Last June 8, 2010, Yahoo and AC Nielsen released the results of the Net Index 2010 which measures the Philippine internet audience. Using patented data-gathering methods, they were able to garner valuable insights to help advertisers understand the Philippine internet audience.
Around 30%+ of the total urban population are now online and major cities, particularly Metro Cebu and Davao led by Metro Manila, have grown their internet penetration considerably. Medium to smaller size cities are catching up.
This growth has been driven by the upper middle bracket SECs, mainly due to increase in home access, now at 27% of total internet population. 71% are still accessing from internet cafes though, while mobile internet usage is at 5%.
Gaming is still very much prevalent in the market, with a huge chunk in the Pinoy youth segment (15 to 29 age group). More gamers are making their way to both online MMOs (like Ragnarok) and social games and apps (like Farmville).
The 4 Big Trends
1. Search. Now more than ever, Filipinos do search. In fact, it has grown so much that in 2009 only 58% searched, compared to 78% in 2010. Advertisers have to then understand the importance of being searchable. Your brand has to be clearly visible and easy to distinguish in the myriad of online properties. If you’re not on the first page of results, you’re not doing it right.
2. Online Entertainment. Filipinos are more into online music and video. Aside from being the most-searched topic by Filipinos, music uploads/downloads grew from only 25% in 2009 to 41% in 2010, while video uploads/downloads grew to 38% in 2010 from 22% in 2009. Music videos are most searched-for, with over 73% of users admitting to watching music videos online over the last three months.
3. Mobile Internet. From below 1% in 2009, accessing the internet via the mobile device has grown to above 5%, mainly due to data plans by telcos getting more affordable. Also, the increase in availability of Smartphones and mobile internet gadgets—from cheaper China-made copies of cellphones, to the much talked-about iPad—has helped fuel this growth.
4. Social Media, which comes as no surprise. We have changed the way we communicate with each other because of social media, in particular social networking sites like Facebook. From only around 4% in 2009, Facebook penetration has jumped to an astounding 83%. In fact there are now over 12M Filipinos on Facebook alone. So for advertisers and marketers alike, finding new and creative ways to communicate via Facebook is the key to any new digital campaigns.
Expect more great things in the coming months from both Yahoo and AC Nielsen. Now more than ever they are helping educate us on online marketing and the importance of an online presence.
