“Even the most low-interest categories such as toilet paper can apply their digital advertising agenda to reach and impact women,” reports Beth Uyenco, Global Research Director of Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions.
Uyenco’s analysis is based on a 2008 survey of 800 women with digital domains conducted by Microsoft Advertising, Ogilvy Chicago, and Mindshare. The women, nicknamed “Digital Divas”, represent a range of ages and lifestyles: from Gen Y to Gen X to Baby Boomers.
The survey revealed a number of key characteristics about the way the internet affects the modern woman. According to Uyenco, “Men and women fundamentally embrace technology differently; women think less about the technology itself and more about how it fits within their life—seeing their computers and cell phones as extensions of their personalities.”
Among key revelations: more than half of the women surveyed claimed they “never” unplug from their digital devices, even when sleeping.1 The women surveyed view rewards, loyalty cards, cell phones, coupons via the computer, TiVo and DVR, video on demand, opt-in daily emails, and handheld wireless devices to be “blessings” in their lives, and, on average, the women surveyed had 5.8 “screens” each, and 12 digital devices.1
The internet activity of mothers with new babies offered a surprise. According to Debbie Solomon of Mindshare, new moms have a unique relationship with the internet: “For moms, the internet serves as a link to the outside world,” she explains. Mothers, she notes, post and create “more than twice the average U.S. adult, whether publishing, maintaining, or updating a blog or web page.”
All of this suggests there is substantial room for growth in internet marketing. The relationship being forged by consumers with the internet looks to be a lasting one.
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Microsoft, Mindshare and Ogilvy Chicago Uncover “Digital Divas” in Study of Women’s Online Behaviors
