Moms Seek Out Ads That Offer Coupons and Discounts
Study Uncovers Parenting Not Among Top Five Online Searches for Moms

NEW YORK, Jun 17, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- According to an "American Moms" study released today by About.com, Moms prefer ads that provide coupons and discounts on products and services that can be useful and relevant to their families. The study also uncovered, surprisingly, that parenting information is not among the top five online searches for moms, but instead food, health, learning, travel and jobs & careers are the most searched topics.

Conducted on About.com in the spring of 2011, the "American Moms" study examined the behavior of more than 2,000 moms online in the U.S. and aimed to better understand their interests, purchase and search behavior, as well as advertising preferences.

"The findings confirm that food, health, education and travel advertisers and brands have a unique opportunity to connect with moms, often considered the chief household officers, at a time when they are actively seeking solutions and need them most," said Mitchell Kreuch, senior vice president of sales, About.com. "Since moms are mostly interested in ads that provide incentives, brands can create ads that appeal to moms and their purses, providing both the marketer and consumer with the best return on investment."

Other key findings include:

• When it came to interactions with online advertisements, 67% of respondents preferred coupons and discounts in online ads, while 47% preferred ads that provided useful information to help them do something.
• Online ads drive moms to seek more information and try products. Over half visited product Web sites as a result of seeing an online ad in the past year. In addition, over half printed a coupon and nearly half clicked on ads or did more research. Moreover, nearly 40% purchased products.
• Online advertisement tones and formats were also important, with 51% indicating that online ads that most grab their attention were ads with detailed product information about how to use the product, while 39% preferred ads were visually appealing.

"About.com leverages consumer insights to connect advertisers and marketers effectively with our passionate users and deliver positive brand interactions," added Evan Minskoff, vice president, marketing, the About Group. "Over the past year, 61% of moms took one or more actions as a result of seeing ads on About.com, driving them to interact directly with brands featured on our site."

For a copy of the complete About.com 2011 "American Moms" study or to schedule an interview, please contact Meredith Worsham at mworsham@about.com.

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About The About Group

The About Group comprises the Web sites About.com, ConsumerSearch.com and CalorieCount.com. About.com is a valuable resource for content that helps users solve the large and small needs of everyday life. ConsumerSearch.com analyzes expert and user-generated consumer product reviews and recommends the best products to purchase based on the findings. CalorieCount.com is an online resource that helps users solve the everyday challenges of losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle.

The About Group is part of The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2010 revenues of $2.4 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com

SOURCE: The New York Times Company

The About Group
Meredith Worsham, 212-204-2617
mworsham@about.com