Press Information 20th February 2006 EUROPE'S 'SUPER-CONNECTED' YOUTH GENERATION SPENDS 18 PER CENT OF THEIR WAKING HOURS ONLINE The MSN 'Europe's Online Youth' report offers insights into young people's online behaviour and interaction with advertising. 20th February 2006 - 'Europe's Online Youth', a new report commissioned by MSN, the world's largest provider of online information, communication services and digital marketing, today reveals that young people in Europe are spending an average of one in five (18 per cent) of their waking hours on the internet. The MSN® report, conducted in association with Helen Petrie, Professor of Human Computer Interaction at the University of York, recorded the personal communication habits and internet usage of 16-24 years olds on an hourly basis across Europe[1]. The findings provide marketers with an insight into how young people behave online and respond to digital marketing. Socialising Not Surfing The research found that on 30 per cent of occasions young people chose to communicate online rather than by more traditional means. Online tools, such as e-mail or instant messenger, are increasingly the chosen methods of staying in touch with friends, colleagues and family in their day-to-day lives. Additionally, over a third (37 per cent) of all online advertising seen by young people ran on e-mail websites, such as MSN Hotmail®. As well as offering brands a key insight into which internet services young people are using, the findings also highlighted when during a 24-hour period young Europeans are online. E-mail and instant messenger services are most frequently used at the beginning of the week, with daily usage peaking at lunchtime and at the end of the working day. Over 50 per cent of instant messenger conversations took place between 12pm and 1pm and 5pm and 6pm. Savvy Online Shoppers Young people in Europe are savvy internet shoppers and frequently make purchasing decisions about products and services while online. One in four (25 per cent) young people made an online purchase and more than one in three (37 per cent) researched products online during the six-day study. The findings also suggest that young people are heavily influenced by online advertising when spending time on the internet. The average 16-24 year old clicked-through for further information about an incredible 10 per cent of adverts during the study - far exceeding the industry standard click-through rate of 0.5 per cent[2]. Young people respond best to relevant rather than 'gimmick' advertising and are brand-savvy when consuming information online, with over half (51 per cent) of click-throughs a direct result of interest in the product, compared with just 11 per cent of click-throughs resulting from enticement by an offer or discount. Online Advertising Scores Highly Online adverts were highlighted as young people's favourite, beating traditional radio, cinema or magazine advertising campaigns that have run recently. One in five young Europeans (19 per cent) felt that online adverts are the most informative form of advertising, while 15 per cent believe online campaigns are the most relevant form of advertising when compared with traditional advertising media, reflecting the advances in creativity in the digital marketing industry in recent years. Marc Bresseel, regional sales director, MSN EMEA, said, "These results clearly indicate that the online medium is an essential tool in young people's daily lives with which they are highly engaged. Europe has 40 million consumers between the ages of 16 and 24[3] who are increasingly living a truly digital lifestyle and marketers need to take this into account when planning their advertising campaigns. "As a leader in online communications services, MSN has unparalleled knowledge of consumers' online behaviour. We can offer brands and advertisers direct cut-through and exposure to this audience with advertising placed on our highly engaging portal and communication services, MSN Hotmail and MSN Messenger." For more details about the advertising opportunities available with MSN visit http://www.europe.advertising.msn.com. -Ends- About MSN MSN is a business division of Microsoft Corporation. MSN attracts more than 440 million unique users worldwide per month. Globally available in 41 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering web services to consumers and digital marketing solutions to businesses worldwide. The most useful and innovative online service today, MSN brings consumers everything they need from the Web to make the most of their time online. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/. MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx. About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential. Microsoft, MSN and Hotmail are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. For more information please contact: [Local agencies replace with local contact details] Vicky Perry, the red consultancy, vicky.perry@redconsultancy.com +44 20 7025 6529 Sophie Jackson, the red consultancy, sophie.jackson@redconsultancy.com +44 20 7025 6412 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] The research was conducted in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and the UK during a six-day period in the third quarter of 2005. [2] Source: Adknowledge Online Advertising Report, 2005 [3] Harris Interactive 360 Youth Explorer Study, March 2004
