London, 18 February 2009 - Hitwise, the leading online competitive intelligence service and an Experian company, today reveals that Martin Lewis, creator of the "consumer revenge" website Money Saving Expert (www.moneysavingexpert.com), was the most searched-for personality by UK Internet users during the 12 weeks ending January 3 2009. There were 11% more searches for Martin Lewis than US President Barack Obama, the second most searched-for personality over the period.
"British Internet users remain fascinated by celebrities, but they are also looking for more practical advice in these tough economic times," commented Robin Goad, Hitwise's Director of Research. "The combination of practical money saving advice, a popular website and frequent appearances in the media made Martin Lewis the most searched-for personality in the UK during the final three months of last year." During January 2009 www.moneysavingexpert.com was the 100th most visited website in the UK, while the site's forums (forums.moneysavingexpert.com) ranked as the 10th most popular social networking site.
Other ways that UK consumers have been using the Internet to save money during the credit crunch include:
Barack Obama in second place, but TV and music celebrities dominate rest of top 10
The then President-elect Barack Obama was the second most searched-for personality by UK Internet users during the 12 weeks ending January 3 2009. However, female celebrities from the worlds of TV and music account for most of the top 10. X Factor finalist Diana Vickers was the third most searched-for personality, while fellow X-Factor stars Leona Lewis (5) and Cheryl Cole (6) also made the top 10. American stars Britney Spears (4), Miley Cyrus (8) and Katy Perry (10) were also popular, while "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!" contestant Nicola Mclean placed 9th.
"The majority of people searches are for celebrities, and that looks unlikely to change," commented Goad. "One in seven non-branded UK Internet searches is for a TV program or personality, while one in every 16 is music related."
Ten most searched for personalities in the UK, 12 weeks ending 03/01/09
1. Martin Lewis
2. Barack Obama
3. Diana Vickers
4. Britney Spears
5. Leona Lewis
6. Cheryl Cole
7. Georgina Baillie
8. Miley Cyrus
9. Nicola Mclean
10. Katy Perry
British Oscar hopefuls and Grammy winners receive US search boost
The boost that the UK entertainment industry has received during the awards season has also been reflected in the volume of US Internet searches for British musicians, actors and films. All five of the nominees for Record of the Year at the Grammys were British, and the award was eventually won by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss for their song "Please Read The Letter". Last week there was a 15-fold increase in the volume of US searches for 'robert plant', while there were seven-fold increases for fellow nominees M.I.A. and Adele (who won awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance). There was also a three-fold increase in searches for 'coldplay', winners of two Grammies for "Viva La Vida".
American Internet users have also been searching for recent exports from the British film industry. After she won a Golden Globe, US Internet searches for Oscar nominee Kate Winslet increased eight-fold. Fellow British Oscar favourite - and BAFTA award winner - Slumdog Millionaire experienced a three fold increase in US searches after it won the Golden Globe for best film.
About Hitwise:
Hitwise is the leading online competitive intelligence service. Only Hitwise provides its 1,500 clients around the world with daily insights on how their customers interact with a broad range of competitive websites, and how their competitors use different tactics to attract online customers.
Since 1997, Hitwise has pioneered a unique, network-based approach to Internet measurement. Through relationships with ISPs around the world, Hitwise's patented methodology anonymously captures the online usage, search and conversion behaviour of 25 million Internet users. This unprecedented volume of Internet usage data is seamlessly integrated into an easy to use, web-based service, designed to help marketers better plan, implement and report on a range of online marketing programs.
Hitwise, a subsidiary of Experian (FTS: EXPN) www.experiangroup.com operates in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. More information about Hitwise is available at www.hitwise.com.
For up-to-date-analysis of online trends, please visit the Hitwise Intelligence-Analyst Weblogs at http://weblogs.hitwise.com and the Hitwise Data Center at www.hitwise.com/datacenter, or follow Hitwise on Twitter at twitter.com/Hitwise_UK
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