Key FMCG research and stats

How much does the FMCG sector invest in online?

The IAB/PwC online adspend study 2008 H1

• In H1 2008, total online advertising was worth £1682.5m

• Display was worth £333.8m

• Classifieds was worth £361.6m

• Search was worth £981.0m

• FMCG accounted for 2.5% of online ad spend in H1 2008. This is down by 1.4% points on H1 2007.

• For consumer goods the share in H1 2008 was 2.9%, down by 2.4% points on H1 2007.

• When display ad spend is isolated, the share of fmcg rises to 5.5% in H1 2008.

All the tops 10s you need to know from comScore and Hitwise

Source: comScore Media Metrix
*Unique Visitors aged 15+, excludes traffic from public
computers such as internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

Key FMCG audiences from Microsoft Advertising

While FMCG covers a wide variety of audiences, perhaps the backbone audience is mums. Through their management of the family and home they are responsible for a broad range of FMCG purchases.

• Recent Microsoft® Advertising research conducted in both the UK and France illustrated that the web helps mums in four key areas: keeping in touch, family organisation, personal fulfilment, and entertainment. Advertisers can use these findings to target specific digital solutions at mums, based on the different mindsets they adopt when engaged in these activities.

• Faced with organising most aspects of family life, mums are increasingly dependent on the internet for information, advice, reassurance, idea generation, and transactions. Convenience, freedom from dragging reluctant children around shops - as well as time and money savings - all played a key role in the popularity of online purchases made by 78% of mums.

• Money was managed online by 68%, while 94% turned to the web for information, ranging from advice on health and nutrition to planning days out and children’s entertainment. Marketing solutions and branded advice often played a key role in delivering this information.

• The research in the UK stressed the central role that mums take in key household decisions, from organising finances to social events and holidays.

In the UK, 95% of those surveyed used email, compared with 90% for landline calls, 88% for text messages, and 85% for mobile phone calls. Social networking, instant messenger, and VoIP calls have started to emerge as vital tools for maintaining an emotional bond with both nearby and more distant contacts through mums’ changing circumstances.

16 to 24-year-old men and women

• FMCG organisations can tap into another key audience, 16 to 24-year-old men, particularly those with an interest in health and in male grooming. This audience is 45% more likely to be online than the average European and over a third of their media time is spent online - well above the average of one quarter.

• They also watch less TV than the average European, read less print newspapers, and listen to less radio.* When online, they are highly engaged by community and collaborative web activities – for example, blogs, wikis, reviews, and social networks.

• And it’s not just the men. For young women, the internet is a source of trusted and reliable opinion. Around 56% read online consumer reviews, and 36% visit the manufacturer website before making a product purchase.*

Forrester consumer technographics (European) 2007.

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