World usage patterns & demographics(source: http://www.etcnewmedia.com/review/default.asp?SectionID=10) Jan. 16, 2007

Data for this section was last checked on 21st December 2006. The Internet has developed rapidly over recent years and has changed many aspects of life. The way in which consumers research their travel decisions has been revolutionised and web based marketing campaigns have become an increasingly important means of promoting destinations.

The objective of New Media Review is to assist ETC National Tourist Offices and their partners in identifying to what extent their target markets are likely to be researching their travel arrangements online and how far websites can be used to communicate with their customers.

Demographics

There are currently an estimated 1,076,203,987 Internet users worldwide (representing about 16.6% of the population worldwide), according to statistics updated on 27th November 2006 by Internet World Stats. This represents an increase of 198.1% compared to 2000:

o In Asia: 378,593,457 (or 10.3% of the population in the region and 35.2% of the total online population)

o In Europe: 311,406,751 (38.6% of the population in the region and 28.9% of the total online population)

o In North America: 231,001,921 (69.7% of the population in the region and 21.5% of the total online population)

o In Latin America/Caribbean: 85,042,986 (15.4% of the population in the region and 7.9% of the total online population)

o In Africa: 32,765,700 (3.6% of the population in the region and about 3.0% of the total online population)

o In Oceania/Australia: 18,364,772 (54.1% of the population in the region and 1.7% of the total online population)

o In the Middle East: 19,028,400 (10.0% of the population in the region and 1.8% of the total online population).

(Internet World Stats, November 2006)

Statistics compiled and updated on 20th September 2006 by Internet World Stats shows the top 20 countries in terms of the number of Internet users:

1. US: 207,161,7062. China: 123,000,0003. Japan: 86,300,000

4. India: 60,000,0005. Germany: 50,616,2076. UK: 37,600,0007. South Korea: 33,900,0008. France: 29,521,4519. Italy: 28,870,00010. Brazil: 25,900,00011. Russia: 23,700,00012. Canada: 21,900,00013. Spain: 19,204,77114. Mexico: 18,622,50015. Indonesia: 18,000,00016. Turkey: 16,000,00017. Australia: 14,189,55718. Taiwan: 13,800,00019. Netherlands: 10,806,32820. Poland: 10,600,000

(Internet World Stats, September 2006)

Statistics compiled and updated on 20th September 2006 by Internet World Stats shows the top 32 countries with the highest Internet penetration levels (over 50% of the population using the Internet):

1. Iceland: 86.8%2. New Zealand: 76.3%3. Sweden: 74.9%4. Portugal: 74.1%5. Australia: 70.7%6. Falkland Islands: 70.4%7. Denmark: 69.4%8. US: 69.3%9. Hong Kong: 69.2%10. Luxembourg: 68.6%11. Switzerland: 68.1%12. Canada: 67.9%13. Norway: 67.8%14. Singapore: 67.2%15. Japan: 67.2%16. South Korea: 67.0%17. Greenland: 66.5%18. Faroe Islands: 66.5%19. Netherlands: 65.9%20. UK: 62.5%21. Finland: 62.5%

22. Germany: 61.3%23. Bermuda: 60.7%24. Taiwan: 60.3%25. Barbados: 60.0%26. Austria: 56.8%27. Liechtenstein: 56.7%28. Guernsey & Alder: 56.5%29. Slovenia: 55.6%30. Israel: 52.0%31. Estonia: 51.5%32. Ireland: 50.7%

(Internet World Statistics, September 2006)

Close to 713 million people, age 15+, used the Internet worldwide from all locations in June 2006, representing 14% of the world’s total population within this age group, according to comScore’s June 2006 World Metrix data.

Of the 713 million online users, 21% originated from the US; 11% from China and 7% from Japan.

Top 15 online populations by country, among visitors age 15+, June 2006*:1. US: 153,074,0002. China: 78,310,0003. Japan: 53,104,0004. Germany: 31,977,0005. UK: 29,832,0006. South Korea: 25,183,0007. France: 23,801,0008. Canada: 19,595,0009. India: 18,020,00010. Italy: 16,857,00011. Brazil: 13,713,00012. Spain: 12,561,00013. Russian Federation: 11,390,00014. Netherlands: 10,864,00015. Australia: 9,432,000

(ClickZ.com, August 2006)

The Center for Public Policy at Brown University studied 1,782 government Web sites in 198 different countries in the summer of 2006 to determine the level of e-government services across the globe. Features assessed included the availability of online information and electronic services, privacy and security, and public

access.

South Korea was ranked top among all nations with a score of 60.3 out of a possible 100. This means that the government Web sites analyzed for that nation had more than half of the features important for information availability, citizen access, portal access and service delivery. The United States and Canada came fourth and fifth, respectively.

Top 10 e-government countries worldwide, 2006 (scale of 1-100*)1. South Korea: 60.32. Taiwan: 49.83. Singapore: 47.54. US: 47.45. Canada: 43.56. Great Britain: 42.67. Ireland: 41.98. Germany: 41.59. Japan: 41.510. Spain: 40.6

Other findings included:

o 29% of government Web sites surveyed offer services that are fully executable online, up from 19% last year

o 94% of government Web sites in 2006 provide access to publications and 72% have links to databases

o 26% of government Web sites show privacy policies (up from 18% in 2005), while 14% have security policies (up from 10% in 2005)

o 23% of government Web sites have some form access for persons with disabilities, up from 19% in 2005

(eMarketer, August 2006)

The world reached a milestone late in 2005 as Internet access became available to 1 billion people worldwide, with approximately 845 million using it regularly, according to a report by eMarketer entitled “Worldwide Online Access: 2004-2010”.

Number of regular Internet users in selected countries and regions worldwide in 2005:

o Asia-Pacific: 315.4 million with an estimated 77.6 million broadband households.

o Europe: 233.3 million with an estimated 55.2 million broadband households.

o US: 175.4 million with an estimated 43.7 million broadband households.o China: 111.0 million with an estimated 34.1 million broadband

households.o Latin America: 60.5 million with an estimated 7.3 million broadband

households.o Canada: 18.5 million with an estimated 6.5 million broadband households.o Worldwide: 845.4 million with an estimated 194.6 million broadband

households.

The US is the single country with the largest Internet population with 175.4 million Internet users at the end of 2005, followed by China at 111 million, according to eMarketer. Despite China's continuing strong Internet growth, eMarketer expects the US to maintain its lead over China, at least until the end of the decade. (eMarketer, May 2006)

Internet connectivity in Africa is growing at a faster pace than any other region in the world, according to AllAfrica Global Media AllAfrica Of course, it should be noted that this growth is coming on top of an extremely low base.

There are 23.5 million Internet users in Africa, according to the CIA World Factbook CIAWorld. Of just over 900 million African residents, this represents about 2.5% of the population, compared to the worldwide average of 16%. Since 2000, the number of Internet users in Africa has grown 400%.

Many African users access via Internet cafes and other multi-user locations such as schools and offices, making an exact count difficult, but the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ITU estimates that the largest population of Internet users resides in Egypt.

The top 10 countries in Africa for numbers of Internet users in 2004, (according to ITU data from March 2006), were as follows:

1. Egypt: 3,900,000 2. South Africa: 3,566,000 3. Morocco: 3,500,0004. Nigeria: 1,769,7005. Kenya: 1,500,0006. Sudan: 1,140,0007. Algeria: 845,0008. Tunisia: 835,0009. Zimbabwe: 820,00010. Senegal: 482,000

Africa Online claims that Kenya has the fastest growing Internet population in sub-Saharan Africa. The number of Internet users in Kenya has reportedly grown from 500,000 to 1.5 million in the space of a year. (eMarketer, May 2006)

The sixth annual “E-readiness Rankings” of the worlds largest economies, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) suggest that the world is more “e-ready” than ever with over 1 billon Internet users and 2 billion mobile-phone users world wide.

E-readiness is described by the EIU as a comprehensive measure of its overall e-business environment, including the potential for Internet-based business.

During 2005 to 2006 there was little movement between most of the top ten countries in this year’s e-readiness rankings.

West European countries took six of the top ten places with Denmark in 1st place, Sweden in 4th and Finland in 7th. Mobile penetration and Internet use were the key areas of connectivity.

The US, Switzerland, UK, Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Hong Kong were in the remaining top ten places.

Azerbaijan was one of the least e-ready countries, however, virtually all countries have improved upon their scores in this year’s e-ready rankings.

Peter Korsten from IBM said:” This is the first time we see a level playing field between developed and developing nations in terms of connectivity".The digital divide seems to decrease. (eMarketer, May 2006)

The number of Internet users surpassed 1 billion in 2005, according to eTForecasts. This was up from 45 million in 1995 and 420 million in 2000. The 2 billion Internet users milestone is expected in 2011.

Much of current and future Internet user growth is coming from populous countries such as China, India, Brazil, Russia and Indonesia. In the next decade many Internet users will be supplementing PC Internet usage with Smartphone and mobile device Internet usage. In developing countries many new Internet users will come from cell phone and Smartphone Internet usage. The US continues to lead with nearly 200 million Internet users at year-end 2005. The two most populous countries (China and India) are now in 2nd and 4th place in Internet users.

Top 15 countries in Internet usage in year-end 20051. US: 197.8 million (18.3%)2. China: 119.5 million (11.1%)

3. Japan: 86.3 million (8.0%)4. India: 50.6 million (4.7%)5. Germany: 46.3 million (4.3%)6. UK: 35.8 million (3.3%)7. South Korea: 33.9 million (3.1%)8. Italy: 28.8 million (2.7%)9. France: 28.8 million (2.7%)10. Brazil: 25.9 million (2.4%)11. Russia: 23.7 million (2.2%)12. Canada: 21.9 million (1.7%)13. Indonesia: 18.0 million (1.7%014. Mexico: 16.9 million (1.6%)15. Spain: 15.8 million (1.5%)

Internet user penetration is now in the 65% to 75% range for the leading countries and future growth is limited. Internet user penetration for the populous and developing countries is in the 10% to 20% range. The developing countries have room to grow and wireless web usage will account for much of future Internet user growth. (eTForecasts, January 2006)

America has regained first place in the annual worldwide Internet league table of countries making the most productive and extensive use of the Internet, according to the Networked Readiness Index from the World Economic Forum. The index looks at various factors such as how much countries are using the web to increase competitiveness. The US regained the top position from Singapore, which is now ranked in second place. Denmark is in third place and the UK has moved up two places from 12th last year to tenth position.

The top 10 list in the Index is as follows:1. US2. Singapore3. Denmark4. Iceland5. Finland6. Canada7. Taiwan8. Sweden9. Switzerland10. UK.

The World Economic Forum said that Information and communication technologies presently represent one of the most important drivers in boosting efficiency and productivity in today's fast changing economy. (IMRG, March 2006)

Internet adoption in leading Internet economies is showing signs of slowing, with many of the world’s leading Internet economies displaying modest year-on-year growth, according to Ipsos Insight’s annual study The Face of the Web. During 2005, the global online population grew a modest 5% year-on-year, well short of the 20% growth rate observed in 2004. In addition, the number of individuals expecting to access the Internet in the next 12 months was about the same in 2005 as 2004, indicating prospects for growth in 2006 may be just as temperate.

The latest findings from The Face of the Web (based on interviews in 12 key global markets with more than 6,500 adults, including 3,462 active Internet users) reflect adoption possibilities of the Internet that few other technologies have shown in the past.

o Driving overall global Internet user growth in 2005 was Japan, which now accounts for roughly 75 million users. Japan also remains the world’s No.1 Internet-based economy, as nearly 9 in 10 (89%) claim to have used the Internet in the past 30 days, while users averaged nearly 14 hours per week online.

o France witnessed the most significant year-over-year gains in Internet adoption among the 12 global markets tracked in the study: currently, just over 60% of adults age 18 or older in France use the Internet regularly, representing more than a 12-point increase from 2004 (48%).

o However growth in adoption may be plateauing in North America, specifically in the US and Canada, where prevalence of regular Internet usage in 2005 (71% and 72% respectively) was essentially flat compared to 2004. Still, both of these markets remain important players in the evolving global Internet economy as despite marginal increases in Internet user growth within North America, this region is leading the charge in Wireless Internet use on a PC as well as awareness and usage of Wi-Fi Internet connectivity. These are key indicators that North Americans are turning the corner in mass and becoming more technically sophisticated Internet users.

o We think the results in 2005 really prove that measuring growth of the Internet in the coming years will be less about user volume, and more about consumers’ reliance on this medium as a way of life whether it is checking RSS feeds, blogging or picking up a podcast or yesterday’s sitcom, consumers continue to expand and apply new depth of Internet use that we haven’t seen before.

A number of key trends emerged in 2005 in a variety of global marketplaces:

o In North America, the rising level of notebook PC ownership is fueling significant growth in wireless Internet access. The US and Canada lead the world in Wireless Internet Access via PC: At least one-third of North Americans (U.S. & Canada) have accessed the Internet wirelessly in the

past 30 days – significantly higher than rates seen in 2004. The U.S. and Canada also have some of the highest rates of Wi-Fi awareness and usage, as roughly two in five that have that have heard of Wi-Fi technology have actually used it to access the Internet.

o In Europe, France and Germany appear poised to drive global Internet growth in 2006, as does urban Russia, where Internet usage remains a nascent activity, but is on the rise. In addition, future growth in wireless Internet access via handset/cell phone looks promising in Europe as well, particularly in France and the UK, while usage and/or access to VoIP telephony (Voice over Internet Protocol) is also rising steadily in France, Germany and the UK, indicating these nations may be emerging as the early adopter markets for this Internet technology.

o In East Asia, the urban China market is quickly evolving into one of the most dynamic Internet-based economies in the world, as it boasts not only the heaviest Internet usage of any of the countries measured (17.9 hrs/week online), but also may have room to grow; only 50% of individuals have accessed the Internet in the past 30 days here, far behind usage in other major East Asian markets such as Japan (89%) and South Korea (68%), providing a glimpse of urban China’s potential. Another important factor to watch: whether the PC will continue to be the dominant platform for accessing the Internet, as over 90% of all households in the major East Asian markets own at least one cell phone.

Ipsos indicates that for the remainder of 2006, the trends in Wireless PC usage, ownership of peripheral devices such as MP3 players and mobile phones, and the presumed rising levels of awareness of and comfort using the Internet globally, really set the stage for a tipping point in the near future for this medium. Ipsos anticipate continued growth in consumer adoption of the ‘digital lifestyle’ globally – particularly as consumers become to expect access to the Internet in an anytime/anywhere paradigm for communication, gathering and sharing information, and accessing digital content and entertainment.Global Internet usage in 2005 (past 30 days):

o Japan: 89%o Canada: 72%o USA: 71%o South Korea: 68%o Germany: 62%o France: 61%o UK: 55%o China: 50%o Mexico: 40%o Brazil: 21%o Russia: 19%o India: 15%

The Face of the Web 2005 study was conducted in November and December 2005 among a random sample of 6,544 adults in urban Brazil, Canada, urban China, France, Germany, urban India, Japan, urban Mexico, urban Russia, South Korea, the UK and the US. (Ipsos-Insight, March 2006)

Hundreds of thousands people are following the World cup on the internet. According to figures from comScore, in April there were 5.7 million unique visitors to the official 2006 FIFA World Cup site hosted by Yahoo! and 4.2 million visited in March.

Europe contributed the greatest proportion of visitors in April with 51%, or almost 3 million people. The next highest region was Asia Pacific, with 17% of the total, nearly 1 million people. Traffic from Latin America represented 12% of the total, and only 10% of the visitors came from North America, highlighting the still limited popularity of soccer in the US.

The global interest in the World Cup, along with the marketing opportunities associated with the tournament, were emphasized by the visits to the separate language areas on the World Cup site. In addition to the English language site, the German, Spanish, Japanese, French, Portuguese and Italian language versions all received significant traffic during April.

The Global Market Insite (GMI) survey showed that over 95% of all global fans will follow the cup on their televisions, with the vast majority (93%) choosing to watch at home. Of the Americans who are definitely going to follow the World Cup, 78% said they would view it on TV while 40% will track team progress over the Internet.(eMarketer, June 2006)

The number of searches conducted in August 2005 jumped by 10% over those in July 2005, according to data from Nielsen//NetRatings.

The month saw more than 5 billion searches across approximately 65 search engines. The average user visited search engines and carried out nearly 42 searches, a 7% gain over the previous month.

Of the top five search providers, Google and Yahoo! realized the largest gains. Searches on Google increased by 1.2% while Yahoo!'s rate went up by 1.4%. MSN Search and AOL Search were third and fourth ranked, respectively, each losing somewhere under 1% of market share. Ask Jeeves rounded out the top five with a 0.5% gain. (ClickZ.com, October 2005)

The World Wide Web, as measured by the number of domain names, is growing faster than at any time in its history, reaching nearly 75 million sites. The Netcraft “October 2005 Survey" found 74,409,971 sites, an increase of 2.68 million sites from its September survey. The gain makes 2005 the strongest year ever for

Internet growth, with the Web adding 17.5 million sites, easily surpassing the previous annual mark of 16 million during the height of the dot-com boom in 2000.

Percent of businesses in selected countries worldwide that have their own Web site in 2004

o Sweden: 82.1%o Denmark: 80.9%o Japan (2003 data): 78.4%o Finland: 75.4%o Germany:72.4%o Austria: 70.8%o Iceland: (2003 data): 68.5%o Belgium: 67.6%o UK: 66.3%o Netherlands: 65.5%o Switzerland (2002 data): 64.0%o Canada: 63.9%o Norway: 61.5%o Czech Republic: 60.9%o Ireland: 59.5%o Luxembourg (2003 data): 58.4%o South Korea: 53.3%o Mexico (2003 data): 52.5%o Australia: 49.4%o Greece: 49.0%o Slovak Republic: 46.7%o Italy: 44.1%o Poland: 43.8%o New Zealand (2001 data): 41.7%o Spain (2003 data): 39.7%o Hungary: 34.7%o Portugal: 29.4%o France (2003 data): 26.3%

The report also found that the use of the Internet by businesses with 10 or more employees had become fairly standard practice. (eMarketer, October 2005)

eMarketer provided the details of the number of Internet users in selected countries in Asia-Pacific and worldwide in 2004:

o US: 170.1 million (or 60.6% of the population)o China: 94.0 million (7.2%)o Japan: 72.8 million (57.2%)o Germany: 42.0 million (50.2%)o UK: 32.3 million (53.4%)

o South Korea: 31.6 million (65.6%)o India: 21.3 million (2.0%)o Brazil: 19.3 million (11.0%)o Canada: 17.8 million (55.5%)o Australia: 11.9 million (59.2%)

(eMarketer, June 2005)

For the past six years, the Economist Intelligence Unit has rated countries around the world for Web-readiness, and this year Denmark once again retained the number one position among 65 nations.

Overall, the Sixth Annual E-Readiness Rankings Report, sponsored by IBM's Institute for Business Value, was upbeat, stating: "For perhaps the first time since the technology bubble burst, the global economy is beginning to feel comfortable in a digital skin. Spending on information and communications technology (ICT) is growing again with some buoyancy in developed markets. In emerging markets, expansion of connectivity — individuals' and organizations' access to voice and data communications — continues on a rapid ascent. Broadband Internet access, meanwhile, is reaching critical mass in several countries and becoming a catalyst for other improvements in the digital economy."

Leading e-business ready countries worldwide, 2005 (ranked by index score)

1. Denmark: 8.742. US: 8.733. Sweden: 8.644. Switzerland: 8.625. UK: 8.546. Hong Kong: 8.327. Finland: 8.328. Netherlands: 8.289. Norway: 8.2710. Australia: 8.2211. Singapore: 8.1812. Canada: 8.0313. Germany: 8.03

(eMarketer, April 2005)

The Internet population that accessed the Internet via a broadband connection grew by 24%, according to The Face of the Web 2004 Study by Ipsos-Insight.

The latest findings (based on interviews in 12 key global markets with 6,544

adults, including 3,304 active Internet users in October 2004) show that the accelerated broadband adoption in 2004 resulted in less than a third of the Internet users relying on narrowband dial-up as their primary access point.

Percent of adult Internet users in 2004 by connection type

o Dial-up modem: 30% (as primary Internet connection) / 39% (overall i.e. primary + secondary)

o DSL (Digital Subscriber Line): 32% / 38% o High-speed broadband using cable: 17% / 21%o High-speed broadband using ISDN: 9% / 12%o High-speed broadband using optical fiber: 3% / 7%o Using a wireless access/service: 2% / 11%o Some other connection: 2% / 7%

(Ipsos-Insight, March 2005)

The Global Internet population continues to experience strong growth with a 19% annual growth rate driven by Japan and the US, according to Ipsos-Insight’s latest The Face Of The Web Internet Trends Study.

In the race toward Internet adoption, Japan was the clear leader in 2004, with more than 8 out of 10 households using the Internet. Meanwhile, the US broke through a two-year plateau with an annual growth rate of 27%. In line with Ipsos-Insight’s projection, growth in Internet usage in 2004 was primarily driven by Japan and the US. Among the 12 markets measured:

o The US still accounts for the largest Internet market with 162 million users, or 42% of the Internet population in measured markets.

o Japan follows, with close to 70 million users.o Much of the remainder of the growth was contributed by France and urban

markets of China and Russia, with the latter two demonstrating the strongest, while still consisting only of close to 10 million online users each, (each has an annual growth rate of over 50%).

Ipsos-Insight also provides the percentage of adult Internet users for 2004 from any device or location in the 12 markets measured:

o Japan: 82%o USA: 74%o Canada: 72%o South Korea:71%o Germany: 57%o UK: 54%o France: 48%

o China: 42%o Mexico: 40%o Brazil: 22%o India: 21%o Russia: 15%

(Past 30 Day Internet Users from any Device or Location - Source: Ipsos-Insight, The Face of the Web 2004, survey of 6,544 adults in 12 global markets, October 2004)

The annual study of Internet trends by Ipsos-Insight has been tracking global Internet developments since 1999. The latest findings are based on interviews in 12 key global markets with more than 6,500 adults, including 3,304 active Internet users. (Ipsos-Insight, January 2005)

eMarketer's team of analysts and researchers have given their predictions of what to look out for in 2005 in the Internet, e-business and emerging tech arena.

1. Alternative Advertising: While paid search will continue to dominate online advertising in 2005, the growing fear of digital video recorders stealing eyeballs from TV commercials will increasingly impel brand marketers to devote more of their budgets to "alternative" vehicles. eMarketer explains that for some of these traditional companies, that alternative will simply mean more online advertising.

2. RSS: RSS (RDF Site Summary - formerly called Rich Site Summary) will grow as a pervasive form of content syndication. Supporting the idea of alternative advertising, eMarketer says we should expect to see advertisers attempting to leverage RSS as a platform for targeted advertising.

3. AOL Changes: AOL has lost 4 million subscribers in the last 2 years. It's dial-up business is stagnating as Internet users migrate to broadband. In 2004, online advertising revenue made up approximately 11% of AOL's total revenue. By the end of 2005, AOL will be hoping that online advertising revenue will make up close to 20% of its total revenue as its access business continues to decline.

4. On-Demand TV: Consumers are taking more control of their TV experience.

5. Wireless Broadband: Look for more wireless broadband in 2005, as well as more consolidation among operators, particularly throughout the Americas. TV is also coming to wireless handsets, in the form of clips and even streaming video.

6. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): IDC estimates US retailers and their suppliers spent roughly $90 million in 2003 on RFID, and AMR Research estimates consumer goods companies, many of which supply retail giant Wal-Mart, spent $250 million on RFID tags in 2004. eMarketer predicts adoption by the retail sector will continue in 2005, as

part of a long term trend. Reports put Wal-Mart's RFID spending alone at $3 billion over the next several years.

7. Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP): Though growth in the number of VoIP users was slow in 2004, eMarketer says it should pick up significantly in 2005. Awareness among businesses and consumers grew in 2004, as telecom and cable providers rolled out their VoIP offerings.

8. Linux: In 2005, eMarketer expects Linux adoption in the enterprise to continue, especially as part of the server upgrade cycle.

9. Cross-Channel Retail: Retailers will think of their online stores less as unique, standalone channels by increasing their efforts to integrate inventory management fufillment activities and marketing across all sales channels — stores, Web sites and catalogs. They will also spend more time studying the behavior of cross-channel shoppers in order to create incentives that keep these shoppers from browsing in their online/offline stores but then making their actual purchase with a competitor.

10. IT Security: Security has been one of the top three IT priorities among businesses for the past 3 years, as Morgan Stanley reported in 2003 that security was the top network spending priority among US CIOs for 2004. eMarketer expects this trend to continue in 2005.

(eMarketer, January 2005)

Global Internet advertising spending will grow by 28.2% in 2007, and at the same time ad spending in other media will grow by only 3.9%, according to ZenithOptimedia. In other words, online ad spending will grow seven times faster. This disparity speaks volumes about the ongoing seismic shift in the world of advertising. However, the shift to the Internet among US marketers is even more dramatic. eMarketer's latest ad spending projections put growth in US online ad spending at 18.9% in 2007, within an entire advertising industry set to grow by only 1.4%.

ZenithOptimedia also projects that the Internet's share of worldwide total ad spending will increase from 5.8% in 2006 to 8.6% in 2009. The analysts at ZenithOptimedia point out that the rise of Internet advertising has been dramatic. In terms of total ad spending, the Internet has overtaken two long-established media: cinema (which it overtook in 1997) and outdoor (which it overtook this year) in the space of only 11 years. It is expected to even overtake radio ad spending by 2009.

ZenithOptimedia expect the Internet to take nearly 9% of global adspend by 2009, but experience from the most developed markets suggests it is heading for well over 10%. The Internet already attracts more than 10% of adspend in three markets (Norway, Sweden and the UK), and by 2009 ZenithOptimedia expect it to do so in ten markets (Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, the UK and USA). The Internet has its highest share in the UK,

where it will attract 13.5% of adspend this year and 21.5% in 2009.

Looking at the breakdown of online advertising, the researchers found that paid search is the largest single type of Internet advertising, and the gap between search and display ads is widening. However, display includes video ads and other innovations that are exploiting the creative opportunities offered by high-speed broadband, and still has growth potential. Meanwhile, classified continues to migrate from print to online. (eMarketer, December 2006)

New figures from ZenithOptimedia show that traditional ad expenditures continue to track or exceed the world economy, reaching $403.7 billion in 2005. The figure is estimated to reach $478.9 billion by 2008.

ZenithOptimedia estimates that advertising spending this year will grow 4.8%. And, looking forward, the firm projects that 2006 will be even healthier with a 5.9% growth rate, with 2007 and 2008 roughly the same at 5.7% and 6% growth respectively. While the US continues to be the largest contributor to global advertising growth, providing 33% of ad dollars added between 2004 and 2008 while accounting for 41%-43% of global advertising, growth rates are strong around the globe.

ZenithOptimedia identifies "the ad-growth hotspots" as Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia and China. Currently, they account for only 6%-10% of ad spending, but are all among the top eight growers, and ZenithOptimedia predicts they will account for 26% of global ad growth 2004-2008. By contrast, the five largest European markets (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) are making a predicted contribution of 11%, and their combined share of the global ad market consequently will shrink from 19% to 17% over the same period.

However, there will be no shrinkage in the online sector. The company predicts that Internet advertising will be worth $18 billion in 2005. If it were a country it would rank top five in size and growth — like a Western Europe giant growing at an emerging Asia rate. (eMarketer, December 2005)

Epsilon Interactive recently commissioned the GfK Group to conduct a study on consumer e-mail perceptions. The results of the survey, which were published in February 2006 and reported the responses of 584 US Internet users, revealed some interesting facts about how users respond to e-mail marketing.

58% of the respondents "agreed that e-mail they receive is usually targeted to their need and interests." This represents a 5% increase from over a year ago.

Even more encouraging is the fact that 60% of respondents to the 2006 survey said that the e-mails they receive from companies with which they do business have become more targeted and relevant, compared with 57% of respondents who said this in 2005.

Finally, most of the respondents, 78%, said that they do not use their work e-mail addresses to receive marketing offers. (eMarkete, March 2006)

Open rates on marketing e-mail and newsletters declined in Q4 of 2005, according to the "Q4 2005 E-mail Statistics" report released by eROI. From the Q3 to Q4 2005, open rates dropped 29%, while click rates fell 21% in the same period. The report speculates image blocking in Gmail, Outlook 2003 and other e-mail clients chipped away at open rates. The sheer volume of e-mail received over the holidays is another factor considered by the e-marketing agency.

The study finds Friday to be the best day to send e-mail. The past two quarters show a tendency for higher open and click rates on Friday. Tuesday gets the second-highest open rate, with Thursday earning the second-highest clickthrough rates.

E-mail volume may have some correlation to open and click rates. Excluding the weekends, fewer e-mails were sent on Friday than any other day of the week. The highest volume fell on Monday, with 23.3 million messages. On Friday, the firm's clients sent an average 16.3 million. (Clickz.com, January 2006)

American teens’ stronghold over technology in the 1990s has given way to a worldwide class of "SuperConnectors", according to a research report entitled "GenWorld: The new Generation of Global Teens" by Energy BBDO.

Globally, teens aged 13-18 are very concerned about the world and their own future. These concerns have made them self activists, creative, and highly adaptable to emerging technologies. The report identifies seven shifts in attitudes and behaviours within this group. It also looks at ways for marketers to approach this group and stay relevant.

56% of teens age 13-18 are SuperConnectors according to the GenWorld study. This group has an active lifestyle and uses multiple means of connectivity at any given time. Connectivity tools at this generation's disposal include such lean-forward mechanisms as cell phones, text messaging, the Internet, e-mail, instant messaging and search engines. Even when they're taking part of lean-back media, the group finds new levels of engagement. The report finds that often, they are doing both at the same time, they may be multitasking or doing an activity with friends.

Social networks play a large role with this group. Family communication takes place in-person, though friendships within a teen's network spreads out over the Web and other enabled devices. The same activities may be occurring, but technology expands the capabilities teens have to communicate.

SuperConnectors are resistant to traditional advertising messages. The report does identify ways to speak to them without alienating them. Strategies include contact on their terms, in ways that allow teens to communicate with each other and personalize what they're receiving. Communication should empower the group

and provide optimism.

The GenWorld Teen Study was commissioned by Energy BBDO to gauge lifestyle, values, attitudes and brand perceptions among teens aged 13 to 18. The survey was fielded to 3,322 teens in the summer of 2005 in 13 countries including the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Russia, Poland, China, Taiwan and India. (ClickZ.com, March 2006)

There were 26.6 million online blogs recorded in January 2006 worldwide, according to the "State of the Blogosphere" report Technorati. This compares with 1.6 million recorded in January 2004 and 6.6 million in January 2005.

Latest data from Technorati shows that as per April 2006, there are now 35.3 million blogs. Technorati claims over 75,000 new weblogs are created every day, which means that on average, a new weblog is created every second of every day.

According to the latest report, 19.4 million bloggers (55%) are still updating their sites three months after their blogs were created. That's an increase in both absolute and relative terms over January 2006, when only 50.5% or 13.7 million blogs were 'active'. In addition, about 3.9 million bloggers currently update their blogs at least weekly. (eMarketer, April 2006)

Marketers bought 185 billion display ad impressions in the month of March 2006, according to Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance tracking data. That is nearly twice as many as the 97 billion that were bought in March 2005 and 31% more than February's 141 billion.

Confirming this trend, the results of a survey from Deutsche Bank and mediaPost and conducted by InsightExpress, found that, of the media executives interviewed for the survey, 72% said their clients spent more on Internet advertising in the first quarter of 2006 (and 41% of them saw increases of more than 10%). Only 6% reported a spending decline, while 18% saw no change in spending. (eMarketer, April 2006)

Internet advertising will take more than 10% of all ad expenditure in two markets this year, according to the latest "Advertising Expenditure Forecast" published by ZenithOptimedia:

o In the UK, it will account for 12.9% of total expenditureso In Sweden, it will account for 10.5%.

This will be the first time that Internet advertising has enjoyed a double-digit share anywhere in the world. By 2008, ZenithOptimedia expects six other online ad markets to crack the double-digit market share barrier: Australia, Israel, Japan, Norway, South Korea and Taiwan. As a result of this robust growth, the firm has upgraded its worldwide Internet advertising forecast, and now expects expenditures to grow 84% between 2005 and 2008.

Worldwide advertising spending by media 2005-2008 (% of total):

o Television: 37.9% in 2008, up from 37.7% in 2005o Newspapers: 28.0% in 2008, down from 29.9% in 2005o Magazines: 12.7% in 2008, down from 13.3% in 2005o Radio: 8.0% in 2008, down from 8.6% in 2005o Internet: 7.3% in 2008, up from 4.7% in 2005o Outdoor: 5.7% in 2008, up from 5.5% in 2005o Cinema: 0.4% in 2008, unchanged compared to 2005

ZenithOptimedia believe that the Internet's share of advertising should reach double digits worldwide by 2011. Worldwide Internet ad expenditures will grow from $18.6 billion last year to over $24 billion this year, $29 billion in 2007 and $34 billion in 2008. In addition, the Internet will overtake outdoor advertising's share of total ad spending this year, and it is rapidly closing in on radio. ZenithOptimedia predicts the gap between the Internet's share and radio's share will narrow from 3.9 percentage points in 2005 to 0.7 points in 2008. (eMarketer, October 2006)

Access The number of active home Internet users worldwide increased by 0.8% overall in

October 2006 in the 10 countries tracked by Nielsen//NetRatings. Overall, there was an increase of 2,598,644 active home Web users. The number of active home users increased in Germany, the UK, the US, Japan, France, and Switzerland. Decreases were seen in Brazil, Australia, Spain, and Italy.

Nielsen//NetRatings uses a sampling methodology applied worldwide which allows for aggregation of data on a regional and global basis.

Active home Internet users by country, October 2006:o Australia: 10,438,386 (-1.40% compared to September 2006)o Brazil: 13,312,588 (-2.39%)o France: 19,443,777 (+0.79%)o Germany: 33,627,808 (+1.96%)o Italy: 16,959,123 (-0.33%)o Japan: 44,182,811 (+0.87%)o Spain: 12,714,303 (-0.76%)o Switzerland: 3,783,945 (+0.69%)o United Kingdom: 24,476,339 (+1.42%)o United States: 146,544,990 (+1.16%)

(ClickZ.com, December 2006)

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