MARTHA STEWART FANS WELCOME RETURN TO TELEVISION
Searches increase by 145%, Site visits referred to advertisers
NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2005— After serving a prison sentence for her involvement in the ImClone scandal, Martha Stewart has proved that with the right attitude and business sense, an Internet comeback is possible for America's favorite homemaker and her company.
According to Hitwise, the world's leading online competitive intelligence service, the share of Internet searches for "martha stewart" increased by 145 percent during the week ending Sept. 17, 2005, when her daytime show Martha launched, compared to the previous week (week ending Sept. 10, 2005). In the same period, visits to MarthaStewart.com increased by 58 percent. The high level of searches and site traffic has been sustained through the launch of her prime-time TV show, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.
Visitors are now staying longer at MarthaStewart.com than they have in the past 15 months. Average session time for the week ending Oct. 8, 2005 was 10 minutes 53 seconds, compared to four weeks earlier, when the average session time was 6 minutes 29 seconds (week ending Sept. 10, 2005).
Advertisers receive more referred visits
Not only is she attracting more eyeballs to MarthaStewart.com, but the site is successfully sending visitors to advertiser sites as well as her own newly re-opened online retail store. For the week ending Oct. 15, 2005, the websites for advertisers Lucky Brand Jeans, Pantene and K-mart respectively received 11.2 percent, 6.4 percent, and 1.4 percent of visits from MarthaStewart.com. Additionally, 8.9 percent of visits leaving MarthaStewart.com went to MarthaStewartStore.com, where Halloween items and Martha’s favorite poncho are available for purchase.
"Martha's fans have proven that they value her advice and insights when it comes to cooking, crafts, and decorating," said Bill Tancer, general manager of research at Hitwise. "While visits to her site increased in the past at key points during her ordeal, search term data demonstrates that her television shows have reinvigorated her brand."
Connecting with two generations of women
Not surprisingly, the majority of visitors to MarthaStewart.com are female (68 percent), and were 71 percent more likely to be over 55 years of age for the four weeks ending Oct. 8, 2005. However, while 27.2 percent of site visitors were in the over 55 age group in that period, 25.9 percent were in the 25-34 age group, suggesting that Martha is successful in connecting with a younger generation of women, ensuring the longevity of the Martha Stewart brand.
Contact: For media inquiries or to schedule an analyst interview, please contact Lizzie Babarczy: press@hitwise.com (212) 380 2910.
About Hitwise:
Hitwise is the world's leading online competitive intelligence service. Each day, Hitwise monitors how more than 25 million Internet users interact with over 500,000 websites across 160 industry categories.
By monitoring more people, more websites, more often, Hitwise provides marketers with timely and actionable marketing insights on how their online presence compares to competitive websites. Companies use this information to maximize the return on their online investment, in efforts such as search marketing, affiliate programs, online advertising, visitor segmentation, content development and lead generation.
Hitwise collects Internet usage information via a combination of ISP data partnerships and opt-in mega panels, and complies with local and international privacy legislation as audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Founded in 1997, Hitwise is a privately held company, headquartered in New York City and operates in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.
More information about Hitwise is available at www.hitwise.com
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