Sex Sells Amidst Prude Super Bowl
Advertiser Godaddy.com Spikes Above All Others
Despite a great match-up on the field, Super Bowl XXXIX will also be remembered for its prude undertone and skittish advertisers, largely the result of a stricter FCC following last year's halftime "wardrobe malfunction". Interestingly, new Internet data now show that the advertisers with the most sexually-nuanced commercials were the top drivers of Internet traffic on Super Bowl Sunday.
According to Hitwise, the world's leading online competitive intelligence service, GoDaddy.com, the most provocative advertiser, led the pack. Its total market share of U.S. Internet visits increased 260 percent on Super Bowl Sunday versus the prior day (Feb. 5, 2005). Meanwhile, traffic to the Web site for the male impotence drug Cialis (www.cialis.com) increased 155 percent. Visits to the Tabasco Web site (www.tabasco.com) increased 118 percent, driven by an ad featuring a bikini-clad actress.
Whether GoDaddy's ad will sell domain names is another story, as Hitwise clickstream data reveal that 23 percent of visitors to www.GoDaddy.com went to company founder Bob Parson's blog (www.bobparsons.com). His blog revealed the story behind the ad as well as why the second showing of the ad was cancelled.
"With online video and discussion, the Internet is increasingly driving the intensity of pre and post-game buzz about Super Bowl advertisers and their commercials," said Bill Tancer, vice president of research at Hitwise. "While advertisers like GoDaddy.com were criticized for their provocative spots, it's clear that the campaign generated significant awareness beyond the standard reach of the paid television placement. We'll be watching to see if that energy translates into sustainable and positive interest, and ultimately qualified business leads."
Super Bowl advertiser web sites with largest change in Market Share of Internet Visits Period
February 6, 2005 compared to February 5, 2005
Cupid Arrives Early: Flowers & Gifts Web Sites Surge Much Earlier This Valentine Season
Procrastinators caused flowers and gifts Web sites to peak Valentine's Day 2004, however the category surged much earlier this Valentine's Season. The occurrence of Valentine's Day on a Monday this year - versus a Saturday last year - could have driven some of this early surge.
The market share of several key categories of sites increased significantly the week ending Feb. 5, 2005 versus the prior week. These included Flowers & Gifts (up 108 percent), Chocolate & Food sites (up 46 percent), Jewellery (up 17 percent) and Lingerie (up 8 percent).
An increase in the number of Flowers & Gifts sites contributed to the boost in market share of total U.S. Internet visits to the category. While there were 256 Flowers & Gifts sites in the Hitwise category this time last year, there are now 450.
E-Greetings Sites Decline
Market share this year to the e-greetings category was down 36.7 percent on Feb. 10, 2005 versus the same day last year.
Visitors to e-greeting sites on Valentine's Day, 2005 were 61 percent more likely to be over 55 years of age according to Hitwise demographics data. That age group makes up 25.7 percent of visitors to the e-greetings category, even though they represent only 15.7 percent of the Internet population.
Both e-greetings and flowers & gifts sites are visited primarily by females, who comprise 62 percent of visitors to both categories.
Most Popular E-Greetings Sites Versus Those Visited by People over 55
| Most Popular Sites | Market Share (%) | Most Popular Sites
(for visitors over 55) | Visitors Over 55 (%)
|
|---|
| 1. | Yahoo! Greetings | 11.36 | GoodTimes2.com | 80.52 |
| 2. | 123Greetings | 8.65 | Tara's Fun Pages | 69.11 |
| 3. | Evite | 8.51 | JoyGreetings | 64.60 |
| 4. | Hallmark.com | 4.96 | Angel Winks | 62.96 |
| 5. | American Greetings | 4.16 | Alighthouse.com | 61.72 |
| 6. | Birthday Alarm | 3.76 | The Worlds of Dobhran | 59.13 |
| 7. | IM Greetings | 3.56 | Spirit Is Up | 58.82 |
| 8. | Blue Mountain | 3.56 | Castlemountains.com | 58.73 |
| 9. | PassionUp.com | 3.56 | Sandbox Greetings | 58.06 |
| 10. | 00fun.com | 2.12 | AngelRays.com | 57.92 |
Search Analysis – Search Term Suggestion Report
Hitwise Search Intelligence data reveals the most popular search terms which resulted in visits to Music web sites for the 4 weeks ending Feb. 12, 2005. The results are ordered based on the volume of searches.
Top 10 Search Terms (by Generic and Bands/Artists) Driving Traffic to Music Web sites Period - Four Weeks Ending 2/12/05
| Generic | Bands/Artists |
|---|
| 1. | lyrics | american idol |
| 2. | song lyrics | green day |
| 3. | guitar tabs | eminem |
| 4. | music | jesse mccartney |
| 5. | free music downloads | ashlee simpson |
| 6. | launch | britney spears |
| 7. | music lyrics | usher |
| 8. | music videos | christina aguilera |
| 9. | mtv | linkin park |
| 10. | lyrics.com | kenny chesney |
Fast Mover - Michael Jackson - MJJ Source
www.mjjsource.com
Rank week ending January 18 - 764
Rank week ending January 30 - 2
Positions jumped - 762
On January 30, the child molestation/rape/abuse case against Michael Jackson began. On that day, his official site, MJJ Source (www.mjjsource.com) featured a video testimonial from Michael himself, pleading his innocence.
US Internet users flocked to the web site and as a result, www.mjjsource.com experienced an increase in market share of US visits of 5708 percent, climbing up the ranks among Music - Bands and Artists web sites - from number 520 (January 28, 2005) to number 2 (January 30, 2005). MJJ Source.com climbed to the number two position behind U2 (www.u2.com) and ahead of Green Day (www.greenday.com) and Kenny Chesney (www.kennychesney.com).
The two sites contributing the majority of visits to MJJ Source.com for the week ending Feb 5, 2005 were Google (11.3 percent) and Yahoo! News (9.8 percent). Hitwise demographic data shows that the predominant demographic profile of visitors to MJJ Source.com (for the 4 weeks ending February 5, 2005) were Female (53 percent), aged 18-24 years (23 percent).
Category Spotlight: Computers & Internet - Search Engines & Directories
Search engines and directories of Internet content. Sites in this category usually act as gateways with links to the broader worldwide web, not just the content of the site. The data below is based on Weekly rankings for the week ending 02/19/2005 » Ranks by 'Visits'.
Hitwise at Work- Affiliate Partnerships
Case Study: A Recruitment Firm
Learning from the successes of others is a great way to save time and money. When a recruitment firm was looking to identify the best partner for its business, it turned to Hitwise.
Using the Hitwise 'Charting' tool, this employment client noticed their main competitor recently increased their market share of visits in the Employment category. The client investigated why this occurred and discovered that the competitor had recently partnered with another leading employment site.
Over a 3 month period, Hitwise trend analysis revealed that the competitor enjoyed a 150% increase in market share of visits. In addition, by viewing the Hitwise 'Clickstream' report the client confirmed that the main driver of this growth was in fact the relationship with this new partner.
This data, only available from Hitwise, showed the recruitment firm that this affiliate relationship was not only successful for acquiring new customers, but also for generating repeat visitation and therefore, sustaining market share against competitors.
Armed with this information, the Marketing Manager was able to:
1. Gain insight into competitors affiliate relationships and customer acquisition strategies.
2. Measure the effectiveness of competitors affiliate strategies.
3. Identify, evaluate and select potential affiliate partners for their own website in a more cost-effective and timely manner.
Media queries at Hitwise
If you are interested in using Hitwise content and statistics in publications and presentations, we encourage you to do so. Please source the content as "Hitwise United States - www.hitwise.com".
Additionally - if you require assistance with statistics or content, please feel free to contact press@hitwise.com.
About this Newsletter
This monthly email Newsletter is designed to provide Hitwise subscribers with analysis of new developments, industry trends and competitive activity. The powerful real-time web intelligence capabilities of Hitwise and a continual flow of additional research findings make this an indispensable business resource.
You have received the Hitwise newsletter because you subscribed to our services, or a friend sent it to you. To change your details or unsubscribe from the Hitwise newsletter please click here.
Hitwise is strongly committed to your privacy rights and does not sell or give its list to third parties. To view the Hitwise Privacy Policy please click here.
Brought to you by the team at Hitwise United States - www.hitwise.com.
Copyright Hitwise Pty Ltd, February 2005
| 
Hitwise United States Newsletter - February 2005
Real-time competitive intelligence