Study Paints Portraits Of The Multimedia Consumer
- by February 8, 2004
The onliners, who comprise 29 percent of the survey respondents, are frequent Internet users. The study defines "frequent" online use as several times a week or more. Onliners are 70 percent male; 40 percent are ages 18-to-34 and 60 percent are 35-to-54. These frequent users enjoy their time spent on the Web: 53 percent say they rely on web sites; 67 percent say the sites are easier to use than their offline counterparts; and when both the Web site and offline property are available, 82 percent would rather use the Web site.
"It's clear that 18-to-34-year-old males are watching less network prime-time TV. This is a rich area for advertisers to explore for reaching this demographic," says Michael Zimbalist, executive director-OPA. "If we were to generalize [about onliners], it's that they're moving toward media that's in their control where they can access it on their own time, in their own way, and in locations of their own choosing. Online is one major example of that," Zimbalist notes. Sixty-four percent of onliners have high-speed 'Net access at home, and they average 21 hours per week versus 14 hours a week watching TV.
Beyond mega-users, multi-channelers are more evenly split between males and females, and 57 percent of them say they rely on web sites. When both a Web site and offline channel are available, 54 percent say they prefer to use the offline property--i.e., ESPN or ESPN The Magazine versus ESPN.com--although 37 percent consider web sites easier to use, as compared to 21 percent who prefer the offline property.
"Multi-channelers are probably the people who are most loyal to a media brand but independent of channel. They view the offline and online brand equally with the same passion," Zimbalist notes, adding: "The idea that the Web is a disaggregated set of independent pages, where people are grabbing one here or there, is an old notion. People have their favorites."
And those affinities start early. The OPA's next round of research, due later this month, will focus on 18-to-24-year-olds. This demo has grown up with and on the Internet, enjoying diverse forms of online media.
"The Web sites are fertile ground to introduce people to your brands, to find the next generation of subscribers," says Dave Kurns, editor-in-chief, Meredith Interactive. Kurns oversees editorial and business strategy for six Meredith Web sites including Better Homes and Gardens (BHG.com) and American Baby (AmericanBaby.com).
Multi-channelers speak volumes to Kurns, who says that many of his readers fall into this segment. Meredith is actively cross promoting to magazine subscribers and online readers via ads, email newsletters, and other vehicles. There's also a fair amount of cross-selling to advertisers. "We're bringing new subscribers to our base--younger and more affluent," many of whom come via the Web sites, he says. "We've been able to augment our audiences, and the Internet is also a great way to communicate with our subscribers between issues."
Jeff Webber, senior-vice president and publisher, USAToday.com, observes that multi-channelers represent the largest group of consumers who use online media brands. "I found it fascinating that it's becoming very reflective of the U.S. population," he says. USAToday.com's readership is 65 percent male, with an average age of 40. For Webber, the survey indicated that his site's content strategy is on point: "It also gives us a story to talk to marketers about--that Internet users are in the mainstream and that the online brand has a complementary audience to the offline brand--multi-channelers enjoy both," Webber explains.
Dabblers are infrequent 'Net users. They surf several times a month or less, and 65 percent of them are ages 35 to 54. Only 19 percent of dabblers feel they rely on a site, but when both the web site and offline property are available, 68 percent say they prefer to use the web site. Notably, 57 percent of dabblers have high-speed 'Net access at home and rack up an average of 18 hours a week on the Web. "Dabblers are not necessarily loyal to sites, but they are [perhaps] engaged in a more purposeful following of a story. They represent prospects to our members," the OPA's Zimbalist says.
Offliners are predominantly female, and 70 percent are aged 35 to 54. While the perception may be that offliners are not so web-savvy, they actually spend an average of 17 hours per week on the 'Net, and 57 percent of them enjoy spending time poring over web sites. "They're just less familiar with online media and more comfortable with offline media--habits are hard to break," Zimbalist says.
The demographic research represents the second phase of a study conducted by the OPA and Frank N. Magid Associates. The first phase of the study, released late last year, detailed consumers' attitudes toward--and usage of-online and offline media brands. That research found that consumers have made branded content web sites integral to their daily lives, and use them to complement the brands' offline properties. It analyzed consumers' multi-channel media brand usage, and found that a majority of those surveyed view their online brand habits as a natural extension of their offline brand usage. It also found that cannibalization between online and offline properties is minimal.
The upshot for advertisers is that branded media sites have value and that "Internet advertising is not a commodity," USAToday.com's Webber adds. Advertisers should also know that there's a lot of overlap in online/offline brand usage. They can use this knowledge to deploy more effective cross-media messages.
The OPA and Magid research was conducted via an online survey of 25,852 Web users aged 18 to 54 who visited 41 individual OPA member sites. Those sites included About.com, CBS.MarketWatch, ESPN, HGTV, MSNBC, USAToday, WashingtonPost, and Weather.com. The study was conducted over a one-week period, with pop-up intercepts.
