Thursday + Gregory Huffstutter = The Ad Man Answers
Will return to normal ‘Q&A’ format next column.
Until then… please enjoy a new report that discusses trends in online activity. We discuss various online advertising options in this column – full-episode video players, YouTube, blogs – so it’s good to keep an eye on trends in web-surfing behavior.
------------------
Downloading TV Programs, Watching Video and Making Online Phone Calls Represent Biggest One-Year Internet Activity Increase
Downloading TV programs, watching online videos and making online phone calls posted the biggest year-to-year percent increase among adult Internet users, according to new data from Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI).
E-mail, news gathering and paying bills online continue to be among the most widely used Internet activities by U.S. consumers ages 18+, the MRI data show.
According to responses from MRI's just released Fall 2008 Survey of the American Consumer, 3.2% of adults said they had downloaded a TV program in the last 30 days. That represents a year-to-year increase of 141.4%. The number of adults who reported they watched online video increased 35.4% during the same period, to a total of 23.3% of the adult population, while 4.0% of respondents reported they had made an online phone call, an increase of 32.0%.
The Internet activities engaged in by the greatest number of adults were use of e-mail (74.2%), obtaining news (46%) and paying bills online (39.6%). These have been popular online activities among adults for several years.
MRI began measuring Internet activities in 1997 and continually adds new Internet behavior questions to its survey. The fall 2008 data include four new Internet activities: sharing photos (done by one in four adults in the last 30 days); sending electronic greeting cards (9% of adults); watching a live TV program online (5.3% of the U.S. adult population); and uploading or adding video to a Web site (4.1% of adults).
Internet Activities: U.S. Adults with Access to the Internet
Which, if any, of these activities in the last 30 days?
% %
All Adults Change From
Fall 2008 Fall 2007
Used E-mail 74.2 +5.2
Obtained Latest News/Events 46.0 +9.8
Paid Bills Online 39.6 +15.3
Made a Personal Purchase 37.2 +7.8
Used Instant Messenger 29.7 +23.6
Obtained Financial Information 28.3 +9.6
Obtained Sports News/Info 28.1 +10.6
Shared Photos Through Website 25.4 N/A
Looked for Recipes 24.8 +24.8
Played Games Online 24.6 +8.0
Watched Online Video 23.3 +35.4
Downloaded Music 21.6 +9.6
Personal/Business Travel Plans 20.5 +3.6
Obtained Medical Info 19.9 +4.3
Looked up Movie or Show Times 19.7 +16.8
TV network's or show's website 18.7 +15.4
Looked for Employment 15.3 +23.6
Tracked Investments/Traded Stocks,
Bonds or Mutual Funds 13.2 +14.7
Listened to Internet Radio 13.1 +10.4
Obtained Info about Real Estate 12.9 +5.4
Made a Purchase for Business 11.4 +3.4
Visited Online Blogs 11.0 +17.9
Got Info for New Car Purchase 10.6 +0
Sent an Electronic Greeting Card 9.0 N/A
Looked at TV Listing Online 7.7 +5.9
Got Childcare or Parenting Info 5.3 +12.7
Watched A Live TV Program 5.3 N/A
Wrote an Online Blog 4.3 +16.3
Uploaded Video to a Website 4.1 N/A
Made a Phone Call Online 4.0 +32.0
Downloaded a Podcast 3.8 +22.1
Downloaded a TV Program 3.2 +141.4
Source: MRI's Fall 2008 and Fall 2007 Survey of the American Consumer
N/A=New MRI Question; Not asked in Fall '07
Field Dates for MRI's Fall 2008 survey: September 2007 to October 2008
About MRI....
Founded in 1979, MRI interviews approximately 26,000 U.S. adults in their homes each year, asking about their use of media, their consumption of products and their lifestyles and attitudes.
MRI is the country's leading provider of magazine audience and multimedia research data. The company releases data from Survey of the American Consumer (adults 18+) twice yearly, in the spring and fall. MRI data have become the basic media-planning currency for the majority of the media plans that are created each year by national advertisers and their agencies. The company's 26,000 in-home interviews each year represent the biggest survey of its kind.
Gregory Huffstutter has been punching Ad Agency timecards for the past dozen years, working on accounts like McDonald's, KIA Motors, Suzuki Automotive, and the San Diego Padres. His first mystery, KATZ CRADLE is on submission while he's working on the sequel. The first 100 pages of his novel are linked here. For general advertising questions, leave a comment or send e-mail to katz @ gregoryhuffstutter dot com with 'Ask The Ad Man' in the subject line.
I'm not surprised. I watch virtually all my favorite television shows through Apple TV. No commercials, I can watch at my leisure, huge memory, high quality, no DVD storage . . . Recently, I tossed all my VHS tapes and bought some of my favorite movies through iTunes rather than getting the DVD.
Posted by: Allison Brennan | January 29, 2009 at 01:43 PM