Global Habbo Youth Survey 2009 Uncovers Canadian Teens' Unique Attitudes Towards Brands

Leading Virtual World for Teenagers Surveyed Over 112,000 Youth Worldwide on Favorite Brands, Media Preferences and More

Los Angeles (PRWEB) June 4, 2009 -- Habbo, the largest virtual world for teenagers, today unveiled the results of their Global Habbo Youth Survey (GHYS) Brand Update 2009. The study explores teens' connection and interests toward individual brands and highlights their preferences in a variety of categories, including consumer electronics, music, sportswear and media consumption habits.

For the study, conducted in April 2009, Habbo surveyed 112,000 teens between the ages of 11 - 19 (4,300+ teens from Canada) from more than 30 countries around the world. As a follow-up to the 2008 GHYS, the new results reveal an updated and deeper understanding of teens' brand opinions in Canada and worldwide, along with the top media properties that are resonating with teens to date in 2009.

In Canada, the 2009 GHYS shows that teens' mobile preferences have dramatically changed in the past year. In 2008, Motorola, Telus and LG ranked as the top mobile phones among Canadian teens. In the 2009 GHYS, teens catapulted LG into the lead, followed by Apple and Samsung respectively. Dropping down several rankings, this year Motorola finished #6 and Telus came in at #7.

Personal hygiene and styling brands also saw a significant change in popularity over the last year. Canadian teens named AXE, Herbal Essence and Dove as their favorite brands. In the 2008 GHYS, the leading brands were L'Oréal, MAC and Herbal Essence, while AXE ranked #5 and Dove landed at #8.

"The teenage years are developmentally important in exerting themselves as adults," said Emmi Kuusikko, director, User and Market Insight for Sulake, the parent company for Habbo. "Status is important, being recognized for who you are and what you stand for. Brands provide means to show which group you belong to and which you do not want to be associated with. For the youth, brands play an important part of helping to build their identity and self image among their friends."

Additionally, Habbo's reputation in Canada continues to grow. In March 2009, the month synonymous with Spring Break, Habbo's network of sites recorded the country's second most popular teen Web property with more than 648,000 Canadian monthly unique users, according to comScore. The traffic momentum is a strong indicator of upcoming Habbo success in the summer months.

The Global Youth Survey Brand Update 2009 is available to purchase as a 98-page paperback book. For inquiries and orders, please contact the Sulake Web Store at: http://webstore.sulake.com.

About the research

The research was conducted within the virtual world, Habbo, and the total amount of respondents (after data cleaning) was 112,000. The research was conducted during April 2009 and results on favorite brands are based on answers written in open text fields. Over 30 countries were surveyed and statistical weighting was employed to give all participating countries an equal weight in the global results. Research is available from the Sulake Web Store http://webstore.sulake.com.

About Habbo:

Habbo is a richly colorful, multi-dimensional virtual world and community for teens. Users join by creating a fully customized online character called a Habbo. From there, they can explore many public hang-outs, participate in a variety of activities, connect with friends, decorate their own rooms, and have fun through creativity and self expression. Currently there are Habbo communities in 31 countries on six continents. To date, 132 million Habbo characters have been created and 11.8 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month (source: Google Analytics).

www.habbo.ca

Accompanying graphs from the research are available on request. General Sulake and Habbo press images can be downloaded from: www.sulake.com/press/image_bank.

For more information or to request a PDF of the research, please contact:

Susan C. Mills

Edelman Public Relations for Habbo

323-202-1050

Erik Fairleigh

Edelman Public Relations for Habbo

323-202-1026

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