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Media Use

Young adults in both countries report nearly an identical amount of time spent on the internet each week

Americans in the age group watch an average of about one hour more TV per day than Canadians. On weekdays, Americans watch an average of 5.9 hours per day, while Canadians watch 4.8 hours. On weekends, Americans watch an average of 5.5 hours, Canadians watch 4.6.

Though youth in both countries are heavy users of mobile devices, there is a marked cultural difference in text messaging. Americans send and receive an average of 129.6 text messages per week, nearly double the Canadian average of 78.7.

Both groups enjoy online social networking, but do so differently. Canadians gravitate to Facebook, with 81% having registered a profile, compared with only 57% in the US. At the time the study was conducted, Americans were more into MySpace, with 54% having registered, compared with 23% in Canada. Read more at www.marketingcharts.com

Despite America’s reputation as a nation of big talkers — the U.S. is not setting the pace in smartphone adoption — ranking third when ranked by penetration. Italy has the largest percentage of smartphone owners at 28%, while Spain is not far behind with 23%. France has the most room to grow, with an 11% penetration level.

See more at blog.nielsen.com

Broadband Adoption Increases in Rural America but Remains Below Overall U.S. Level

Rural markets (defined as having a population less than 10,000) in the U.S. experienced a 16-percentage point increase in broadband penetration from Q2 2007 to Q2 2009, making it the fastest growing geographic market segment in the nation. Comparatively, micropolitan areas (population between 10,000-50,000) grew 14 percentage points during the same period, while metropolitan areas (population 50,000+) grew 11 percentage points.

Broadband Penetration* Based on Geographic Area** Q2 2007 – Q2 2009 Total U.S. Source: comScore, Inc. Geographic Area Q2 2007 Q2 2008 Q2 2009 Point Change Q2 2009 vs. Q2 2007 Metropolitan 81% 87% 92% 11 Micropolitan 69% 76% 83% 14 Rural 59% 66% 75% 16 Read more at www.comscore.com

According to Scarborough Research, 54% of Hispanics were online in 2008. While that is up slightly over the previous year, it still trails the 69% penetration rate of total US users.

And what did Hispanics download on their high-speed connections? Music, video, audio and movies, in that order, were the most popular types of content.

Fifty-seven percent of Hispanic adult Internet users were between the ages of 18 and 34. One-half had household incomes over $50,000 per year, 77% were employed either full- or part-time and 55% were homeowners. Read more at www.emarketer.com

According to IPC Media, 74% of female Internet users in the UK went online every day last year.

In terms of login sessions, slightly more women went online on weekdays. But on the weekends, they spent more time online—an average of 20 more minutes a session.

Shopping was the most popular online activity. Nearly all the women (97%) said they researched products online, and 92% said they bought products online.

See more at www.emarketer.com

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB), mobile ad spending grew by 143% in 2007 with revenues reaching C$2.66 million ($2.06 million).

2008 revenues increased a projected 96% to C$5.21 million ($4.04 million).

As impressive as the growth is, perspective is needed. eMarketer estimated that $648 million was spent on US mobile ads in 2008.

The majority of mobile ad revenues came though standard SMS text message vehicles, followed by mobile content, mobile Internet display ads and mobile applications.

Like any emerging medium, mobile advertising faces hurdles that prevent wider adoption. According to an IAB survey of mobile marketers, the three most formidable challenges were low levels of advertiser understanding, small audience size and difficulty demonstrating ROI to potential advertisers. Read more at www.emarketer.com

Three out of every five Canadians are now members of social-networking site Facebook, bringing the total number of Canadian members to nearly 12 million, according to the latest wave (pdf) of ongoing research conducted by ZINC Research and Dufferin Research.

Tracking indicates that among online Canadians who subscribe to social networking sites, Facebook consistently accounts for more than 80% of all memberships, the survey found.

While there is a broad cross-section of Canadians who have a Facebook page, members are more likely to be younger (18 to 34 years) and female:

See more at www.marketingcharts.com

According to a study of more than 10 billion banner inquiries across Europe from ADTECH (not to be confused with ad:tech), the average click-through rate fluctuates between 0.11% and 0.19%. Apparently, users click on display ads more frequently toward the end of the year, during the major online shopping period. The rate then restabilizes in January at 0.12%.

Since 2004, the average click-through rate has fallen, however, from around 0.3%.

In 2006, ABI Research reported that the average click-through rate for an online banner ad was 0.2%, indicating that the decline has been steady.

Across Europe click-through rates vary significantly. Users in France are at the high end with an average click rate of 0.18%, and UK users are at 0.13%. At 0.10%, the German click rate is in the middle of the European range. Scandinavian Web users are more “click cautious,” with average rates of 0.04% for Sweden, 0.05% for Finland and 0.06% for Norway.

See more at www.emarketer.com

% Reach Average Minutes per Visitor Average Visits per Visitor Asia Pacific 60.6 137.0 11.4 Singapore 74.3 175.6 19.1 Australia 68.3 224.3 17.8 South Korea 68.0 277.8 15.1 Malaysia 66.6 181.2 14.2 Hong Kong 62.8 127.7 13.7 New Zealand 62.8 185.7 13.8 India 60.3 110.4 10.4 Japan 50.9 72.8 9.9 China 45.6 89.5 7.4 Taiwan 42.4 36.1 5.1 Source: comScore Read more at blogs.zdnet.com

The internet is now the third most popular media type among Canadians, falling just behind TV and radio in terms of total weekly time spent by adults, according to a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB).

The Canadian Media Usage Trends Study (CMUST), which looks annually at overall media trends for both French- and English-speaking Canadians, also found that the internet is used slightly more by English-speakers, has a higher reach than radio among younger demographics, and provides a “mirror image” of the age profile of other major media.

Internet is Third Among Media

The internet now stands third - just behind TV and radio - in terms of total weekly time spent by all adults with all media.

In English Canada, the internet has experienced growth in terms of share of time spent with media between 2001 (14%) and 2007 (23%). In this same time, French Canada’s growth in share of time has increased from 11% to 18%.

Internet annual growth rates of time spent are in the mid single digits.

The internet is the number one medium in terms of percent share of weekly time spent for both 18-24 (40%) and 25-34 (33%) year-olds in English Canada. In French Canada, the it is also the number-one medium in terms of time spent for 18-24 year-olds, and is fast approaching radio and TV time spent levels among 25-34 year olds. Read more at www.marketingcharts.com