| The research was commissioned in the US by portal
Yahoo and the Starcom MediaVest Group. The study Real Women. Digital
World revealed the re-emergence of the women's daytime audience. It
then mapped their behavior online.
The 38 Hour Day: The research revealed that the landscape
of the women's daytime audience has changed dramatically over the
last 30 years. This is because more women have entered the workforce.
Women rely on the Internet to manage all facets of their work,
family and social lives. Women surveyed also indicated that their
total time spent on individual activities in one day added up to
38 hours of activity inside a 24-hour day. The Internet has enabled
women to multi-task while facing this 38-hour day and has become
a central fixture within their lives.
Traditional channels still play a key role : The net however
has not completely supplanted the older media. The survey noted
that women also use magazines, product packaging and television
to learn about internet sites. 65 per cent of women who read magazines
prefer to read the hard copy.
Traditional media is still very important particularly in the form
of relaxing entertainment. However women visit sites providing instant
and interactive information that is not typically available through
other media.
The online destinations that women visit include shopping, home/family
and health/beauty, news, financial services games. Making things
interesting is the fact that more women visit sports sites than
astrology sites.
The efficiency and empowerment that the internet provides gives
women the opportunity to spend more time with their family compared
with a year ago. Going online has replaced the coffee or water-cooler
break at work. The qualitative and quantitative study was conducted
by Just Ask a Woman and TNS Media Research respectively.
Yahoo chief sales officer Wenda Harris added, "Marketers and
media companies who hope to truly connect with women consumers now
and in the coming decades cannot ignore the growing importance and
impact of the Internet, digital media and communication devices
on women's lives."
The results of the study were announced at a Yahoo! conference
for marketers held recently. The aim was to further explore and
understand the media consumption patterns of women and how the American
marketing community can best communicate with this group.
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