The Score: How to Reach Young Males

Advertisers and marketers are always looking to capture the elusive attention of the most coveted of demographics-- 18- to 34-year-old men. The thinking goes, today's young adult men are tomorrow's powerbrokers and moneymakers, and investing to win their loyalty now will pay dividends in the future. Their potential influence can be particularly vexing due to their fragmented interests, lack of receptivity to advertising messages and tendency to shift from trend to trend.

This demo has become increasingly difficult to reach through traditional media because of their high engagement with alternative forms of media, including online gaming, DVDs and the internet. So what is the best way to reach this demo?

If we focus on their internet usage, we notice that there are some distinct patterns that emerge, which give valuable insight as to how advertisers and marketers might seek to reach them.

• Men, ages 18 to 34, spent an average of 32.5 hours (1,948 minutes) online in June 2006, and went online an average of 21.2 days during the month.
  
  
• They spent an average of 664 minutes on portals in June. Not surprisingly, internet properties like Yahoo! Sites (324 average minutes per visitor), Time Warner Network (230 average minutes per visitor) and Microsoft Sites (205 average minutes per visitor) all registered among the top 10 properties for this demographic, when considering time spent online.
  
  
• As with all young adults, communication is interwoven into the fabric of these men's lives. During June, they spent an average of 361 minutes on Email sites, 333 minutes on Instant Messengers and 164 minutes on Discussion/Chat sites. Social Networking/Community sites also ranked high among this audience as they registered an average of 191 minutes on MySpace.com, 108 minutes on Facebook.com and 89 minutes on Bebo.com during the month.
  
  
• Along with their heavy engagement on Blackboard.com (148 average minutes per visitor), their frequent visitation at portals and social networking sites tells us that 18- to 34-year-old men are likely to rely on "home base" sites on the web, through which they can satisfy a variety of functional online needs.
  
  
• Men, ages18 to 34, also show a predilection to engage in multimedia activities online, such as listening to the radio and participating in online gaming. They spent an average of 219 minutes on XM Satellite Radio and 125 minutes on EA Online in June. They also engaged in other forms of online entertainment, including visiting Games (158 average minutes per visitor) and Entertainment sites (153 average minutes per visitor).

About comScore Networks
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