comScore Tech Metrix provides a detailed and comprehensive view of Internet users’ technology profiles, including both computer hardware and software configurations and usage, gathered by consistent panel-based measurement.

The technology marketplace has traditionally suffered from a fragmented view of consumer preferences, relying on limited surveys and scattered sources of market information and opinions, hindering product development planning and marketing efforts. comScore Tech Metrix resolves this issue by constantly monitoring a global panel of over 400,000 computers owned by consumers who have given comScore permission to confidentially monitor their browsing and transactional behavior. Through proprietary technology, comScore gathers rich detail on the computer – including profiles for hardware configurations, file structures, and installed software applications – and combines these profiles with consumer demographic and Internet-usage behavior, resulting in deep market insights for software, gaming and hardware product development teams and marketers.

Technology Profiling
Tech Metrix provides an exceptional level of insight on Internet behavior coupled with detailed user tech profiles. comScore Tech Metrix delivers this insight through reports where data elements are combined and filtered across all metrics, for a customized view of the technology landscape:

• Hardware/System Data: system manufacturer, processor name/type, operating system, service pack, CPU, RAM, hard drive size, screen resolution, and more.
• Software Data: installed programs and version number (including .exe, select .dll and registry values), usage duration, default browser and browser settings, number and size of data files (including Word, Excel, and pdf), and multimedia file types (including jpg, mpg, and mp3).

Digital Intelligence Delivery
Crucial benefits and advantages to improve product planning and marketing strategies include the ability to:

• Tailor product development to customers’ most common computer configuration settings
• Understand adoption rate trends among various market segments
• Track emerging competition and customer loyalty
• Determine product market share versus competitors
• Design effective marketing and advertising programs based on a deeper knowledge of your customer base
• Identify cross-promotion opportunities for your product with products that have high penetration rates
• Run more targeted, measurable and cost-effective advertising campaigns
• Measure effectiveness of campaigns with post-campaign product lift
• Survey highly-targeted population segments based on Internet users’ tech profiles, to respond to customers’ product perceptions and expectations.

Additional Behavioral Insights
comScore Tech Metrix can reveal additional behavioral insights by employing comScore Cognographics and Media Metrix. For example, the online behavior of Heavy mp3 user, as compared to the average Internet user, is significantly more likely to visit categories dealing in entertainment (gaming, gambling, humor, music) and communication/networking (community – teens, instant messengers, discussion/chat). Specifically, nearly 40 percent of Heavy mp3 users visited the gaming information category in June 2007, more than twice as likely as the average Internet user. They also exhibited particularly heavy relative visitation to the online gambling, community – teens, and entertainment – humor categories.

In contrast, the segment for Heavy Microsoft Word users was significantly more likely to visit categories dealing in business and finance (taxes, finance news/research, online trading, B-to-B) and travel (airlines, hotels/resorts). The behavioral profile of Heavy Microsoft Word users is indicative of businesspeople that are the heads of their respective households. They likely take care of the family’s finances and are responsible for making travel arrangements, whether for business or vacation planning purposes.

For more information on how comScore Tech Metrix can enhance your product development and marketing efforts, call (650) 244-5417, or submit an online information request.