AOL EUROPE RANKS NUMBER ONE IN TIME SPENT PER MEMBER ONLINE
just came across this, thought it interesting.
Independent Media Metrix Ratings Show Members Stay Online up to
Ten Times Longer within AOL Service than Users of All Competitors
Europe's Leading Multinational Interactive Services Provider
Achieves Second-Highest Reach
Ratings Report Underscores Unrivalled Appeal of
AOL's Exclusive Content and Community for Millions of Members
Hamburg & London, 8 December 1999
AOL Europe, the leading European multinational Internet, online and e-commerce services provider, today welcomed the findings of the independent Internet
ratings organisation, Media Metrix, that ranked its membership number one in time spent online -- key indicator of customer loyalty and e-commerce potential.
The Media Metrix Digital Media Audience Ratings Report was compiled using data from panels in the UK, France and Germany in October. Details of the
findings are available in the Notes for Editors, below.
AOL members in each of AOL Europe's major markets -- Germany, the UK and France -- average 30 minutes daily within the AOL service's world-class
exclusive content and communities. By contrast, Media Metrix found that the users of other ISPs and portals spend only three minutes or less daily with their
provider's proprietary content, or barely enough time to view more than a couple of Web pages.
Media Metrix also found that the AOL brand has achieved the second-highest reach of all European online services. Driving AOL Europe continued strong
growth are attractive new pricing plans in the UK and Germany. AOL UK launched its revolutionary 'Off-Peak All The Time' pricing scheme, enabling members
to get online for 1p per minute whatever the time of day or day of the week, plus monthly subscription. In Germany, the introduction of a similar scheme recently
drove the AOL Germany membership over the one million member mark.
AOL Europe President and Chief Executive Officer, Andreas Schmidt said: "Media Metrix's research proves that AOL Europe provides the best online
experience available anywhere. Not only do our members come online with us, but they stay with us to take advantage of Europe's most exciting content and
most vibrant communities, as well as our hallmark convenience and ease-of-use. As our members spend more time online, we believe that AOL becomes even
more central to their daily lives, and that bodes well for continued growth in usage of our service."
Mr. Schmidt continued: "Already second in European reach, we are continuing our strong membership growth thanks to our compelling world-class content and
community, as well as our successful new pricing plans in the UK and Germany. So, for both mass market consumers, as well as advertisers and marketers,
AOL continues to be their best choice in cyberspace."
Stan Sugarman, Executive Vice President of the AOL Europe Interactive Marketing Group, said: "The Media Metrix research delivers an important message
for the online advertising and e-commerce community: The AOL Europe brand is, by far and away, the "stickiest" in European online world. Compared to our
competitors' users, AOL members average ten times as much time with our partners' advertising and e-commerce opportunities. Combined with our strong
reach, the time that our members spend online make the AOL Europe Interactive Markering Group the most unique and attractive solution for advertising and
e-commerce partners."
- ends-
Notes for Editors and CSEs
Breakdown of top ten ISPs, portals and applications, with minutes per day viewing proprietary content online:
UK
1. AOL Proprietary (30.9)
2. Hotmail.com (8.4)
3. Yahoo.com (6.8)
4. ICQ Application (6.2)
5. BBC.co.uk (5.5)
6. Altavista.com (4.6)
7. Netfind.co.uk (4.0)
8. Freeserve.co.uk (2.9)
9. Virgin.net (2.7)
10. Excite.co.uk (2.5)
Germany
1. AOL Proprietary (22.2)
2. WINAMP (18.8)
3. T-Online Proprietary (8.3)
4. Deutschebahn (7.5)
5. Amazon.de (7.1)
6. GMX.de (6.7)
7. Geocities.com (5.8)
8. Fireball.de (4.2)
9. T-Online.de (3.5)
10. Lycos.de (3.0)
France
1. AOL Proprietary (18.7)
2. WINAMP (6.9)
3. Multimania.com (5.5)
4. Libertysurf.fr (5.3)
5. Wanadoo.fr (4.6)
6. Altavista.com (4.1)
7. Voila.fr (4.0)
8. Yahoo.com (3.9)
9. Club-Internet.fr (3.5)
10. Free.fr (2.7)
About AOL Europe
AOL Europe is Europe's multinational leader in Internet, online and e-commerce services. Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany with executive offices in
London, AOL Europe employs nearly 2,000 people.
Through its successful multiple-brand strategy, AOL Europe operates the leading AOL, CompuServe and Netscape Online services, AOL Instant Messenger,
AOL and CompuServe Portals in nine countries and four languages across Europe.
AOL is the service for the whole family, providing its members with interactive education, entertainment, financial and information content while giving access to
a global online community. CompuServe is aimed at the corporate customer and 'new professional' user offering specialised information, large-scale
databases, matchless forums and professional communication tools. Netscape Online, AOL Europe's subscription-free online service, is targeted at the UK
'value' sector and provides pure, high-performance Internet access.
From the first service launch in 1996, AOL Europe's multiple brands now reach a total of 2.8 million households across Europe. AOL Europe is a joint venture
between America Online Inc. and Bertelsmann AG.
In headlines and stories, the proper usage of our corporate name is: "AOL Europe, a joint venture between America Online, Inc. and Bertelsmann AG," or "AOL
UK, a division of AOL Europe." We appreciate strict adherence to this usage guide and to the "AOL Europe" corporate name. |
