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2
hello
How do consumers engage with brands in
an increasingly digital world? That’s the
fundamental question we set out to answer
with this year’s FEED report.
FEED: Past, Present, and Future
This marks a significant shift in focus for our research. Our
past studies have been almost exclusively concerned with
charting how consumer behavior adapts to advances in Internet
technology and web services. This still fascinates us, of course,
but this year we are broadening our attention toward exploring
how consumers interact with brands online. What does the
future hold for brands when everything is just a click away? If
consumers really are in control, what can we learn from their
interaction with brands today?

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 Digital Brand Experiences Create Customers
The answer we found is that digital brand experiences are not
just “awareness” or “conversion” plays, but customer-creation
plays. According to our research, the overwhelming majority of
consumers who actively engage with a brand digitally—whether
by entering a contest, “friending” a brand on Facebook, or
even watching an advert on YouTube—show dramatic upticks
across the entire marketing funnel. Simply put, digital brand
experiences create customers.

Goodbye Ad Wars, Hello Engagement Wars

Our findings lead us to believe that marketers need to dramatic-
ally rethink their future strategies, shifting the majority of their
efforts toward actively engaging consumers—whether online or
offline—and not simply settling for awareness or impressions.
The advertising industry has had some legendary ad wars over
the past decades: Coke versus Pepsi and Apple versus Microsoft,

4
for example. But the arena for those battles will change as the
era of the 30-second spot makes way for the era of digital brand
experiences. In today’s increasingly digital world, the experience
is the message.
We believe that our findings provide a new perspective on how
technology is fundamentally altering the evolving relationship
between brands and consumers, mostly for the better. We hope
you’ll agree.

Cheers,

Garrick Schmitt
Group Vice President, Experience Planning
Razorfish

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6
Read this
Yes, You Can Build a Brand Online. You Have No Choice.
Most marketers have never thought of digital as a wonderful place
to build a brand. But that must change if their brands are to stay
relevant in our digital era. Based on our 2009 Razorfish Digital
Brand Experience Study, 65% of consumers report having had
a digital experience that either positively or negatively changed
their opinion about a brand. Of that group, a nearly unanimous
97% say that their digital experience influenced whether or not
they eventually purchased a product or service from that brand.
Digital is not only a place to build a brand: it can also make or
break it.

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 Actions Speak Louder Than Advertising
Digital is an experiential medium. For brands to digitally engage
consumers today, they must not only stand for something but
also do something. Branded experiences (or actions) are the new
advertising. And consumers are increasingly hungry for them,
sometimes ravenously so. To simply extend brand messaging
misses the point. According to our study, 97% of consumers report
having searched for a brand online; 70% have read a corporate
blog; 67% have watched a commercial or video advertisement on
YouTube; and 65% have played a branded, browser-based game
like Got Milk’s “Get The Glass.” And consumers want to interact,
regardless of whether brands are willing participants: 73% have
posted a product or brand review on a web site like Amazon, Yelp,
Facebook, or Twitter.

Brand Culture or Fan Culture?

While conventional wisdom holds that consumers don’t want
brands encroaching on their social or personal lives, this is far
from the truth. In our 2008 study, we found that an overwhelming
majority of consumers (76%) welcomed brand advertising on social
networks. 2009 is the year of the “fan.” According to our study,
nearly 40% of consumers reported having “friended” a brand on
Facebook and/or MySpace and 26% have followed a brand on

8
Twitter. The myth of marketing-free social spaces
is just that. The “dialogue” between brands and
consumers is not only frequent, but also welcome.

The Outlet Malls of Tomorrow?

Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace
But what’s the substance of that dialogue
between brands and consumers?
Marketers are nothing if not passion-
ate about their brands. Most assume
that consumers are equally enthused.
Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace
seem like the ideal platforms to engage
consumers around those “shared”
passions. But, according to our study,
consumers don’t want a conversation
with brands—they want deals. Of those
who follow a brand on Twitter, 44% say access to
exclusive deals is the main reason. The same holds
true for those who “friended” a brand on Facebook
or MySpace, where 37% cite access to exclusive
deals or offers as their main reason.

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10
Bottom Line: Digital Brand Experiences Create Customers
There is no online equivalent of the Super Bowl for marketers—
and with good reason. Digital is not simply an “awareness”
play; it’s a customer-creation play. According to our study, the
overwhelming majority of consumers who actively engage with
a brand (e.g., follow a brand on Twitter or enter a contest) can
evolve from passive reactors to advocates almost instantaneously.
On average, 97% report increased brand awareness; 98% show
increased consideration; 97% will likely purchase a product from
the brand; and 96% may recommend the brand to their friends.
Engagement equals affinity. Moreover, brands that use digital to
drive awareness also drive sales: 64% of consumers report making
a first purchase from a brand because of a digital experience.

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12
The Details
In August 2009, Razorfish surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers (50.5%
female, 49.5% male) in four major age groups to understand how
their adoption of Internet technology and services impacted the
way that they engaged with brands.
The respondents were What is yo u r ag e?

evenly split geograph- 18-24 years old

11.70%

ically among the 10 45-55 years old

28.20%

major U.S. metros and

broader geographic
representation. 25-36 years old
33.70%

17 or below: 0%
37-44 years old 56 or older: 0%
26.40%

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 To avoid duplicating the more broad-based work of Pew, Forrester,
and other research firms, our goal was to survey what we call
“connected consumers.” These are the people whom our clients
are most interested in both understanding and reaching.
Key characteristics include:
• Broadband access
• Spent $150 online in the past six months (travel,
Netflix, tickets, Amazon, gifts, etc.)
• Visited a “community site” (MySpace, YouTube,
Facebook, Yelp, etc.)
• Consumed or created some form of digital media,
such as photos, videos, music, or news
Based on previous Razorfish consumer research, we have
found that these “connected consumers” roughly mirror the
U.S. population with broadband access. According to the Pew
Internet & American Life Project, about 63% of all Americans
today have a high-speed Internet connection, up from only
55% in 2008. This translates to roughly 200 million people,
based on a July 2009 population estimate from the CIA World
Factbook (total population 307,212,123, July 2009 estimate).

14
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16
Digital
Primacy
Over the past decade, we’ve watched firsthand as consumers
have increasingly turned first and foremost to digital media. In
a relatively short amount of time, U.S. consumers now spend,
on average, about the same amount of time online as they do
watching television.

Turning to Digital First, Foremost

According to Forrester’s 2009 North American Technographics
Benchmark Survey, consumers spend 34% of their total media
time online and 35% watching television. In fact, according to
Forrester, if you are 45 years old or younger, you spend signi-
ficantly more time using the Internet than watching television.
We believe that this trend signifies the rise of “digital primacy,”
where consumers are turning first and foremost to digital to help

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 them navigate, connect, and make sense of the
world—and we are only beginning to understand the
impact of this shift in consumer behavior.
Our findings in the 2009 Razorfish Digital Brand
Experience Study not only underscore the shift
to “digital primacy” but also point to a “connected
consumer” who is far more digitally sophisticated
and venturesome than commonly believed.

Digital Fluency
According to our study, 57% of consumers have
actively customized their homepages with specific
content feeds, scheduled updates, or used other
Wh ere do you g et you r n ews onlin e? features; 84% share
79.90% links or bookmarks
with a friend with
some frequency; 55%
33.30%
subscribe to RSS feeds
30.80%
27.30%
19.50% with some frequency;
11.20%
3.00%
and an increasing
Traditional Alternative Facebook Twitter Podcast Other I don’t read
number are getting
news news news online
web sites web sites

18
 news from social media sites like Facebook and
Twitter—more so than from popular blogs like the
Huffington Post or Gawker.
de scri be you r onlin e entertainm en t behavio r . Digital media consump-
62.50%
tion has also posted
significant gains,
I regularly listen to music online

I regularly watch video online 76.10%

portending a significant
I regularly use photo-sharing sites 38.10% shift in the way that
I rely on the Web to get current news or
information more than I do the television
84.30%
consumers engage
with brands. According
to our study, 84% of
I regularly visit social networking sites 73.60%

None of the above 0.00%

consumers rely on the
web to get current news
or information; 76% regularly watch online video
on sites like YouTube and Hulu; 73% regularly visit
social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace,
and LinkedIn; and 62% listen to music online
through services like iTunes and Pandora.
The rise of digital primacy is also changing the
way consumers interact on-the-go and their
expectations for mobile devices. Fifty-six percent

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 of “connected consumers” own a smartphone.
BlackBerry and Apple, to no great surprise, are the
most popular—and overwhelmingly so.
What t yp e o f sma rt phon e do you hav e? But the real news is not
Apple 20.07%
about Apple or its ilk, but
BlackBerry 29.48% about how consumers
LG 13.50%
will now demand mobile
experiences that rival
Samsung 13.85%
Motorola 8.17%
Windows Mobile 1.42% those built for a PC—
Google 1.07%
with a twist, of course.
We can get a sense of
Palm 3.02%
Nokia 3.91%
Other 5.51% this by looking at the
phenomenal rise of
Apple’s iTunes App Store. As of October 2009,
Apple reports iPhone and iPod touch owners
have downloaded more than 2 billion “apps” from
an inventory of over 85,000. This area holds great
promise for marketers, as 24% of consumers in our
study report have already downloaded a branded
application for their mobile devices.
Given these statistics, plus the rapid rise of new
technologies like location-based services and

20
 augmented reality browsers, it makes more financial
sense for brands to invest in the development of
mobile applications—especially useful ones—than
in display advertising if they want to take advantage
of this emerging consumer trend.

The New Mainstream

Based on this data, we believe that “connected
consumers”—mirroring other industry research
studies and the general broadband population in
the United States—are shooting the adoption curve
when it comes to Internet technologies.
th e technology a dop tion cu r ve “Connected consumers” are actively
Connected Consumers engaged with digital media, both at
home and on the go, and are personal-
izing their experiences whenever
Innovators Early Early Late
possible. This type of behavior may
Laggards
2.5% Adopters
13.5%
Majority
34%
Majority
34% sound a lot like your own, actually.
16%

That’s not a surprise—but the speed

Adoption Gap

and scale at which such digital fluency is occur-

ring across the U.S. population is. Simply put,
“connected consumers” are the new mainstream.

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22
Brand
Culture
Is today’s consumer really in control? As far as conventional
advertising industry wisdom is concerned, every generation
of consumer grows smarter, shrewder, and more immune to
marketing. Today it’s fashionable to proclaim that advertising
and marketing no longer work; that trust in brands is eroding as
consumers turn to their peers for everything from purchasing
recommendations to the latest news.

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 All of this would be fine
H ave you ever followed a br and on twitter ?

and good, if it were true.

But according to our
findings, consumers are
25.5% no
74.5% actually more receptive
and actively engaged
yes with brands than ever
before. According to
our study, nearly 40%
of consumers report having “friended” a brand on
Facebook and/or MySpace and 26% have followed a
brand on Twitter. Advertising isn’t failing—
it’s adapting.
Beyond just social media, consumers are deeply
engaged with brands across the entire digital
channel—and it’s by choice. According to our
study, 77% have watched a commercial or video
advertisement on YouTube with some frequency;
69% have read a corporate blog post with some
frequency; 73% have posted a product or brand
review on a web site like Amazon, Yelp, Facebook,
or Twitter; and 52% have blogged about a brand’s
product or service.

24
 Consumers clearly don’t
H ave you ever “ frie nded” a bran d on faceb ook o r mys pace ?

believe that digital is a

one-way medium, either.
A surprising 69% of them
40.1% 59.9% have provided feedback
to a brand, either through
no
yes
its web site or a third-
party service like
GetSatisfaction.com.
Clearly these interactions are more than casual
encounters with a brand—they’re uniquely digital.
It’s not like you can “friend” a billboard or have a
conversation with a television spot, after all. No,
our findings point to digital enabling the behavior
of a deeply engaged consumer whose actions more
closely resemble those of a “fan.”

The Language of Love for Brands? Deals.

Clearly consumers are doing more with brands
today than simply “receiving messages.” Many
social pundits would say that this is a new form of
“dialogue” with brands. But if that’s so, the subject
of that “dialogue” surprises. Based on our research,

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 it’s not so much about some type of “shared passion”
for a brand’s values. Largely, it’s about deals—pure
and simple.
Of those who follow a brand on Twitter, 44% say
access to exclusive deals is the main reason. This
is also true for those who “friended” a brand on
What is the p rima ry re ason you
Facebook or MySpace,
follow a br and on T witter ?
where 37% cite access to
I am a current customer 23.5% exclusive deals or offers
Exclusive deals or offers 43.5%
as their main reason.
Other people I know are fans of the brand 6.3% In hindsight, this
22.7%
makes perfect sense.
Dell has earned kudos
Interesting or entertaining content

Service, support, or product news 3.5%

from social media
Other 0.4% mavens for generating
$3 million in sales
from its Dell Outlet through Twitter. Starbucks
has soared to the top of Facebook brand pages,
with nearly 4 million friends, by offering fans
coupons for free pastries and ice cream. And Whole
Foods tops Twitter with 1.5 million followers by
broadcasting weekly specials and shopping tips.

26
 Fan Culture
Not surprisingly, the other significant driver of
brand engagement in social media is customer
service. Thirty-three percent of consumers who
“friend” a brand on Facebook or MySpace report
doing so because they are a current customer, as
What is the p rima ry re ason you “ fr iend”
do 24% on Twitter.
a br an d on facebook o r myspac e ? These consumers,
I am a current customer 32.9%
already customers,
clearly are fans—
there’s little reason to
Exclusive deals or offers 36.9%

Other people I know are fans of the brand 6.2%

“friend” a brand you’re
Interesting or entertaining content 18.2% indifferent about,
Service, support, or product news 5.0%
after all. For example,
Comcast, Zappos, and
Virgin have all earned
Other 0.7%

high marks by using

Twitter as a customer relationship management
(CRM) tool, solving customer problems in real
time and building loyalty through special offers.

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 The Promise of Twitter
Interestingly enough, Twitter may turn out to be a game-changer
in the ongoing relationship between brands and consumers.
According to our findings, those who follow a brand on Twitter
seem to be engaged beyond deals or customer service: 23% cite
“interesting or entertaining” content as their main reason.
Perhaps this points to the emerging trend of brands needing to
become content providers to better connect with consumers.
Given a recent report from Penn State’s College of Information
Sciences and Technology (IST) published in the Journal of
the American Society for Information Science and Technology,
which found that 20% of all “tweets” mention specific brands or
products, Twitter may play a larger (and more intriguing) role in
moving the brand marketing mix forward.

Fans and the Future of the Funnel

Facebook and Twitter may be the darlings of the social web today,
but fan culture spreads far beyond these platforms and well
beyond social media in general. Consumers are engaged broadly
with brands, both online and offline; those interactions are having
a profound effect on the traditional purchase funnel. Beyond
social activity, 70% have participated in a brand-sponsored
contest or sweepstakes; 24% have produced content (photo,

28
 video, story, etc.) in order to participate in a contest
held by a brand; 26% of consumers have attended a
brand-sponsored event such as Nike’s Human Race
or Red Bull’s Flugtag; and 24% have downloaded a
branded application for their mobile phone.
H ave you ever pa rt icipated in a br an d- Those numbers in
and of themselves are
sponso red con test o r s weepstak es?

surprising. But the

figures have even
70% No
30% more impact when you
correlate consumer
Yes
brand engagement
with activity across
the marketing funnel.
Adding it all up, it quickly becomes obvious that
consumer brand engagement creates customers.
On average, 97% report increased brand awareness;
98% show increased consideration; 97% will likely
purchase a product from the brand; and 96% may
recommend the brand to their friends.

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 Wh en you hav e part icipated in a br and- sponso red con test
o r s weepstak es, do es i t gener ally do the follow ing?
For example, of the
4.1%
70% of consumers
Raise your awareness of the brand
42.1%
36.4%
who have participated
4.3%
17.3%
in a brand-sponsored
Consider the brand when you are in
the market for that product or service
39.7%
42.3% contest or sweepstakes,
a staggering 96% are
13.7%
3.9%
Purchase a product or service from 51.6%
that brand
10.7%
33.9%
more aware of the brand;
Recommend the brand to others
6.3%
50.1%
96% are more likely
14.0%
29.6%
to consider that brand
Never Sometimes Usually Always when in the market for
a product or service;
96% are more likely to purchase a product or
service from that brand; and 92% are more likely to
recommend that brand to others.

Experiences Build Brands

The best companies of our generation understand
how engagement and positive experiences create
customers. Google and Facebook are experiential
brands, as are Zappos, Twitter, Netflix, Amazon,
Apple, Starbucks, and Nike. These companies
understand that we are living in a world where
consumer preference isn’t formed in reaction

30
to a message, but through a series of experiences over time.
Ultimately, it’s a dialogue of interactions that’s stunningly
effective when done right.
As Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, has been known to say: “Your brand
is formed primarily, not by what your company says about itself,
but what the company does.” Experience, as we will see, not only
matters—it drives results to the bottom line.

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32
THE
BOTTOM LINE
Digital brand experiences create customers. As we’ve found in
our study, the overwhelming majority of consumers who actively
engage with a brand digitally—whether by creating content for a
contest or by “friending” a brand on Facebook—show a propensity
to both purchase products and recommend those products or that
brand to others.
But what does brand engagement mean for the future of
marketing and sales?
Quite a lot, actually, particularly given the projected growth rate
of interactive advertising in the coming years. GroupM predicts
that, in 2010, digital will represent 17% of the U.S. advertising
marketplace, making it the third largest medium in the United

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 States, behind television and magazines.* The outlook is even
rosier over the next five years, according to Forrester’s April 2009
Interactive Advertising Models, which predict digital to hit
$55 billion by 2014.
Of that increasingly large digital pie, much will be allocated
toward “measured” categories like search, display, email, and
social media marketing. But “unmeasured” spending on “brand
engagement” should soar, given the outsized influence it will have
over customer creation in the coming years.

Measuring Brand Engagement

No wonder, then, that so many are trying to gauge the financial
impact of brand engagement. Millward Brown, in its annual
BrandZ Digital Consumer Report, found that “digital consumers”
have a 15% stronger relationship with a typical brand across all
categories and countries. The Altimeter Group, led by former
Forrester analysts Charlene Li and Jeremiah Owyang, produced a
study called the ENGAGEMENTdb 2009 Report that attempted
to correlate brand engagement via social media activity to a
company’s financial performance. The group cited Starbucks,
Dell, and eBay as the most engaged brands based on the breadth of

* “GroupM: Interactive Overtakes Newspaper Ad Spending,” Online Media Daily, 6/25/2009

34
H as an exp eri ence you hav e ha d online ever chang ed social tools that those
brands use to engage
you r opinion ( eith er posi tively or negative ly) a bou t
a br an d or the p r od ucts an d s er vices i t o ffers?

users, as well as the

depth of their interac-

65.3% 34.7%
No
tions (e.g., responding to
blog comments).
Yes In our Razorfish Digital
Brand Experience Study,
we took a different tack.
Simply, we wanted to know if there were any direct
correlation between consumers’ online interaction
with a brand and their likelihood to purchase a given
product or service.
The answer was a resounding “yes.” According to
our findings, 65% of consumers report that a digital
brand experience has changed their opinion (either
positively or negatively) about a brand or the
products and services a brand offers.
That’s a significant figure that bears pondering
for a moment: A clear majority of consumers’
affinity for a brand is swayed, either positively or
negatively, by their digital experience with that

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 brand. We’ve always
H as that exp eri enc e influ enced whet her o r not you

believed, largely through

p ur chas ed a pr od uct or s er vice from the br and?

anecdotal research,
that consumers make
97.1% No
2.9% purchasing decisions—
in part—because of the
Yes
quality of a brand’s web
site. This is obvious in
industries like banking,
e-commerce, and search, where the quality of
service and the ability to complete transactions
are paramount. But this is less obvious in other
industries, such as consumer packaged goods and
fast food. However, it’s now clear that consumers
are expecting equivalent superior experiences from
all of their digital interactions with brands.

Digital Drives Sales

Furthermore, these digital brand experiences
directly correlate to purchasing behavior for
these consumers. According to our study, 97%—a
near-unanimous majority—report that a digital
brand experience has influenced whether or not

36
H ave you ever ma de you r fir st pu rchas e fromthey then went on to
purchase a product or
a br an d becaus e of a d igital exper ience (e.g.,
a web si te, micr osi te, mo bile coupon, e mail)?

service from a brand.

Digital experiences

64.1% 35.9% not only build a brand,

they can also make
Yes
No
or break it. For those
brand marketers
still neglecting (or
underestimating)
digital, it’s as if they’ve shown up to a cocktail party
in sweatpants. Invariably, consumers will choose
to converse with a savvier—and hopefully more
stylish—partner.
Based on these findings, we believe that marketers
will have to think much more broadly about how
they are connecting with consumers across the
digital channel. From search, to web site, to display
ad, to microsite, to mobile application, to Facebook
page, every interaction has the power to shift a
consumer’s affinity for a brand. Certain brands
already live this. For example, CNN has crafted an

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 integrated approach to connecting with consumers, whether
they watch its cable programming, receive headline updates via
Twitter, or watch video segments on their iPhones.
As “digital primacy” has risen, so has the way consumers learn
about and purchase a brand’s products and services. Because
of the interactive nature of the medium, one brand experience
can lead a consumer from “awareness” through “purchase” and
“recommendation” almost instantly. According to our study, 64%
of consumers have made a first purchase from a brand because of
a digital experience such as a web site, microsite, mobile coupon,
or email. No other medium has so impacted—or altered—the
traditional marketing funnel this way.
Perhaps one day, when interactive TV becomes a reality, consumers
may make a purchase via remote control after watching a
30-second spot from a comfy seat on the couch. But it’s doubtful
that in this scenario consumers would also instantly tweet about
it, review it on Yelp, or share it with a friend on Facebook. Only
digital seems to have such immediate and expansive impact.

38
 The Net Effect
It never hurts to make
a good impression, but
for brands to remain
relevant in this new
digital era, it’s much
better to find a way
to engage consumers
than to talk at them.
Based on our findings,
we are even more
convinced that digital
brand experiences
matter. Engagement
creates customers—not just through social media,
but across the entire digital channel. And, more
importantly, it drives returns to the bottom line. As
a result, marketers will need to rethink not only how
they reach potential consumers but also what type
of experiences they are creating to engage them.
Now “clicks” and “impressions” mean far less than
conversations and brand behaviors. In our opinion,
it’s about time.

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40
The Data
In the spirit of Stewart Brand, who famously proclaimed that
“information wants to be free,” we are including the full data set from
our 2009 Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Study for your
review. The interviews were conducted in August 2009 using an
online automated survey tool and were given to a panel of con-
sumers whom we screened for certain behaviors and attributes
(see The Details). Brand, we should add, also said—less famously—
that “information wants to be expensive.” Given that, please use
freely but attribute appropriately. We hope you find it useful.

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 Question 1: What is your age?

18-24 years old

11.70%
45-55 years old
28.20%

25-36 years old

33.70%

17 or below: 0%
37-44 years old 56 or older: 0%
26.40%

Question 2: Are you male or female?

Female Male
50.5% 49.5%

42
Question 3: Which of the following best describes
your combined household income?

Less than $60,000 a year 45.40%

$61,000 - $99,000 a year 33.90%

$100,000 - $149,000 a year 13.30%

$150,0000 - $200,000 a year 5.60%

More than $200,000 a year 1.80%

Question 4: Where do you live?

Choi ce Frequency P e rce n t

San Francisco Bay Area 50 5.00%

Seattle 43 4.30%
Dallas 50 5.00%
Atlanta 50 5.00%
New York City 48 4.80%
Chicago 51 5.10%
Miami 42 4.20%
Boston 50 5.00%
Washington, D.C. 50 5.00%
Los Angeles 50 5.00%
Other 516 51.60%
Totals 1,000 100.00%

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 Question 5: Which of the following best describes
your Internet connection at home?
Dial-Up 0.0%

Broadband
100.0%

Question 6: Which of the following best describes

your online shopping behavior?

I have spent less than $150.00 online in

the last 6 months on products (books, 0.00%
CDs, etc.) and services (travel, Netflix, etc.)

I have spent more than $150.00 online in

the last 6 months on products (books, 100.00%
CDs, etc.) and services (travel, Netflix, etc.)

44
Question 7: Which of the following describes
your online entertainment behavior?

I regularly listen to music online 62.50%

I regularly watch video online 76.10%

I regularly use photo-sharing sites 38.10%

I rely on the Web to get current news or

information more than I do the television
84.30%

I regularly visit social networking sites 73.60%

None of the above 0.00%

Question 8: Which browser do you use?

Internet Explorer 62.30%

Firefox 30.20%

Safari 3.10%

Chrome 2.70%

Opera 0.60%

Other 1.10%

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 Question 9: Which of the following is the homepage in your browser?

Other
17.70%

Google
Ask.com 32.60%
0.20%

MSN
11.90%

AOL
7.90%

Yahoo!
29.70%

Question 10: Have you customized your homepage with specific

content feeds, scheduled updates, or other features?

No
42.60%

Yes
57.40%

46
Question 11: Please rate the frequency of which you do the following:

15.70%
Share links or 49.50%
bookmarks with a friend 20.90%
13.90%
44.90%
Subscribe to RSS feeds 34.30%
12.60%
8.20%
Read “most popular” or 17.50%
“most emailed” links on 40.90%
28.20%
web sites
13.40%
59.80%
Use tag clouds 22.80%
12.00%
5.40%
17.20%
Play games in your 38.90%
browser 21.60%
22.30%
49.60%
Download an app for 27.90%
your phone 13.60%
8.90%
42.50%
Access an Internet 24.10%
service from your phone 15.50%
17.90%
71.70%
Try an augmented reality 17.10%
experience 7.50%
3.70%

Never Sometimes Usually Always

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 Question 12: Do you own a smartphone (i.e., one
that has email and web capabilities)?

No
43.70%

Yes
56.30%

Question 13: What type of smartphone do you have?

Apple 20.07%
BlackBerry 29.48%
LG 13.50%
Samsung 13.85%
Motorola 8.17%
Windows Mobile 1.42%
Google 1.07%
Palm 3.02%
Nokia 3.91%
Other 5.51%

48
Question 14: Where do you get your news online? Mark all that apply.

79.90%

33.30% 30.80%
27.30%
19.50%
11.20%
3.00%

Traditional Alternative Facebook Twitter Podcast Other I don’t read

news news news online
web sites web sites

Question 15: When visiting a microsite, which is typically

a smaller site or a separate page built off of a company’s
general web site, do you typically visit those that are:

Product microsites (e.g., iPhone microsite) 9.30%

Company microsites (e.g., Apple) 9.30%

Both equally 46.40%

I am not sure 35.00%

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 Question 16: Please rate the frequency of which you do the following:

23.20%
Watch commercials or video 50.70%
advertisements on YouTube 15.70%
10.40%
30.90%
Read blogs produced by products or 42.20%
brands (e.g., Nintendo) 18.20%
8.70%
3.00%
30.00%
Search for a brand online (e.g., Nike)
40.60%
26.40%
35.40%
Play browser-based games 39.30%
produced by a brand (e.g., Got Milk?) 15.80%
9.50%
26.80%
Post product or brand reviews on
38.00%
web sites (e.g., Amazon, Yelp, 22.50%
Facebook, Twitter, etc.) 12.70%

Provide feedback to a brand, either 31.00%

41.30%
through its web site or a third-party
18.40%
service (e.g., Get Satisfaction) 9.30%
69.30%
Interact with a banner ad on your 17.30%
mobile phone 8.50%
4.90%
47.50%
Blog about a brand, product, 31.30%
or service 13.00%
8.20%

Never Sometimes Usually Always

50
Question 17: Has an experience you have had online ever
changed your opinion (either positively or negatively)
about a brand or the products and services it offers?

No
34.70%

Yes
65.30%

Question 18: Has that experience influenced whether or not

you purchased a product or service from the brand?

No
2.91%

Yes
97.09%

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 Question 19: Have you ever attended a brand-sponsored
event? As an example, Nike’s Human Race,
Red Bull’s Flugtag, or a Burt’s Bees Mobile Tour.

Yes
26.10%

No
73.90%

Question 20: When you have attended a brand-sponsored

event, does it generally do the following?

23.20%
50.70%
Raise your awareness of the brand
15.70%
10.40%
30.90%
Consider the brand when you are in
42.20%
the market for
18.20%
that product or service
8.70%
3.00%
Purchase a product or service from 30.00%
that brand 40.60%
26.40%
35.40%
39.30%
Recommend the brand to others
15.80%
9.50%

Never Sometimes Usually Always

52
Question 21: Have you ever participated in a brand-
sponsored contest or sweepstakes?

No
30.00%

Yes
70.00%

Question 22: When you have participated in a brand-sponsored

contest or sweepstakes, does it generally do the following?

4.1%
42.1%
Raise your awareness of the brand
36.4%
17.3%
4.3%
Consider the brand when you are in 39.7%
the market for that product or service 42.3%
13.7%
3.9%
Purchase a product or service from 51.6%
that brand 33.9%
10.7%
6.3%
50.1%
Recommend the brand to others
29.6%
14.0%

Never Sometimes Usually Always

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 Question 23: Have you ever produced content (photo, video, story,
etc.) in order to participate in a contest held by a brand?

Yes
24.00%

No
76.00%

Question 24: When you have produced content in order to

participate in a contest, does it generally do the following?

2.08%
30.83%
Raise your awareness of the brand
41.67%
25.42%
2.08%
Consider the brand when you are in
27.08%
the market for
51.67%
that product or service 19.17%
1.67%
Purchase a product or service from 36.67%
that brand 44.17%
17.50%
2.92%
33.75%
Recommend the brand to others
37.92%
25.42%

Never Sometimes Usually Always

54
Question 25: Have you ever followed a brand on Twitter?

Yes
25.50%

No
74.50%

Question 26: When you follow a brand on Twitter,

does it generally do the following?

3.14%
25.49%
Raise your awareness of the brand
42.35%
29.02%
1.96%
Consider the brand when you are in
26.67%
the market for
47.45%
that product or service 23.92%
3.14%
Purchase a product or service from 31.37%
that brand 45.88%
19.61%
2.75%
30.98%
Recommend the brand to others
36.86%
29.41%

Never Sometimes Usually Always

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 Question 27: What is the primary reason you follow a brand on Twitter?

I am a current customer 23.5%

Exclusive deals or offers 43.5%

Other people I know are fans of the brand 6.3%

Interesting or entertaining content 22.7%

Service, support, or product news 3.5%

Other 0.4%

Question 28: Have you ever “friended” a

brand on Facebook or MySpace?

Yes
40.10%

No
59.90%

56
Question 29: When you “friend” a brand on Facebook
or MySpace, does it generally do the following?
3.24%
36.66%
Raise your awareness of the brand
38.65%
21.45%
2.00%
Consider the brand when you are in
34.41%
the market for
40.90%
that product or service 22.69%
2.99%
Purchase a product or service from 36.66%
that brand 42.89%
17.46%
3.99%
33.92%
Recommend the brand to others
39.15%
22.94%

Never Sometimes Usually Always

Question 30: What is the primary reason you “friend” a brand?

I am a current customer 32.9%

Exclusive deals or offers 36.9%

Other people I know are fans of the brand 6.2%

Interesting or entertaining content 18.2%

Service, support, or product news 5.0%

Other 0.7%

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 Question 31: Have you ever downloaded a branded
application for your mobile device?

Yes
23.60%

No
76.40%

Question 32: Have you ever made your first purchase

from a brand because of a digital experience (e.g., a
web site, microsite, mobile coupon, email)?

No
35.90%

Yes
64.10%

58
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 Share this
If you enjoyed this report, please share it with your friends and
colleagues by using one of the links below.

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60
Thank you
This report would not exist without the help of a supportive and
diverse group of creative thinkers across the Razorfish agency
network. They have my deepest gratitude for helping me shape
this report.

Conspirators Collaborators
Malia Supe Justin Cox
Helen Chan Tim Richards
Roger Wong Marisa Gallagher
Christian Juhl
Colin Kinsella
Propagandists Christopher Follett
Lauren Nguyen Brandon Geary
David Deal Joe Crump
Crystal Higgins-Peterson Elliot Trice
Katie Lamkin Shiv Singh
Carrice Delo
John Alderman
Jeff Lanctot

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 About Razorfish
Razorfish is one of the largest interactive marketing and technology companies in
the world. With a demonstrated commitment to innovation, Razorfish counsels its
clients on how to leverage digital channels such as the web, mobile devices, in-store
technologies, and other emerging media to engage people, build brand loyalty, and
provide excellent customer service. The company is increasingly advising marketers
on Social Influence Marketing, its approach for employing social media and social
influencers to achieve the marketing and business needs of an organization. Its
award-winning client teams provide solutions through their strategic counsel, digital
advertising and content creation, media buying, analytics, technology, and user
experience. Razorfish has offices in markets across the United States and in Australia,
China, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Clients include
Carnival Cruise Lines, MillerCoors, Levi Strauss & Co., McDonald’s, and Starwood
Hotels. Visit www.razorfish.com for more information or follow us on
Twitter @razorfish.

For additional information: Our thought leadership:

Garrick Schmitt Lauren Nguyen
Group VP, Experience Planning Marketing Communications
+1 415.369.6416 +1 415.369.6454
[email protected] [email protected]
@gschmitt @ltnguyen

Illustrations:
Media inquiries:
David Fullarton
Katie Lamkin
davidfullarton.com
Public Relations
+1 312.696.5241 Creative direction and design:
[email protected] Roger Wong
@ktlamkin @lunarboy

62
Razorfish Locations

United States Asia/Pacific

@razorfish
Hong Kong +852 3102 4512
Atlanta +1 678.538.6000 Shanghai +86 21 5237 8811
Austin +1 512.532.2000
amnesia.com.au
Chicago +1 312.696.5000
@amnesiafish
Los Angeles +1 310.846.5400
Sydney +61 2 9380 9317
New York +1 212.798.6600
Philadelphia +1 267.295.7100 dentsu-razorfish.com
Portland +1 503.423.2900 Tokyo +81 3 5551 9885
San Francisco +1 415.369.6300 Osaka +81 6 6360 1461
Seattle +1 206.816.8800

Europe
neue-digitale.com
@neuedigitale
Berlin +49 (0) 30 2936388 0
Frankfurt +49 (0) 69 704030
London +44 020 7907 4545
@razorfishlondon
wysiwyg.net
Madrid +34 91 308 11 30
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@dukerazorfish
Paris +33 (0) 1 53 44 19 00

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