Synovate Media Atlas shows impact of digital revolution
8 April 2008
HONG KONG — The digital revolution has been firmly embraced by the masses in Hong Kong, reports leading global research firm Synovate. Hong Kong men are spending more time accessing the internet than watching television while women are on a par with men in owning technical gadgets, such as digital video cameras, laptop computers and MP3 players.
These findings were released today from the second annual Synovate Media Atlas study, which captures a complete cross section of society, revealing the media consumption, attitudes and lifestyles of Hong Kong consumers. It covers over 6,000 Hong Kong respondents aged 15-64.
Online on the rise
Synovate Media Director Asia Pacific Craig Harvey said the latest Media Atlas results demonstrated how important it is to keep a close eye on media trends and consumption habits as these change each year and often vary according to age and gender.
"While younger users aged 15-24 are still leading the way when it comes to embracing the internet, there has also been a rise in women who say they accessed the internet the previous day, from 45% in 2006 to 52% in 2007.
"And for the first time, men are spending more time on the internet (142 minutes) than watching television (137 minutes). This type of accurate, up-to-date information is particularly important to help marketers and media specialists plan advertising campaigns and find the right media mix to talk to the right consumers," Harvey said.
Among those who have accessed the internet in the past month, after general browsing and online communication (email and instant messaging), men are more likely to be found downloading (40% versus 28% of women), playing online games (30% while women are at 24%) or accessing chat rooms (18% as opposed to 13% of women). In contrast, 21% of women are blogging (compared to 14% of men) or booking travel services (14% of women versus 9% of men).
What women want
Synovate Associate Director in Hong Kong, Susanna Lam, said Synovate had uncovered strong-minded, confident women in Hong Kong who are not afraid to reach their goals.
Forty-three percent of women agreed with the statement "I believe I can reach my goals" with the highest proportion (45%) among those in their thirties. This is also reflected in the products they own with 40% of 30-39 year old women owning designer clothes and leather goods (valued at HK$1,500 per item) and 47% owning jewellery worth HK$4,000 or more.
"We may expect women to own more luxury items, but what we didn't expect to see was that they own almost the same amount of technical gadgets as the men. While women in their thirties prefer luxury goods, it's women in their twenties who are the tech junkies," Lam explained.
Among females, 20-29 year old women are most likely to own a digital device, whether a laptop computer (33%), MP3 player (65%) digital still camera (81%) or portable electronic game (39%).
Stereotypes of women and shopping are still prevalent in Hong Kong with 43% of women admitting that they enjoy the fun of shopping (as opposed to 25% of men), while 16% of women follow the latest fashion and trends (versus 12% of men). However, women's attitudes towards purchasing goods are remarkably similar to men with 52% of both genders comparing prices before they shop, agreeing that paying extra for quality is worthwhile (women at 54% versus men at 56%) and preferring to buy well-known brands (12% of women compared to 14% of men).
Luck or hard work the secret to success?
The study asked whether good luck is more important than hard work and found that the number of respondents who agreed with that statement in Hong Kong increased with age, peaking at 40% among 50-64 year old men (compared to a low of 15% among women aged 15-19).
Lam noted that another recent Synovate survey found that consumers in emerging markets are far more likely to attribute financial success to good luck rather than good management.¹
"While Hong Kong people tend to become cynical the older they become, across the globe this seems to be more of a cultural issue. In India, where luck and fortune plays a great role in people's lives in general, 72% agreed that financial success is due to good luck not good management, miles ahead of the next highest level of agreement - 44% in Bulgaria and Malaysia."
"On the other hand, only 12% of respondents in Australia, 14% in Canada and 16% in the US agreed as these cultures are heavily geared around reward linked to hard work," Lam added.
Download Hong Kong Media Atlas fact sheet (PDF, 32kb)
Contact(s) for this press release
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Pia Wong
Marketing & Communications Manager, Asia |
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Tel: +852 2830 2533 |
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Synovate Media Atlas is a media consumption, lifestyle and attitudes study conducted in
Malaysia, Hong Kong, The Philippines and Thailand. The data for Media Atlas is collected
using a combination of face-to-face and telephone interviews to maximise reach and achieve
higher accuracy versus traditional methods.
For more information on Media Atlas click here
About Synovate
Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis Group plc, generates consumer insights that drive competitive marketing solutions. The network provides clients with cohesive global support and a comprehensive suite of research solutions. Synovate employs over 6,000 staff across 62 countries.
For more information on Synovate visit www.synovate.com.