Study discovers what women really want

...from the Web, that is. A new study from Unicast finds that women want a few very specific items from the Web during the summer holiday. Knowing what those things are will spell the difference between a profitable and a lackluster summer advertising campaign. Why? Because even though women still make less money than men, women are now in control of family purse-strings.

by Kristina Knight

The study found that women plan to:

• Reconnect with family and friends (76%) via the Internet
• Stay updated with news (67%)
• Shop or research upcoming purchases, including comparison shopping (64%)
• Be entertained - playing games, listening to music, watching video (59%)
• Research vacation destinations (48%)

"This summer will generate high online traffic from women looking to plan their activities," said Bryan Hjelm, Unicast vice president of products and marketing. "While entertainment, food & beverage, and health/beauty advertisements continue to build awareness within this group, marketers that focus on targeting and optimizing creative elements within their advertisements to include sales incentives, quizzes and social media and local content will realize higher engagement metrics across female audiences."

Are women open to advertising in the online world? Yes. In addition to online sales 'flyers', coupon codes or loyalty/rewards emails, women are likely to use the Internet for sweepstakes offers, to complete surveys or to give brands information for future use (demographic/behavioral targeting information).

And don't forget the kiddies. You read earlier that women hold the purse-strings. In addition to summer-specific offers, this would be a good time to use the Internet to spread the word about back-to-school savings as well. From electronics to apparel to school supplies, women will be looking for the best deals to spread their back-to-school budgets as far as possible.

Tags: female demographic, online advertising, online content, Unicast, what women want