Women Pack 38 Hours Of Activity Into A 24-Hour Day And Are Big Daytime 'Net Users
- by April 28, 2004
Spending time on the Internet has become the leading media choice among women--and is second only to work, sleep, and spending time with family in terms of being a valued activity and resource, according to the results of a study commissioned by Yahoo! and Publicis Groupe's Starcom MediaVest Group.
The results of the national study, "Real Women. Digital World: The Untold Story of Women on the Web," were outlined today at Yahoo!'s Sunnyvale, Calif. headquarters during a Women's Summit for marketers. The qualitative research study was conducted by Just Ask A Woman, and the quantitative portion was led by TNS Media Research.
Among the key findings of the research: Women most often seek out news, weather, games, and financial content on the Web; women feel justified spending time online at work for non-work activities because they are putting in longer hours than ever; and women multitask between doing work at work and surfing the 'Net at work, alternating between purposeful searches and tuning into their favorite sites. While women browse and research online, they shop and buy both via the Web and at physical stores.
The research found that the media habits of women have changed inexorably over the last 30 years or more as most women work outside the home. That suggests that marketers and online publishers will find most women in front of a PC at work, rather than the TV or any other form of media during the day. The qualitative portion of the research also found that detailing women's overall activities in one day totaled up to a staggering 38 hours of activity within a 24-hour period. Multitasking has become mandatory.
"Women are doing a huge amount of multitasking," said Kate Sirkin, senior vice president, global director of strategic intelligence, Starcom MediaVest Group Worldwide. "You're on a conference call, checking flights, [and so forth] and if we don't do that, work's taking over. There's no way you could live your life if you didn't multitask," Sirkin observes, as if from her own experience. "The study is showing there's no real breakdown between work and not work," she bluntly asserts.
"I think that one of the important messages here for marketers is that we now have the women's daypart reemerging," said Wenda Harris Millard, Yahoo!'s chief sales officer. In the 1950's and '60s, the majority of women did not work outside the home, and the TV soap opera was the media of choice.
"With the advent of women in the workplace, what they're doing now is instead of going for a coffee break, or chatting by the water cooler, they are now online in the middle of the day, all day long," Millard said, adding: "What you've created here is the daypart, and the news for marketers is that there's a very effective way to reach women during the day."
The research found that 36 percent of the working women polled are spending more time at work than they were a year ago. For example, the study found that women reported spending an average of 7.3 mean hours per day working; 4 hours with family; 2.9 hours watching TV; 1.9 hours eating/preparing meals; 1.5 hours listening to the radio; and 1.2 hours with friends.
"The other thing that I think that was a revelation [for us] and that has been a common consensus is that women are task-oriented, but this research shows that they do use the Internet for searching and browsing--it's not just for destination-related activities," Millard said.
The research also outlined eight distinct personality types, offering marketers a guidepost of sorts to women on the Internet and how they might target them. The Digital Cowgirl is a pioneer who visits new sites and chat rooms and looks for ways to integrate the digital world into her own; Fifty-one percent of the women polled said they love the discovery aspect of the Web, and 42 percent said they'll get online even if they aren't looking for anything in particular.
The Digital Cassandra shares her discoveries with friends, and is an influencer and a predictor of trends; the Digital Diva values luxury goods and smart/trendy sites; and the Digital Debutante is new to the Web, but is a quick study and willing to experiment--(20 percent of the women polled said that although they're new to the Web, they are constantly learning about new sites and applications).
The Digital Detective is a thorough researcher and a miner of the truth, always looking for the best price or the best solution to a problem--82 percent of the women surveyed said the 'Net is the first place they go if they need to conduct research on a particular topic, and 58 percent said they can spend hours on the Web researching every aspect of an issue that interests them. The Digital Voyeur checks out chat rooms and conducts searches for estranged friends; the Digital Socialite plans her social life via the 'Net; and the Digital Shopkeeper is the type of woman who uses Web resources to start a business.
"The key is for marketers is to customize different messages to different groups," Sirkin said, adding that the challenge is to develop creative that speaks to each of the groups. "It's no longer one message fits all," she added.
The research analyzed women ages 18 to 49. The group was comprised of four groups--women who are employed with kids, employed without kids, at home with kids, and at home without kids. For the qualitative portion of the study, Just Ask A Woman held two-hour live sessions with 25 women who were either light, medium, or heavy Internet users, new users or experienced, having used the 'Net for five years or more.
The quantitative portion of the study was conducted online in March with 1,200 women ages 18 to 49. The women were drawn from a TNS panel and asked 40 questions.
"I think the great thing about the Internet is the creative [aspect]. We can put many different messages in many different places--contextually relevant messages and ads," Sirkin asserted. Reactions to pop-ups, pop-unders, floating ads, banners, and sponsorships were analyzed. "Sponsorships were the most appealing [by far], followed by banners, and floating ads," she said.
"Any marketer that is looking to reach women can do that today," Yahoo!'s Millard said. "The Internet is a great enabler of a woman's life," she said, echoing the message of the company's new brand campaign--"Yahoo! is a life engine."
