between Putin (left) and Trump. (Photo source: skydancingblog.com)

Erik Prince has flipped for Mueller

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June 20, 2018

While Americans continue to seesaw in their approval of the Russia probe generally—and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in particular—more of President Donald Trump’s aides and supporters continue to flip for the investigators. Erik Prince, founder of private military contractor Blackwater, told The Daily Beast’s Betsy Woodruff on June 19 that he now is among the witnesses who have “cooperated” with the ongoing investigation into Russian election interference.

Prince, who reportedly met with a Russian wealth fund manager in the Seychelles during the transition to set up a back channel between the Trump administration and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, told Woodruff that he has “spoken voluntarily to Congress and I also cooperated with the special counsel.”

At first, Prince, who is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, had claimed that he merely took the trip as a vacation jaunt and encountered the Russian briefly and casually.

Now, The Daily Beast reports, Prince is all-in on the Trump-Putin connection. “As I’ve said before, if Franklin Roosevelt can work with Joseph Stalin to defeat German fascism, Nazi fascism, national socialist fascism, then certainly Donald Trump can work with Putin to defeat Islamic fascism,” he said.

What’s more, the Blackwater founder said, a relationship with North Korea will be beneficial. I don’t think we have to be provocative with NATO and I think it’s a good idea for the president to reach out diplomatically,” Prince divulged, adding, “ I mean, for heaven’s sakes, he’s sitting down and talking to Kim [Jong-un] of North Korea. Putin is a much more rational actor and I think it’s totally appropriate for the president to sit down and try to thaw the situation.”

” … All I will add,” Prince told Woodruff, “is that much of the reporting about me in the media is inaccurate, and I am confident that when the investigators have finished their work, we will be able to put these distractions to the side.”

Meanwhile, it is no surprise that a Politico/Morning Consult poll released on June 13 found that 53% of Republicans now say they view the lead Russian investigator in an unfavorable light.

Research contact: @woodruffbets

Lawyer Rudy Giuliani (left) and President Donald Trump. (Photo source: avaz.ba)

Can a U.S. president pardon himself? Most voters say ‘no’

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June 15, 2018

On June 4, America’s Tweeter-in-Chief sent out a message, saying that, “As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself.” However, based on findings of a poll conducted the following week among nearly 2,000 registered U.S. voters by Morning Consult and Politico, the American public disagrees.

Specifically, as Time magazine reported this week, 58% of registered voters said they do not believe the president has the power to pardon himself, while only 21% agreed with Trump on the issue.

Trump took his stand on Twitter two days after The New York Times published a confidential January 29 memo from his then-lawyer John Dowd to Special Counsel Robert Mueller—which comprised the only current legal argument for the power of the president to pardon himself.

A 1974 memo written by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary Lawton of the Office of Legal Counsel under President Richard Nixon stated that the president could not self-pardon, based on the long-standing legal principle that no person can be their own judge, Time points out.

What’s more, although the Supreme Court never has ruled on the issue—and the POTUS’s current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said recently that Trump would not pardon himself because it could then trigger his impeachment by the House of Representatives.

Based on the Morning Consult/Politico poll findings, the prevailing sentiment against a self-pardon was even stronger among some groups, with 76% of Democrats and 61% of Independents opining that it would not be legally permissible. Republicans, however, were split, with 36% saying it would not be permissible and 33% saying it would be.

Research contact: editors@morningconsult.com

Above, Howard Schults. Photo source: Starbucks

Howard Schultz steps down at Starbucks amid rumors of a presidential run

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June 6, 2018

Howard Schultz, who oversaw Starbucks’ growth into a worldwide coffee behemoth over the past 36 years—with 28,000 stores in 77 countries—will step down as executive chairman late this month amid swirling speculation that he is considering running for president in 2020, NBC News reported on June 4.

Holding back tears, Schultz talked to a mix of partners, board members, and former colleagues this week, kvelling, “We are in the business that elevates humanity. It’s about what we’ve been able to create: a unique experience around love and humanity.”

In a memo to his employees, he said, “no person or company is ever perfect,” but that he was proud that the company had balanced “profitability and social conscience, compassion and rigor, and love and responsibility.”

Schultz, 64, who stepped away from his role as chief executive last year, will assume the title of chairman emeritus on June 26, the company said in a statement.

Starbucks lauded him for having “reimagined the Italian coffeehouse tradition in America and redefined the role and responsibility of a publicly held company,” saying that he had demonstrated that “a business can simultaneously deliver best-in-class financial performance and share success with its people and the communities it serves.”

His next move is rumored to be national politics. Indeed, for more than a year, NBC News reports, there has been rampant speculation that Schultz, a fierce critic of President Donald Trump, is gearing up to run for president in 2020.

He told CNN in February that he wouldn’t be a candidate, but when asked about the prospect again in an interview on June 4 with The New York Times, he replied: “I intend to think about a range of options, and that could include public service. But I’m a long way from making any decisions about the future.”

Indeed, according to a June 5 story by Business Insider, pollsters have been tracking Schultz’s potential for nearly a year. Morning Consult, a nonpartisan polling outlet, placed Schultz at 21% favorability among Democrats, based on a national sample of 895 registered members of the party in June 2017—calling him “the most popular 2020 Democratic prospect not named Joe Biden.”

What’s more, he almost made it into the race the last time. In October 2016, a month before Trump was elected, WikiLeaks posted hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign revealing that Schultz had been under consideration  o be Clinton’s running mate—a role that eventually went to Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia).

Schultz said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in October 2014 that many of America’s problems stemmed from years of institutional failures in Washington. “As business people and business leaders, we need to take the lead and do what we can to move the country forward,” he said then, adding: “There has to be a balance between profitability and doing everything we can to get the country moving again. And that goes back to Washington. “Washington has let the country down.”

Research contact: @nbcnews

Rudy Giuliani (left) and his client, President Donald Trump. (Photo source: aginstrumentrepair.ie)

Giuliani disclosure dumps Trump into Cohen legal mess

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May 4, 2018

Just last week, a Politico/Morning Consult poll found that Americans nationwide suspected that Stormy Daniels was telling the truth about her affair with, and payoff by, President Donald Trump. Now, thanks to the POTUS’s new lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, we know it.

Specifically, the poll found, a majority of the U.S. public believed that Trump had bedded the adult film actress.  Fully 56% of respondents said they believed the two had an affair; and 51% said they believed Daniels’ allegations.

Now, in breaking news on May 3, Politico reported that, overnight, Guiliani had told the Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity that the POTUS had reimbursed his personal lawyer, Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to Daniels (whose real name is Stephanie Clifford), meant to keep her quiet.

That revelation may represent the final nail in the coffin for Trump’s continuing claims (and legal case) that he did not cheat on his wife or pay off Daniels in an attempt to keep the tryst(s) out of the news.

Indeed, the actress’s lawyer, Michael Avenatti on Thursday said he might send a gift basket to Fox for breaking open the story, according to MSNBC.

In response, Trump continued to deny that he or Cohen had done anything wrong. In early morning tweets, the president said “Mr. Cohen, an attorney, received a monthly retainer, not from the campaign and having nothing to do with the campaign, from which he entered into, through reimbursement , a private contract between two parties, known as a non-disclosure agreement or NDA.

The president said that non-disclosure agreements are “very common” among celebrities and “people of wealth,” and noted that this one was invoked to stop “false and extortionist accusations.”

This follows repeated statements by the president that he knew nothing about the payment and had not reimbursed his lawyer for it.

Research contact: jyuan@politico.com