Advertisers tend to target women in very stereotypical ways. But women are diverse, multifaceted and have various and abundant interests. In honor of Women’s History month, we did a deep dive on the women in the Kiip network to uncover unique insights about the moments that actually make up their mobile interactions. During this search, we discovered 6 unique moments that you may not have thought to use to engage women.

Risk Moments

Even though women are often perceived to be more cautious and calculating, women are actually big risk takers. According to a study, women are actually more likely to take certain risks such as starting a tough conversation and making a career change. In this same spirit, women in the Kiip network are super engaged in moments that can be considered “risky.” In fact, women are 57% more engaged during “Risk Moments” than the Kiip network benchmark. Whether it’s placing a sports bet, making a risky move in their favorite game or entering sweepstakes, women are highly engaged in taking risks.

Strong Moments

It’s hard to doubt the strength of women, but women may not be the first demographic that comes to mind when we think about “Strong Moments”. But as it turns out, women on the Kiip network are 67% more engaged in “Strong Moments” then the network benchmark. Everyday, women across the Kiip network are engaging in “Strong Moments” by beating their best times,  logging tough workouts, or even demonstrating virtual strength in their favorite games.

Sports Moments

Women love sports too! Women across the Kiip network are 29% more engaged in “Sports Moments” than the network benchmark. Specifically, women are 44% more engaged in Football and Baseball moments. Though women may not be the first demographic that comes to mind when you think about Super Bowl campaigns, marketers are beginning to realize that female sports fans are a target demographic of their own. Just last year, Forbes did a dive into “The Evolution of Marketing to Female Sports Fans”.

It’s not always wrong to go for the low-hanging fruit. Here are some of our more popular moments brands can use to target women.

Beauty Moments 

As expected, “Beauty Moments” are extremely popular for women on the Kiip network. Women are 88% more engaged in “Beauty Moments”.

DIY Moments

With the rise of pinterest came the rise of the “Do It Yourself” trend. Women are obsessed with DIYs and women accross the Kiip network are 87% more engaged in “DIY Moments” than the benchmark—trying recipes, making photo collages, etc.

Me-Time Moments

Women are known for leading busy lives where they often have to put the needs of others before their own. That’s why women across the Kiip network especially value “Me-time Moments.”  82% of women in the Kiip network are more engaged in these moments than benchmark. Taking time for themselves by using yoga and meditation apps, tracking their favorite televisions shows, or going for a relaxing walk are all activities that make up “Me-Time” moments.

Interested in seeing how your brand can use these moments to target superwomen for your next mobile campaign?

The holidays are advertisers biggest and most important season. Brands spend millions fighting each other for the attention of their target audiences. With so much competition it’s a hard game to win, but one way to have more successful campaigns is to narrow your target by analyzing trends in behavior. More and more consumers are living on and through their phones, so mobile usage trends during the holiday season are important. We analyzed the mobile use of users across our network and discovered these six holiday season trends.

1. Sleeping In

Our alarm clock app moments include waking up early and using the app (versus snoozing, which we don’t measure). Maybe it’s the weather, maybe the days off from work or perhaps the holiday drinking. Whatever the case, alarm clock moments in our network decreased by 2.8% benchmark to pre-holiday, and 10.9% pre-holiday to Holiday, suggesting an increased behavior of sleeping in to recover from late-night activities and to counter the holiday hustle.

2. Late-night Ordering

Late-night fast food ordering (11p-4a) decreased by 56.7% benchmark to pre-holiday, and then skyrocketed by 479% pre-holiday to Holiday, indicating a huge validation for the season’s unconventional popularity for late-night (post-drinking or nightlife) dining. During the holidays people are less likely to want to venture out in the cold in middle of the night to find food, people are opting to stay in and turn to their favorite food ordering apps to satisfy their appetites.

3. Boring Family Dinner

We know that phones are used as a social crutch to avoid awkward social situations. During the Holidays, family dinner ranks high on the awkward list. (An “awkward holiday family dinner” search query yields more than 690,000 Google results.) During dinnertime hours of 5-7p, Kiip’s overall moments decreased by 7.2% benchmark to pre-holiday, and increased by 11.6% pre-holiday to Holiday, supporting the theory that the mobile device is a means of avoiding Holiday awkwardness, specifically at dinnertime.

4. Family Travel 

We know that our users’ game usage spikes on top road trip weekends when they are in the car filling the miles with extra mobile entertainment. We thought hours of endless travel – especially with family – may offer additional grounds for burying one’s attention in a mobile device. But in 2015, the busiest travel day for Thanksgiving (the day before, 11/25) and the busiest travel day for Christmas (the day before, 12/23) both loggedless moments than our benchmark – both in Games and overall – suggesting that travelers are not looking to their mobile device for the same awkwardness avoidance reasons that they may be at the holiday dinner table.

5. Last Minute Shopping

Not everyone can finish their holiday shopping the week after Thanksgiving. Many people scramble at the last minute to find holiday gifts for Secret Santa, holiday parties and family get-togethers. During the holiday season, we saw a 221% increase from benchmark in late-night shopping moments across our network (between 9pm and 12am EST). And no one wants to be the person that forgot a gift for Aunt Shirley, so buying last minute gifts on mobile is a popular option. The Kiip network saw a 151% increase in shopping moments from benchmark on the 23rd and 24th of December.

6. Awkward Family Photos

The holidays are a time for shopping and food but also taking a bunch of awkward family photo’s. With smartphone camera’s getting better and better, often these photos are taken and shared on mobile devices.  Across the Kiip network, photo and video moments increased 35% from benchmark during the last holiday season.

*Hourly analyses based on US/EST time zone

*as originally featured on LAS MORENAS DE ESPAÑA*

It’s the time of year when all the expats, well at least all the English teachers, are deciding if they plan to stay another year in Spain or if their hearts and/or their pockets are calling them stateside.

While most people don’t plan to live abroad forever, veteran expats will tell you, one year easily turns to two and three and before you know it you’re calling a country that is not your own, “home”. Well, that’s obviously not the case for everyone and it’s not the case for me.

When I tell people in my expat community that I’ll be heading back to California by the end of the summer, their immediate reaction is shock: What’s wrong? What happened? You don’t like Madrid? And to that I answer: Nothing is wrong. Nothing happened. And I love Madrid. I just don’t think expat life is for me, at least not for the long term.

Amazingly, some of the very same things that drew me to life abroad (and that make it a great experience) are also the things that make it not for me. Everyday is an adventure, even if it’s just a little one. Coming across a new word you don’t understand or a new nuance of Spanish culture or just trying to figure out how to adapt a recipe from Pinterest to make with ingredients you can find locally.

Everyday has small challenges and while it makes each day that much more interesting, it’s also kind of exhausting. And if for a second you forget you are a foreigner, something will always put you right back in you place, on the outside looking in. It’s tough because us expats of color wear our foreignness on the outside, my brown skin and kinky natural hair. You might feel like everyone else on the metro at 8 a.m., but if you look around everyone might be looking at you. The old woman across from you is staring blankly with a confused look on her face at the English book in your hand and the man next to you looks like he is fighting the urge to touch your hair.

The travel never ends. When you’re living abroad some place new and exciting is only a bus, train or RyanAir flight away. My love for travel is what brought me to Spain in the first place, but you learn quite quickly that there is a big difference between traveling and living abroad and traveling while living abroad. There’s quote about traveling, something about the best part being coming home to rest your head on an old familiar pillow. I guess I never understood how important that part of travel really is. And while my pillow in Madrid is very comfortable (courtesy of Ikea), it’s still not home. When I return to Madrid from whatever weekend getaway, I don’t get that rush of relief and, in a way, it feels like the traveling never ends.

And then there are the opportunity costs. The opportunity costs of being away — of living abroad, and trust me, every expat has weighed them. Even though we love our lives in Spain, we can’t deny that there is a life back home that we are giving up or putting off for this. Like many fellow expats, I have no intention on teaching English for the rest of my life (no shade to those of you who do) and every year that I spend away is time that I’m not pursuing the career of my dream (whatever that is).

In all realness though, I’m having the time of my life here in Spain. I’m meeting the most amazing people in the world. I’m trying new things and acquiring a new language and, as corny as it sounds, I’m learning so much about myself (for real, for real). I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else right now, but as much as I feel like the odd duck saying it, I don’t want to stay forever. I want to enjoy every moment of it while I can and then I want to pack my things a head home because expat life is not my cup of tea… and that’s okay.

Published in the Daily Sundial (OP)

February 4, 2014

How come my hair doesn’t look like yours?

That’s what I asked my mother when I was four years old. She was standing in the bathroom mirror running a brush through her long silky, straight hair. She told me my hair didn’t look like hers because I didn’t have a relaxer. I didn’t know what a relaxer was, but I wanted one. I hated the dull, kinky hair on my head and I wanted to be beautiful like my mother. Continue reading →

Published in the Daily Sundial (News)

January 27, 2014

More than 75 percent of respondents answered “yes” to a question of whether or not CSUN should be smoke-free in a campus-wide survey issued last semester.

Matt Terhune, a staff member in the college of social and behavioral sciences, is a smoker. He believes the ban could be a gentle nudge in the right direction for smokers like himself.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Terhune said. “I think it’s extremely difficult to quit and the less convenient it is to smoke, then the less likely I am to do it.”

President Dianne Harrison appointed the Task Force on Becoming a Smoke-Free Campus in November to discuss the initiative. The task force is chaired by Linda Reid-Chassiakos, director of student health services, and Diane Schwartz, a professor in the department of computer science.

“Input and feedback from the university community, which includes smokers and nonsmokers, is critical,” Chassiakos said. “The task force is considering the survey results, as well as other forms of input such as emails from students, faculty, and staff. The task force has been asked to provide recommendations to President Harrison about whether CSUN should implement the policy and if so, how.” Continue reading →

Published in the Daily Sundial (OP)

February 3, 2014

What I have in my purse on any given day: lip gloss, a pen, lotion, tampons and a condom. Yes, a condom. Not because I think I’m going to have a quickie in the Oviatt bathroom with the cute guy in my anthropology class. Not because I think that I will be having sex at all. I carry a condom because I can and I should, and ladies—you should too.

In the U.S. there are 20 million new sexually transmitted infections diagnosed per year and 3.2 million unintended pregnancies, according to the 2013 report from the Centers of Disease Control.

Despite the fact that condoms are the only effective method for preventing both sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unintended pregnancies, the CDC report finds only 30 percent of single women with multiple partners have used condoms in the past month. Only 20 percent of single women reported “always” using them over the past year. Continue reading →