Understanding students online IAB and The Student Room Research April 2011

2. Understanding students online IAB and The Student Room Research April 2011

3. Overview • The IAB, Internet Advertising Bureau and The Student Room, the world’s largest student site, researched thestudentroom.co.uk audience with a view to understanding students online usage, how they are accessing the internet and to gain an understanding of the role that online plays in research and purchase decisions • Online questionnaire hosted by Survey Monkey and distributed to students on thestudentroom.co.uk website • Fieldwork 3 weeks across Jan 2011 • Survey sample size of 1000+ completed responses • Natural fall out of demographics

4. Time spent online

5. Favourite past time is browsing the web 1. 2. 3. Browsing the web Hanging out with friends Going on Facebook 6. 5. 4. Reading books Watching TV Hobbies Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

6. Socialising online is equal to offline and is more popular than engaging in hobbies or sport Average % share of free time spent doing any of the following: More free time spent on community sites/forums than Shopping offline and watching DVDs Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

7. More visitors toThe Student Room site own laptops than TVs Which of the following do you personally own (as opposed to being able to make use of someone else’s)? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

8. …and are using their laptops to view TV shows daily – as often as on the communal TV set How often do you typically watch TV shows? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

9. Majority spending between 3-4 hours online per day… Typically how much time do you spend online per day? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

10. …of which is accessed via different devices Rise in online smart phone usage expected in 2 years time Of time spent online per day, average % accessed using the following devices 50% access the internet via a smartphone everyday – this is expected to rise to 76% in 2 years time Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

11. More time spent per day on social networking sites than academic/research sites Average minutes spent per day on the following type of sites Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

12. Majority commenting… and watching video online Regular activities online Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk -January 2010

13. Online Research and Purchasing

14. Students value opinions from friends on social networking sites… but still open to views from other trusted sources Before making a decision to purchase whose opinions online do you value when researching on the internet? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

15. Product review sites seen as the most helpful in aiding purchase decision making What type of sites are the most helpful to you when making purchase decisions? Online community sites seen to be as helpful as price comparison sites Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

16. Search engines most commonly used to research before purchasing How often do you research purchases before you buy using any of the following? If you want/need to buy something, how often do you research your purchase using the following? (For example, this could be something from a new laptop to a pair of jeans? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

17. Word of mouth builds brand awareness Where do you tend to find out about cool new products and services? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

18. Online retailers most frequently used sites to purchase How often do you use the following types of website to make an online purchase? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

19. Price and quality most influential factors How important are the following factors in influencing what and where you buy things online? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

20. Paid for content is driven by apps • The majority of users paying for content online are buying apps for their iphone/ipad Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010, base – all who have paid for content online

21. Music, books and games preferred purchases online Which of the following types of purchases would you make online as opposed to in an actual store? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

22. Brands on Social Sites

23. Large majority have seen brands advertising on social sites Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

24. Almost a third do follow or are friends with brands on social sites 8 out of top 10 mentioned were fashion brands Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk, January 2010

25. Which brands do they follow? *Top 10 mentioned brands

26. Majority follow (or would follow) brands for discounts and exclusive content Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

27. Summary • Time spent online is evolving across platform • Free time spent ‘hanging out with friends’ is equal to free time spent on Facebook • More time spent on social networking sites thanacademic, career or college websites • Online peers considered almost as helpful as real life friends online in terms of aiding a purchase decision • Community sites as helpful as price comparison sites in aiding decision making • Potential for discounts and exclusive content to encourage greater brand following on social sites

28. Contact Us Jamie O’Connell Marketing Director The Student Room jamie.oconnell@thestudentroom.co.uk 01273 624 948 Kailan D’Arcy Marketing Executive The Student Room kailan.darcy@thestudentroom.co.uk 01273 624 948