BRAND LOYALTY: How loyal are you to your brands?

A new marketing study says you're probably pretty fickle. For the average manufacturer's grocery brand, less than half of consumers who made 70 percent or more of their category purchases with a single brand in 2007 maintained a similar level of loyalty in 2008, according to the survey of 32 million household-level consumers.

The study, which also polled 685 brands, also found that a third of those customers completely stopped buying their once-favored brand names.

There are 30,000 new products introduced at grocery stores each year, says Todd Morris, a senior vice-president at Catalina Marketing, which conducted the study with the industry group known as the Chief Marketing Officer Council. That gives consumers a lot of choices.

If companies want to retain their brand buyers, they need to identify and target consumers at risk of defecting, Morris said.

"If a mother is questioning whether a Hershey syrup is the right thing to give to her kids, she might reconsider if she knew that it has calcium or there was a version with a lower number of calories," Morris said. "You want to be specific and give them advice on why a product is right and what the value is."

IN-FLIGHT WIFI ETIQUETTE: As airlines scramble to offer in-flight wireless high-speed Internet coverage, you may want to consider the most productive and least offensive ways to use it within the small confines of your seat.

Jackie Yeaney, chief marketing officer for communications technology company Premiere Global Services, offers these tips:

— Consider investing in a privacy filter to block a side view of your computer screen. They're affordable and easy to use — just snap one on.

— Use your computer, and your computer alone. Avoid scattering paperwork and encroaching on your neighbour's area.

— Wear headphones or turn the volume off so the other passengers won't have to hear e-mail pings or Windows-themed acoustics during their flight.