IAB Canada Releases Annual Canadian Media Usage Trends Study, And Launches NEW! Media Imperatives Tool

Toronto, ON. February 3, 2009 - The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) released its annual Canadian Media Usage Trends Study (CMUST) in presentations to packed houses of marketers in both Montreal and Toronto as part of Advertising Week 2009.

The CMUST study, which is compiled using data from within Canada’s major syndicated research studies (PMB, NADbank, BBM RTS and comScore Media Metrix), compares year-over-year changes in media usage by men and women, various age demographics and English and French Canadian consumers. First commissioned in 2001, CMUST now contains a full eight years of data, providing Advertisers with a heightened understanding of just how much the media habits of consumers have changed in recent years. “It’s a presentation that boils down literally thousands of media facts and figures into the simple story of Canadians’ amazing and continued migration towards Online media.” says noted researcher Rob Young, Sr. V.P. Planning Services, PHD Canada, who prepared the study for IAB Canada.

Among other insights, the CMUST study shows:

Time:

• The Internet now stands third -- just behind TV and Radio -- in terms of total weekly time spent by all adults with all media.
• In English Canada, the Internet has experienced a remarkable growth in terms of share of time spent with media between 2001 (14%) and 2007 (23%). In this same time, French Canada’s growth in share of time has increased from 11% to 18%.
• The Internet is the number one medium in terms of percent share of weekly time spent for both 18-24 (40%) and 25-34 (33%) year-olds in English Canada. In French Canada, the Internet is also the number one medium in terms of time spent for 18-24 year-olds, and is fast approaching Radio and TV time spent levels amongst 25-34 year olds.

Reach:

• The Internet now reaches more adults each week than either Magazines or Newspapers.
• Among 18-24 and 25-34 year-olds, the Internet has a higher reach than Radio.
• The Internet is neck-and-neck with TV for weekly reach among18-24 year-olds.

Helping The Same Marketing Budget Work Harder:

• The Internet provides marketers with a “mirror image” of the age profile other major media.
• This is particularly true when comparing the Internet to TV. Therefore, shifting a portion of the advertising budget from TV to Internet will help balance media weight across all age groups.

And while 18-24 year-olds may not be the target market for a whole host of Advertisers today, IAB Canada’s CMUST study also demonstrates that Canadians carry their media habits with them as they age. Because the high levels of Internet usage exhibited by 18-24 and 25-34 year olds today will become high levels of usage for the 35-54 year-old age group eight years from now, Advertisers whose target market is in that range, have only a short time to learn how to use Online media channels such as Video and Social Media to drive results for their brands.

As a complement to the study, IAB Canada is also launching its NEW! Media Imperatives Tool, which allows media planners and buyers who are subscribers to PMB, to see a dramatic and graphic depiction of how various levels of Internet and TV media usage relate back to actual consumer product usage and purchasing power.

The Executive Summary of the results of IAB Canada’s Canadian Media Usage Trends Study (Total Canada, Focus On French Canada) is available Online at www.iabcanada.com, The Detailed CMUST Reports (Total Canada and Focus On French Canada) are available to IAB Canada Members only. To become a Member of IAB Canada, or for more information, please contact:

For more information contact:
Paula Gignac
President, IAB Canada
iabcanada.com
416-598-3400 (ext. 26)

The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (www.iabcanada.com), is the national voice and de facto thought leader of the Canadian Interactive marketing and advertising industry, and is a not-for-profit association representing Canada’s most well-known and respected Advertisers, Agencies, Media Companies, Service Associates, Educational Institutions and Government Associations.

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