RESEARCH SHOWS WOMEN ARE ALL ABOUT THE WEB

Although the 2000 romantic comedy starring Helen Hunt and Mel Gibson claimed to know “What Women Want” — apparently they just want a good man who understands them — Advertising Age says in a recent issue that they just want to surf the Internet.

“Most peg 2007 as the year women tipped the scale to compose more than 50 percent of online users,” the article states. “The number of unique visits to women’s community sites jumped 35 percent to almost 70 million from 52 million.”

According to recent research by ComScore, “more than 43 million moms go online daily and spend an average of 85 minutes there.” What are women doing online? Browsing, shopping, viewing and making major life decisions. A recap of some of the data:

They’re shopping. According to Burst Media, “more than 54 percent of women shopped online in the first half of 2007.” Online female shoppers are well-to-do: “68 percent of women in households with incomes of $100,000 or more,” are leading the way in Internet purchases. Chief among their purchases were travel, adult clothing, health/beauty products, children’s clothing, financial products and food/groceries.

They’re single, educated and heavily reliant on the Internet. A recent Jupiter Research study finds that single females, compared to married women, spend a lot of time online. These singles are between the ages of 25 and 34, and 48 percent have a college degree. "They’re more likely to watch full-length TV shows and video clips online than other women and will more often search for local dining and entertainment information, use instant messaging, visit social-networking sites, read blogs, and download music.”

They’re into YouTube. Women overall, single or otherwise, are watching more of YouTube.com, suggests research from a Pew Internet and American Life study, with “11 percent of the women surveyed saying they had visited ‘yesterday’ vs. just 5 percent saying so at the end of 2006 (and still quite far behind men’s reported 20 percent daily use).”

They also play interactive games online, do medical research and get parental advice online.

FLORISTS GET VALENTINE'S DAY PRESS COVERAGE

You don't have to tell David Calcaterra that flowers win people over. He knows — and he uses that dynamic to his shop's advantage when it comes to scoring good media coverage.

His shop, Thrifty Florist, which has 16 locations in metro Detroit and surrounding areas, was covered in an in-depth story in the business section of the Detroit Free Press on Feb. 13, as well as the local FOX affiliate, WJBK.

"My trick to all of this is sending people flowers," Calcaterra, vice president, told E-Brief editors. "When we have something new, I'll send a bouquet of flowers." 

Those flowers kept the company on the local media's radar and Calcaterra was recently contacted by the local paper about how technology has played a role in the shop's increased sales. The Detroit Free Press article, which included a color photo and was more than 600 words long, focused on how florists are using the Internet to boost their sales.

"The flower industry is going high-tech," Calcaterra told the paper. "I would say we're going to start gearing more and more of our business practices on the Internet and our Web site. We'll spend more on advertising to get more clicks on our site."

Thrifty Florist also got coverage on WJBK prior to Valentine's Day by sending the station a unique arrangement of roses in a square vase with a note that read, "It's hip to be square." After getting featured in a 5-minute segment on Feb. 10, Thrifty Florist got several special orders from viewers who'd seen the arrangement. 

No need to wait for a holiday like Valentine's Day to get media coverage. Calcaterra suggests sending out arrangements to the local media for Memorial Day to promote using centerpieces for barbecues. He swears that as long as you're consistent, you'll hear back from the media.

"98 percent of the time we get a call back," Calcaterra said.

Potomac Floral Wholesale also made news on Valentine's Day by giving WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C., a firsthand look at its operation. The station showed up at Potomac Floral Wholesale (with no notice) in Silver Spring, Md., at 5 a.m. on Valentine's Day. Owner Tsur Reiss gave reporter Howard Bernstein a guided tour of the operation, which was part of a segment that aired on Valentine's Day. Potomac has been serving the Washington, D.C., area for 10 years, during which it has built up a relationship with local media, says a company representative.