August 1, 2005
The old stereotype says that it’s men who clutch the TV remotes with a death grip that’s nearly unbreakable. Let ‘em have the remotes – a new Lifetime (www.lifetime.com) television suggests that it’s women who are in charge of the DVRs (that’s digital video recorder, like Tivo).
As reported in the latest Mediaweek (www.mediaweek.com), 48 percent of married women said it was their decision to buy a DVR and 55 percent claim they know how to work it better than their husbands. A Lifetime executive called the results “dramatic and counterintuitive.” Hmmm. Where’s he been?
Other results of note include:
• Women tend to stop for commercials that they find particularly entertaining or relevant – 76 percent – and for TV and movie promos. This is really good news for us as marketers and advertisers! Now all we have to do is put entertaining and relevant messages out there…
• 94 percent said that although they fast forward through commercials, they can still identify brands and products.
• 75 percent of women said they love their DVRs because they’re intuitive to use and easier than a VCR. This is a great hint to marketers not to sell DVRs as super high tech gadgets, but as tools to simplify her life instead.
• 98 percent said they would recommend DVR to a friend, and 94 percent said the service was worth the money. You’ve got to love those numbers – all those women talking about DVR – I’m sensing that DVRs are on the verge of exploding…
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