Omnicom, Yahoo! Identify Malaysian Online Behavior

KUALA LUMPUR - Omnicom Media Group (OMG) and Yahoo! have launched a joint study to help marketers better understand the Internet audience in Malaysia.  Key findings from the study identified five different segments of online users in Malaysia - the Embracers, Fun Explorers, Online Transactors, Socials and Info Hounds.

Profiles of these online users - (percentage indicate size of these segments)

Embracers (24%)
As the most versatile Internet users, Embracers are most likely to be young optimistic twenty-somethings who are online almost four hours a day.  They engage in general online activities like instant messaging, blogging and social networking. Their consumer habits consist of shopping occasionally during sales and tend to trust advertised products.

Fun Explorers (21%)
With mostly teenage boys fitting the profile, the online experience of Fun Explorers is largely driven by entertainment activities such as gaming and the consumption of digital media.  They spend close to 3.21 hours a day mainly playing online games at home or icafes.  Fun Explorers are carefree and spend-thrift in nature, thus not particularly influenced by brands or sales. 

Online Transactors (21%) 
Comprising of an older group in their 30s, Online Transactors use the Internet mainly for functional purposes like banking transactions, communication, online purchases and search.  They are generally frugal and are influenced by sales but have the occasional impulse buys.

Socials (19%)
Socials are mostly comprised of Chinese females in their 20s enjoy interacting with people.  The Internet provides them with an ideal platform to communicate with friends and family. The online habits show Socials spend about 4.5 hours engaging in instant messaging and social network activities.

Info Hounds (15%)
Made up of mostly PMEBs in their 30s, Info Hounds are information seekers and use the Internet to gain knowledge, gather information and news.   This group is more likely to do research before making a purchase and trust online recommendations from consumers through blogs, forums and product specialist websites.

According to Florence Oong, Director of Insights for OMG Asia Pac, “Internet today is no longer an emerging medium.  Our study has shown that 61% of the users have more than 5 years experience online.  This medium has matured and so has its audience and we need more than just general demo profile for online targeting.  Netinsights provide us behavioral profiling to ascertain what the different groups of online users are.  These insights will help us to reach out to the different segments more effectively”

“Generating consumer insights is critical to Yahoo! efforts in leading the creation of indispensable online experiences for Internet users in Malaysia,” said Bennett Porter, head of marketing for Yahoo! Southeast Asia.  “Through joint research collaborations like the current OMG-Yahoo! Netinsights study, Yahoo! is helping advertisers better leverage online marketing using insight-driven integrated advertising solutions to reach their target audience in the most relevant way,” Porter added.

Netinsights also revealed differences in access points by ethnic groups. 

81% of Malay Internet users access the Internet outside of their own homes in places such as public Internet outlets, Internet cafes, workplaces and schools, 75% of the Chinese Internet users have access to the internet at home.

Other interesting findings include:

• Yahoo! is the most popular starting point on the Internet for Malaysian Internet users - 55% of those interviewed typically start their Internet journey with Yahoo! at home; 62% similarly at their workplace.
• Yahoo! Search is Malaysia’s most popular Search Engine with 73% of Malay internet users listing it as their favourite.
• 49% of email users use Yahoo! Mail most often compared to 30% for Hotmail & 7% for Gmail.
• 77% of IM users communicate on MSN/Windows Live Messenger and 57% on Yahoo! Messenger. Yahoo! Messenger is also significantly more popular amongst Malay internet users with a 56% reach.
• Friendster is the most popular social network site with a 65% reach amongst social-networking users.

What about the impact of Internet usage on the mainstream media?
Netinsights uncovered that 81% of surveyed Internet users continue to watch TV everyday but also revealed an interesting overlap of TV and Internet surfing activities.  This suggests that Internet users are simultaneously consuming both forms of media.  Newspaper readership remains strong amongst Internet users with nearly 30% also accessing the online version.

“Whilst the study points to no imminent threat of the Internet replacing the mainstream media, Internet has definitely impact the way consumers use the traditional media.  Multitasking has given rise to what I call a generation of multisumers.   We expect attention span, level of involvement and engagement with both programs and advertising to be compromised.  The challenge is to accept this evolution and seek ways to engage our target audience.  And it would be different wow factors to appeal to the different groups,” said Andreas Vogiatzakis, Managing Director of OMG Malaysia.