Puget Sound Citizens Believe in Luck O' the Irish

Seattle, WA - Residents of the Puget Sound area will be in full-force this Saint Patrick's Day and indeed, many will carry that spirit in to their everyday lives.

A recent survey conducted by Ipsos MarketQuest found that three quarters (72%) of residents of the Puget Sound area plan to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day - from the simplest recognition of wearing something green (58%), to drinking some type of beer, including green beer (19%). What's surprising is that 60% of Puget Sounders claim to have, at some point, found a four-leaf clover!

While most respondents to the survey believe in luck (70%), this does not necessarily mean that Puget Sound area citizens take it too seriously. Only 30% believe in magic, and even less (20%) have a good luck charm or ritual. What's more is that most area residents are not superstitious - two-thirds (66%) give this a rating of 3 or less on a 10-point scale in terms of how superstitious they are.

How does this belief in luck translate into real life? According to the survey results, 80% of residents have purchased a Washington State Lottery game and half of those people will do it again in the next 12 months. "As local area residents start to get their green out for Saint Patrick's Day, it seems our community has a bit of that Irish charm all year long," says Mary Kaye O'Brien, Vice President with Ipsos MarketQuest in Seattle. "And we know this thanks to our exclusive Voice of the Northwest panel, a research solution that allows Ipsos to get inside the minds of citizens and consumers across the region to track and measure their thoughts, opinions and behaviors on a variety of topics."

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos MarketQuest survey conducted between February 19th and March 3rd, 2013. For this survey, a sample of 462 Puget Sound residents from Ipsos' `Voice of the Northwest' online panel was interviewed online. The precision of Ipsos online surveys is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the survey is accurate to within +/-5.2 percentage points had all panel members been surveyed. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release please contact:

Mary Kaye O'Brien Vice President Ipsos MarketQuest 425.586.5589 [email protected]

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. In October 2011 Ipsos completed the acquisition of Synovate. The combination forms the world's third largest market research company.

With offices in 84 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,363 billion (1.897 billion USD) in 2011.