Ads Impact Women Online

According to the newly released "What Women Want From the Web Report," Summer 2010, by Unicast, 95% of women plan to go online, and 62% notice and/or interact with online advertising. Women aged 18-24 use the web more than other age groups for all activities except keeping up with news, 53% vs. 67% overall.

The report found women who visit blogs notice online advertising far more than overall respondents. While this group is just 13% of women who read blogs regularly, it shows females are potentially more open to ads from relevant sources of information that they trust. Women age 18-24 are also more receptive to online advertising in various formats than the overall population, particularly more interested in localized information, surveys, social media formats and downloadable content.

The report finds that women are planning to do these things Online:

• 76% plan to connect with friends and family
• 67% will keep up with news
• 64% plan to shop for sales/compare prices
• 59% intend to entertain themselves (play games, listen to music or watch TV/movies)
• 48% will research travel/vacations

 According to the report, the ads that resonate with women:

• 46% - include sales, discount codes
• 31% - feature creating/submitting an entry to win a prize
• 24% - provide customized local information
• 22% - offer interactive surveys/quizzes

 The products women most notice ads for:

• 35% - entertainment
• 33% - food and beverages, or health/beauty products
• 30% - fashion/clothing
• 27% - travel
• 20% - gaming

Bryan Hjelm, VP of Product & Marketing for Unicast, notes that "... this summer will generate high online traffic from women looking to plan their activities... as more women integrate digital channels into their daily routine..."

As the Chief Household Officer, says the report, American women make 92% of vacation purchases, 93% of food purchases and control $7 billion in annual spending. 85% of all brand purchases are made by women.

And, as the primary shoppers, women are a key audience for advertisers. As women bring more of their daily tasks and media consumption online, this summer they'll be plugged in to connect with friends, shop for deals, plan vacations and entertainment activities, and use the web for playing games, music and watching TV shows/movies. 

• The most popular ad content is for sales and discount codes. 46% of women notice these, followed by 31% creating/submitting an entry to win a prize. About one in four women notice an ad with localized information, like area movie listings
• Women notice ads for items they're already interested in. 56% of women planning to look up entertainment options this summer have noticed an entertainment ad in the past month and 46% of women planning to research travel have noticed a travel ad
• Women with children in the home tend to do more activities online than those without children, including listen to music (62% vs. 42%), watch TV or movies (56% vs. 46%) and look up entertainment options (60% vs. 40%)

Appropriate to the category, advertisements for music, movies, or television were deemed the most prevalent or entertaining by 35% of women.  And 33% of American women had noticed or were favorable toward advertisements in the food and beverage category, depicted through images, videos, and phrased online. 

33% of women could recollect an advertisement they had recently seen for health or beauty products, and a similar 30% were familiar with pop-ups or banner ads for fashion products or clothing lines. 27% of women had noticed or enjoyed a travel-themed banner ad or commercial online in the last month, which are easily linked to the travel sites that 31% of females completing online activities this summer plan to use. A smaller proportion, 15%, had noticed a web-based ad for the latest auto model. 

Tech ads were top for 17% of women who had viewed or enjoyed advertisements depicting gadgets, software, or similar products in the past month. 20% ladies could recall an ad inviting them to display their online gaming skills, an area in which many may be especially attuned as 50% plan on participating in Web games this summer. 

10% had zoned in on a sports-themed pop-up or banner ad. Just 10% were familiar with an online advertisement featuring professional or business services.

Bryan Hjelm pointed out that ".. Unicast has seen an increase of interest from advertisers to develop richer, engaging and more in-depth content online to drive sales with this demographic... "

A full report of the findings is available here from Unicast here.