A Content Marketing Fault Line in Germany

Women more receptive than men

February 13, 2017 | Marketing

A survey of internet users in Germany found that women appear to be far more open to content marketing than men.

According to a January 2017 report from YouGov (article in German), 57% of all internet users in Germany who gave positive marks to content marketing were female.

By contrast, male respondents accounted for just a 43% share of those responding favorably.

The gap is significant, given that the survey also suggests content marketing can have a powerful impact: Among those who gave positive marks to content marketing, 80% said they had followed up by purchasing an advertised product. Among internet users as a whole, that number was 60%.

Furthermore, 63% of the “content marketing positive” group said they had gone on to make a long-term switch from one brand to another, compared with 50% for the survey group as a whole.

These results parallel another YouGov survey from November 2016, which found a distinctly more positive attitude toward sponsored content in Germany than in the UK.

But German consumers do have standards for this kind of promotion. Nearly 70% said it was important that the content be clearly marked as advertising.

—Ben Clague