Political Parody Site JibJab.com Reaches Three Times as Many Americans as Kerry and Bush Sites Combined

Comscore MMX Announces Top 50 U.S. Internet Property Rankings for July 2004

RESTON, Va., August 16, 2004 – Comscore MMX today released its monthly analysis of consumer Internet behavior. This month’s report revealed that JibJab.com, the online video released in mid-July satirizing John Kerry and George Bush, reached substantially more visitors than both of the candidates’ sites combined. JibJab.com drew an impressive 10.4 million unique visitors in July, more than three times the 3.3 million Americans who collectively visited JohnKerry.com and GeorgeWBush.com.

Highlights of online behavior in July include:

  • This month’s top gaining property, JibJab.com, drew 10.4 million unique visitors in July, making it the 56th largest online property. The video, which was also available through AtomFilms.com, was the key driver behind a 62-percent increase in visitation to digital entertainment provider AtomShockwave sites, making it the fourth-largest gaining property in July.
  • Comscore observed substantial increases in activity at sites including Staples, Dell and Ikea, serving as an early indicator of back-to-school shopping and promotional activity.
  • Summer seasonality continued to benefit travel marketers in July, when all of the top ten Hotel/Resorts properties saw traffic increases. A number of airline sites, including Southwest.com, American Airlines and JetBlue Airways, posted double-digit increases as well.

“Steeped in humor and controversy, JibJab.com took the Web by storm, easily reaching more Americans directly than the targets of its humor,” said Peter Daboll, president and CEO of Comscore MMX. “This is an example of just how quickly compelling content can spread in a wired world, and a hidden lesson for marketers looking to stand out among competitors with much bigger ad budgets.”

At its peak, well over a million Americans per day visited JibJab.com, making it the focus of thousands of water cooler conversation across the country—and the 56th largest property in July. All told, 10.4 million U.S. Internet users visited the site in July, more than three times the combined total for JohnKerry.com and GeorgeWBush.com (see table 1).

Despite the wide shadow cast by JibJab, and the lack of a major “convention bump” in voter polls, presidential candidate John Kerry did enjoy a significant bump online. During his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in late July, Mr. Kerry urged Americans to visit his Web site to learn more about his policy positions. Nearly 2.2 million people did just that in July, an increase of 206 percent versus 705,000 in June. Nearly 360,000 people, or 17 percent of those who visited the site in July, visited the contributions section of the site. The increase in visitation to JohnKerry.com fueled a 42-percent spike in traffic to the Politics category, ranking it as the second largest gainer in July (see table 2).

Elsewhere on the Web, a series of security patches pushed millions to Microsoft Windows sites in July. In total, well over 40 million Americans – many prompted by automatic reminders – visited Microsoft Windows sites in pursuit of updates, catapulting the Technology category up 14 percent to 98.5 million visitors in July.

The July and early-August releases of a number of highly anticipated video game titles, including Madden NFL 2005, ESPN NFL 2K5 and Doom 3, contributed to a 45-percent increase in traffic to the Gaming Information category, making it the top gaining category this month. With one exception, each of the top ten sites in the category posted an increase between June and July. The category leader, EA Online, saw visitors increase by 8 percent, while the average amount of time spent at the site jumped by 95 percent.

Video game releases were also likely contributors to significant increases at a number of the Web’s well-known toy retailers, including Toysrus Sites and KB Toys. A substantial increase in Mattel’s Everythinggirl.com site helped the property post a 17-percent increase in visitors in July. Overall, traffic to the Retail-Toys category increased by 13 percent, making it the sixth-largest gaining category in July.

Summer sales and back-to school shopping supported retailers of other products. The Department Stores category grew by 8 percent, rounding out the top ten gaining categories ranking. Target Corporation, JCPenney Sites and Kohls.com all posted double-digit increases. Home furnishings and home improvement retailers, such as Sears, Home Depot, Ikea and Pottery Barn Kids, all drew between 9 and 77 percent more traffic.

The addition of Mapquest.com to the Directories category concurrent with the site’s recent launch of yellow pages content helped push the category up 14 percent in July. MapQuest, along with other yellow pages content providers such as SuperPages Network, Yahoo! Yellow Pages and SmartPages.com, all saw traffic increases ranging from 7 percent to 16 percent between June and July.

Summer travel helped the Hotels/Resorts and Airlines categories post 17- and 10-percent increases in July, respectively. As hotel suppliers continue their tug-of-war with travel agencies for a more direct relationship with their customers, the Hotels/Resorts category grew an impressive 15 percent versus July 2003. This month, both InterContinental Hotels and Marriott made the top gaining properties ranking, with increases of 29 and 28 percent, respectively.

Top 50 Properties
With the end of its relationship with MSN in July, ESPN entered the Top 50 at number 37 in its first month as a standalone property (see table 3). Merger activity in the banking industry accounted for large increases at two major properties. JPMorgan Chase’s acquisition of Bank One (number 93 and 92 properties, respectively, in June) catapulted the combined property to the number 39 position in July. The merger of Fleet.com and Bank of America translated to a seven-spot increase to number 32 in July.

The buzz surrounding JibJab.com contributed to downloads of the Flash and Shockwave players. This drove a 25-percent increase in unique visitors to Macromedia, which gained 10 spots to take the number 38 position in July. The start of the back-to-school season boosted traffic to Dell, which jumped 11 spots to finish at number 43 in July. In addition, increased visitation to AT&T Wireless sites helped AT&T Properties post an 8-spot move to the number 28 ranking in July.

Compared to June, fully 8 of the top 10 online properties drew larger audiences in July, although the overall composition of the top 10 list remained static.

Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking
Comscore MMX’s ranking of advertising-supported media brands includes media properties, such as Yahoo! and MSN, as well as advertising networks, such as Advertising.com and MaxOnline. Instead of focusing on corporate ownership, this reporting mirrors, as closely as possible, the manner in which advertising is actually packaged and sold. With this ranking, media planners and buyers can more easily evaluate interactive marketing options on an equal footing.

From June to July, the composition and rank order of the top 5 Ad Focus entities remained static. MSN Homepages, a new entity detailing MSN’s domestic and international homepages, debuted in the Ad Focus ranking in the number 10 position (see table 4). Additionally, heavy e-mail promotions powered a 428-percent increase in visitation to the RealArcade portion of Real.com Media Sites, propelling it 5 spots to number 38 in July’s Ad Focus ranking.

TABLE 1

Top Ten Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*
July 2004 vs. June 2004
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Property

Jun-04
(000)

Jul-04
(000)

Percentage
Change

Rank by Unique Visitors

Total Internet Users

156,436

156,775

0%

N/A

JIBJAB.COM

N/A

10,402

N/A

56

GAMEFLY.COM

1,322

3,469

162%

195

JPMorgan Chase Property

6,661

12,908

94%

39

Atomshockwave Sites

5,175

8,396

62%

71

Pepsi Co.

3,079

4,614

50%

150

Staples.com Sites

2,730

3,821

40%

176

AMERIQUESTMORTGAGE.COM

2,903

3,869

33%

174

InterContinental Hotels Group

2,795

3,596

29%

189

Dell

9,638

12,286

27%

43

Marriott

2,731

3,483

28%

193

*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in July

TABLE 2

Top Ten Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors
July 2004 vs. June 2004
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Jun-04(000)

Jul-04(000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet Users

156,436

156,775

0%

Games-Gaming Information

38,109

55,287

45%

News/Info-Politics

12,334

17,557

42%

Travel-Hotels/Resorts

23,572

27,535

17%

Technology

86,558

98,543

14%

Directories

77,282

87,788

14%

Retail-Toys

13,421

15,203

13%

Travel-Airlines

21,254

23,331

10%

Sports

47,093

51,675

10%

Classifieds

15,494

16,862

9%

Retail-Department Stores

33,963

36,826

8%

TABLE 3


Top 50 Properties
July 2004
Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations
Unique Visitors (000)
Source: Comscore MMX

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors
(000)

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Total Internet Users

156,775

1

Yahoo! Sites

115,488

26

Wal-Mart

16,461

2

MSN-Microsoft Sites

114,692

27

Trip Network Inc.

16,058

3

Time Warner Network

110,552

28

AT&T Properties

15,795

4

Google Sites

63,427

29

Classmates.com Sites

15,739

5

EBay

60,824

30

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

15,468

6

Ask Jeeves

42,482

31

ORBITZ.COM

15,219

7

Terra Lycos

35,732

32

Bank of America

15,195

8

Amazon Sites

33,809

33

Gannett Sites

14,297

9

About/Primedia

33,461

34

Sony Online

13,965

10

Monster Worldwide

28,382

35

CareerBuilder LLC

13,929

11

Viacom Online

28,233

36

Comcast Corporation

13,539

12

Real.com Network

27,472

37

ESPN

13,415

13

Verizon Communications Corporation

25,620

38

Macromedia

13,277

14

Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG)

25,220

39

JPMorgan Chase Property

12,908

15

Weatherbug.com Property

24,011

40

Travelocity

12,843

16

Weather Channel, The

23,801

41

United Online, Inc

12,524

17

CNET Networks

22,317

42

AmericanGreetings Property

12,482

18

Expedia Travel

22,154

43

Dell

12,286

19

Symantec

21,122

44

Target Corporation

12,158

20

Shopping.com Sites

20,350

45

Hotels.com Sites

12,088

21

Gorilla Nation Media

19,198

46

News Corp. Online

11,661

22

InfoSpace Network

19,195

47

Uproar Network

11,576

23

EA Online

19,043

48

Cox Enterprises Inc.

11,475

24

SBC Communications

18,897

49

PRICELINE.COM

11,177

25

Intermix Media

17,894

50

Columbia House Sites

11,123

TABLE 4

Ad Focus Ranking
Unique Visitors (000)
Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations
July 2004
Source: Comscore MMX

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors
(000)

Reach %

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Reach %

Total Internet Users

156,775

100%

1

Advertising.com**

118,232

75%

26

BURST! Media**

35,867

23%

2

Yahoo!

113,889

73%

27

AOL Prop Search

33,983

22%

3

MSN

100,151

64%

28

Lycos

33,401

21%

4

AOL

83,310

53%

29

EBAY.COM Home Page

31,418

20%

5

YAHOO.COM Home Page

77,321

49%

30

AOL Entertainment

30,811

20%

6

GOOGLE.COM

61,655

39%

31

Claria

30,096

19%

7

Yahoo! Mail

60,776

39%

32

AIM.COM/AIM App

30,041

19%

8

Yahoo! Search

60,718

39%

33

My Yahoo!

29,631

19%

9

Yahoo! Web Search

59,315

38%

34

Monster Worldwide

28,382

18%

10

MSN Homepages

57,325

37%

35

AOL Screenname

27,597

18%

11

Google Web Search

57,252

37%

36

GATOR (App)

27,515

18%

12

EBAY.COM

57,131

36%

37

WindowsMedia

27,478

18%

13

MaxOnline**

54,341

35%

38

Real.com Media Sites

26,885

17%

14

Tribal Fusion**

52,836

34%

39

MSN Messenger Service

25,988

17%

15

MSN.COM Home Page

50,939

32%

40

AIMTODAY.COM

25,873

17%

16

MSN Search

48,823

31%

41

Yahoo! Messenger

25,622

16%

17

AOL Email

48,084

31%

42

Yahoo! Geocities

25,589

16%

18

MaxOnline Network**

47,636

30%

43

WINDOWSMEDIA.COM

25,560

16%

19

MSN Hotmail

47,540

30%

44

LAUNCH

25,124

16%

20

AOL (APP)

47,420

30%

45

AOL Instant Message

25,090

16%

21

24/7 Real Media**

45,152

29%

46

Yahoo! Get Local

24,105

15%

22

Ask Jeeves

42,482

27%

47

AOL News

24,008

15%

23

AOL Prop Email

42,258

27%

48

WeatherBug

23,857

15%

24

MAPQUEST.COM

37,814

24%

49

WEATHERBUG.COM

23,297

15%

25

AOL Search

36,348

23%

50

Yahoo! News

23,085

15%

**Indicates that the entity is an advertising network.

About Comscore MMX
Comscore MMX, a division of Comscore Networks, provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report – with unmatched accuracy - details of online media usage, visitor demographics and online buying power for the home, work and university audiences across local U.S. markets and across the globe. Comscore MMX continues the tradition of quality and innovation established by its MMX syndicated Internet ratings - long recognized as the currency in online media measurement among financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers - while drawing upon Comscore's advanced technologies to address important new industry requirements. All Comscore MMX syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.

About Comscore Networks
Comscore Networks provides unparalleled insight into consumer behavior and attitudes. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given Comscore explicit permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. Comscore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its patent-pending technology, Comscore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. Comscore consultants apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by global leaders such as Microsoft, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Knight Ridder Digital, Nestlé, Wells Fargo & Company, GlaxoSmithKline, and Orbitz. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

Press
Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
646-370-1341
press@comscore.com

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