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Kansas City News Today Kansas City Front Page is a weekly news publication, with daily updates, spotlighting attractions, events, business and hospitality in Kansas City. |
KANSAS CITY NEWS TODAY - Sunday, November 18, 2007 2008 Missouri Arts Awards Recipients Announced KANSAS CITY, MO (SLFP.com), November 18, 2007 - Gov. Matt Blunt has announced that the Missouri Arts Council has selected three Missourians, one art institution, one foundation, and one community to receive 2008 Missouri Arts Awards, the state's highest honor in the arts. "I commend the 2008 Missouri Arts Awards recipients for their commitment to the arts," Gov. Blunt said. "Their work for the arts enriches the lives of all Missourians and helps us appreciate the diversity of art in our wonderful home state." The winners by category are: * Arts Education - Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, Kansas City; * Arts Organization - Missouri Folklore, Columbia; * Creative Community - City of St. Joseph, St. Joseph; * Individual Artist - Linda Kennedy, St. Louis; * Arts Leadership - Marc Wilson, Kansas City; and * Philanthropy - Gary Tatlow and the late Marilyn Silvey Tatlow, Columbia. The awards will officially be presented in a ceremony at 2 p.m. on February 7 at the Capitol Rotunda in Jefferson City. "The committee had difficult decisions to make," said Cynthia Cartwright of Kansas City, chair of the Arts Awards selection committee and a Missouri Arts Council member. "There were far more worthy nominees than awards to give. We are delighted with the results and congratulate the 2008 Missouri Arts Awards recipients." U.S. Teens Spending Power for Crucial Holiday Season Could Bode Well for Traditional Retailers ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), November 18, 2007 - OTX (Online Testing eXchange), a leading global consumer research and consulting firm, has released new results from its Teen Topix study. The Teen Topix survey taps into the complex lives of the 13-17 year old set and is done in conjunction with eCRUSH, a leading PG-13 social networking site. 750 teens across the country were surveyed about their gift buying behavior and preferences for the coming holiday season. A key finding of the study was that 95% of teens chose shopping at stores and malls, over catalog and online. However, 65% of teens say they use the Internet to find out about new, cool products, friends come in a close second at 62%, and 54% of teens find about new products from commercials on TV. When asked about specific types of stores they will shop at this holiday season, Electronics (46%), Bath/body (45%), and music stores (41%) led the way. Much lower on the list were store websites (13%), online stores (12%), auction sites (8%), and home shopping channels (3%). The study also found that holiday shopping remains a social experience as 84% of teens say they will shop with others, while 16% will shop alone, and 74% prefer to shop with their friends, versus 26% who say they would rather shop with their parents. "As marketers and retailers begin their holiday push, it's critical for them to understand not just where teens shop, but how they find out about new products," said Amy Gibby, President of eCRUSH. "This latest release of Teen Topix data once again confirms that today's teens are social beings who turn to the Internet to find out the latest information." Teens will spend a combination of their money and "someone else's money'" this holiday season. However 93% of teens plan to spend "their own money" on at least one person. 28% of teens plan to spend "$100 or more" of their own money on their boyfriend/girlfriend, parents (20%), and even grandparents (18%) fall into the "$100 or more" club for these teens. Teens were also asked what they wanted for the holidays. When asked to select from a list of holiday gifts they wanted, money topped the list (39%), followed by computers (30%), clothes (25%), and cars (24%). However, when asked about the "one" gift they wanted this holiday season, a computer (15%) topped money (12%) and a car (11%). "The shopping behavior and spending patterns of teens, especially during the holiday season, is of great interest to marketers and retailers," said Bruce Friend, President for Media and Entertainment Insights for OTX. "As this study indicates, teens, like the rest of us, not only think in terms of products they want, but are well aware of and discriminating about the multitude of brands messaging directly to them." When specifically asked about brands, Apple was the most cited brand in the music technology category, Dell was ranked #1 for computers/laptops, the Motorola RAZR phone led the mobile phone category, and Microsoft's X-Box 360 was the leading video game console, while Halo 3 was the leading video game. Abercrombie and Fitch was the clothing brand most teens say they want and when it comes to cars, Ford and Cheverolet brands were most cited.   The Kansas City Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Kansas City area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 2007 Moore Design Group. |
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