the online world a new constituency transatlantic trends for usa, uk, france and germany prepared by...

The Online World A New Constituency

Transatlantic Trends

For USA, UK, France and Germany

Prepared by StrategyOneNovember 2007

Objectives and Research Approach

Research Approach

Second year study looking at online advocacy

The execution of this study was carried out by international research firm, StrategyOne, a subsidiary of Edelman.

We conducted the survey using an omnibus survey in in each of four countries: Germany, UK, France and the USA.

The sample comprised of 1000 in Germany, 1007 in the UK, 954 in France, and 1000 in the USA.

The fieldwork for all four countries was conducted in August 2007.

Key Learnings• TV remains King

• Predominant way people in all four countries access news information on social, economic and political affairs.

• In both the UK and Germany nine in ten (90%) people use the TV, eight in ten (79%) use it in the US and three quarters (74%) of respondents in France. Not surprisingly, print newspapers/magazines are the second and third most popular way of accessing news information.

• Computers are catching up.• The country which uses computers the most to access news information is the US (51%),

followed by the UK (48%), Germany (26%) and then France (24%). Across all four countries, PDA’s and mobile phones are rarely used as a way if accessing news information.

• A generational split on access.• Although it is not always a strong trend, generally it can be said that across all four

countries, the three most established ways of accessing news information (TV, print and radio) are favoured more by the older generations, but for those using computers; the younger the respondent, the more likely they are to use it for accessing news information.

• Blog access up in all countries • In all four countries the frequency of those who read blogs in an average week has

increased from 2006, most notably in France (0.62 to 0.89 times per week) and Germany (0.40 to 0.57). The UK and the US has seen a less dramatic rise, from 0.68 to 0.70 and 0.9 to 1.0 respectively.

Key Learnings• The more politically active you are, the more likely you read blogs.

– Influencers are considerably more frequent bloggers in all countries. In Germany (44%) they were more than twice as likely to read blogs than the total German respondents (18%).

• Franco-American likenesses exist, at least online.– The US (31%) and France (31%) have the highest number of respondents reading blogs,

followed by the UK (25%) and Germany (18%). In all four countries surveyed, the younger the respondent the more frequently they read blogs. This trend is particularly evident in the UK, with France, compared to 2006, now having a more even spread across the age ranges.

• Sex matters, except in the UK– Male respondents in the US, Germany and France claim to be more frequent readers of

blogs than women, as in 2006. In the UK however, women marginally claim to be the more frequent bloggers (0.72 and 0.67 respectively).

• Influencers are more driven to action in the real world from blogs.– Influencers in all four countries are considerably more likely to have taken action than the

total respondents who read blogs. Of those who read blogs, over a third (34%) in the UK claim to have taken action because of something they have read, which is more than in any of the three countries. Influencers in the UK are also well ahead, with over six in ten (64%) claiming action.

A Closer Look at the Findings

Where we get our newsTV number one, computers growing

• TV is the most common way people in all four countries access news information on social, economic and political affairs. Not surprisingly print newspapers/magazines and radio are the second and third most popular ways of accessing such information.

• Interestingly the US (51%) use computers the most out of the four countries surveyed, to access news information, followed closely by the UK (48%) and then considerably less for Germany (26%) and France (24%). Mobile phones and PDA’s are yet to have a significant impact as a way of accessing news information in any of the four countries surveyed.

90%

77%

64%

48%

3%

90%

72%

67%

26%

5%

79%

72%

54%

51%

8%

6%

74%

44%

42%

24%

1%

12%

1%

TV

PrintNewspapers/Magazines

Radio

Computer(desktop/laptop)

Mobile phone

PDA

Total UK

TotalGermany

Total US

TotalFrance

Base UK 1007, US 1000, Germany 1002, France 954

Q.1 Thinking about social, economic and political affairs, how do you usually access news information on these issues?

Frequency of Blogging USA, UK, France and Germany- Mean Scores

• Respondents in Germany read blogs significantly less in an average week (0.57) than those in the UK (0.70), France (0.81) and the US (1.0).

• Just under one in five of respondents in Germany (18%) claim to read blogs at least once in an average week which is less than a quarter of people in UK (25%) and nearly a third in France (31%) and the US (31%).

0.57

0.70

0.81

1.0US

France

UK

Germany

Meanscore 2007

Q.2 How many days in an average week do you read so-called web-logs or blogs. These are websites that provide personal commentary, journal entries, recommendations and links to news articles and other sites of interest compiled by an author and his or her readers?

days in an average week

Base Germany 1000 UK 1007 France 954 US 1000

% Read Blogs

31%

31%

25%

18%

% Do Not Read Blogs

67%

61%

73%

77%

Blogging up across all countries Frequency of Blogging –

• France has seen the biggest increase in the frequency of blogs readers, with a rise from 0.62 days per week in 2006 to 0.89 days per week in 2007. Out of the four countries surveyed they are now second, behind the US, having overtaken the UK and continuing to be ahead of Germany, compared to last year.

• Both the UK and US have seen a more steady rise in the frequency people are reading blogs in a week, the UK in fact having the smallest rise out of all four countries (0.68 in 2006 to 0.70 in 2007). Respondents in the US still read blogs the most frequently, although their rise from 2006 was only 0.1.

• Germany still significantly has the lowest frequency of people reading blogs in a week, compared to the other three countries surveyed. There was an increase from 0.40 in 2006 to 0.57 in 2007, but even this rise has had no impact on improving the gap between them and the three countries ahead of them.



0.57

1.000.9

0.700.68

0.62

0.89

0.40

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

2006 2007

US UK France Germany

Consumers vs. Influencer TrendsWhat is an “Influencer”?

An Influencer is a person who claims to have taken part in at least 3 of the following activities…

• Written or called a politician• Attended a political rally, speech, or organized protest• Attended a public meeting on local issues• Held or run for political office• Served on the committee of a local organization• Served as an officer for a club or organization• Written a letter to the editor of a newspaper or magazine or called

a live radio or television show to express an opinion• Signed a petition• Worked for a political party• Made a public speech• Written an article for a magazine or newspaper• Been an active member of any group that tries to influence public

policy or government

A Marked Difference in Influencer Blogging

• Influencers were considerably more frequent bloggers in all countries. In Germany (44%) they were more than twice as likely to read blogs than the total (Germany total (18%).

• Influencers in the UK were the least likely to read blogs (29%) by contrast nearly half (47%) of US influencers reading blogs at least once a week (average 1.7 days/wk).

1.0

0.89

0.7

0.57

1.7

1.19

0.82

1.2

US

France

UK

Germany


days in an average week

% Read BlogsTotal Influencers31% 47%

31% 43%

25% 29%

18% 44%

Total

Influencers


Trans-Atlantic Influencer Blogging USA, France and Germany Trending Up, UK Trending Down

• The most notable piece of information here is that the frequency of blogging by UK influencers has decreased from 2006, and it is a significant drop of 0.28.

• The US on the other hand has seen a large increase in the frequency of blogging by its influencers (an increase of 0.5), and as with the total number of bloggers, has also has the most frequent bloggers of all four countries surveyed.

• France (1.19) and Germany (1.20) have also both seen an increase in the frequency of blogging by their influencers, and both now have a mean score of blogs being read more than once a week.



1.70

1.20

0.82

1.11

0.97

1.19

1.20

0.88

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

1.80

2006 2007


Days in an Average week

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

Germany US UK France

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

No longer just for the kidsFrequency of Blogging – USA, UK, France and Germany - By Age

• On average, the people interviewed in Germany (0.57), France (0.89) and the UK (0.70), read blogs less than one day per week, whereas the US read blogs on average at least one day per week (1.0).

• Generally in all four countries, the younger the age the more frequently they read blogs. This is particularly evident in the UK. In France (compared to 2006) there is a more even spread across the age ranges. Also in France, over three in ten (31%) of 18-34 year olds claimed to read blogs at least once a week compared to the total (14%).


Total UK Mean=0.70

Total France Mean =0.89

Total US Mean=1.0

Day

s in

an

ave

rag

e w

eek

Total Germany Mean=0.57

Germany 1000 UK 1007 France 954 US 1000

A Man’s World in USA, France, and Germany But, not the UK

• The men who participated in this survey in Germany, France and the US claimed to be more frequent readers of blogs than the women. In France and Germany the average was significantly higher for men. In the UK however, women marginally claim to be more frequent readers of blogs than men (0.72 and 0.67 respectively). However, unlike in 2006, daily bloggers in all countries were no more likely to be men than women.

• As seen in 2006, German women were especially likely to claim not to read blogs, with eight in ten of them saying so (81%) compared to just under three quarters of men (73%).

• Notably, male respondents in the UK are the only ones to claim they read blogs less frequently now than they did in 2006, with a decrease of 0.2 (0.87 to 0.67).

0.63

0.51

0.67

0.69

1.20

0.90

0.72

1.10

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Germany Men

Women

UK Men

Women

France Men

Women

USA Men

WomenBase Germany 1000 UK 1007 France 954 USA 1000


Days in an average week

4% of Men read blogs everyday compared 3% of Women

Do not read blogsMen 56%Women 66%

6% of Men read blogs everyday compared 4% of Women


3% of Men read blogs everyday equal to 3% of Women


3% of Men read blogs everyday equal to 3% of Women


Politically pre-disposed a ripe target for online engagement

• Less than one in five (17%) of the total who read blogs in Germany have taken action as a result of doing so, compared to nearly three in ten (29%) in the US and a third in both the UK (34%) and France (31%).

• The number of people almost doubles to over six in ten (64%) of influencers in the UK compared to the total (34%) in the UK, and this is significantly more than any of the other countries surveyed. France 48%, Germany 37% and 45% in the US.

17%

29%

31%

34%

37%

45%

48%

64%UK

France

US

Germany

Total

Influencers

Q.3 Because of what you read on a blog have you ever taken action by calling, speaking, or e-mailing others, signing an online petition, or joining an effort to pressure or support a corporation or government on an important issue?

Base All who read blogs in Germany 180, UK 262,France 297, USA 302

Increase in action trending upward

• The frequency of respondents taking action because of something they have read in a blog has increased in all four countries since 2006. However there has not been any large increases and levels in all four countries are still relatively low, with the UK having the highest numbers, of just over one third (34%).

• Of the four countries surveryed in 2007, Germany and France have more males who have taken action because of something they have read in a blog, whereas the US have more females taking action. For the US and Germany this is a reversal of the results from 2006. In the UK, women are equally likely to take actionl.


Base All who read blogs in Germany 180, UK 262,France 297, USA 302

17%

28%

29%28%

34%

27%

31%

15%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

2006 2007


Male 21%

Female 12%

Male 25%

Female 35%

Male 34%

Female 27%

Male 33%

Female 34%

Large jumps in action amongst influencers in UK and France – an election phenomena?

• There are mixed results for the number of influencers who have taken action because of something they have read on a blog when comparing 2007 to the results in 2006 . As with the total respondents, both the UK and France have seen an increase from 2006 in influencers taking action. The UK rose by 18% and the France by 16%.

• The US and Germany however, both saw no significant change from 2006 in influencers taking action, US (49% 2006, 45% 2007) and Germany (38% 2006, 37% 2006).


Base Influencers who read blogs in Germany 41, UK 55,France 83, USA 123

49%

45%48%

64%

32%

48%

37%38%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2006 2007


0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Germany US UK France

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

• Likelihood of having taken action is generally level across all age ranges in France, and also, although slightly less even, Germany.

• In the UK, the trend tends to be that the younger generations are more likely to have taken action, although there is a drop in the age group 25-34 year olds (28%) and a slight peak in the older age group of 55-64 year olds (32%).

• In the US it has a slight effect in the opposite direction to the UK; the older the respondent the more likely they were to have taken action as a result of reading a blog. However, those in the age range of 65+ (22%) are an exception to this trend.

Total UK 34%

Total France 31%

Total US 29%

*NB Small base size so results should be treated with caution

*


Taken Action because of a Blog– USA, UK, France and Germany – By Age

Base All who read blogs in Germany 180,

UK 262,France 297, USA 302

Total Germany 17%

the online world a new constituency transatlantic trends for usa, uk, france and germany prepared by...

Documents

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news information tv

uk male respondents

average week base germany

news articles

news tv number

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total respondents