Google was the top-ranked Web brand in November, drawing more than 127 million unique visitors during the month, Nielsen Online reported Tuesday.  Yahoo! and MSN/Windows Live rounded out the top three, with unique audiences of just over 117 million and 104 million visitors, respectively.

Rank
Brand
Unique Audience
(in 000s)
Time Per Person
(hh:mm:ss)

1
Google
127,656
1:23:40

2
Yahoo!
117,656
3:17:36

3
MSN/Windows Live
104,090
2:13:19

4
Microsoft
95,543
0:45:44

5
AOL Media Network
86,308
3:43:45

6
YouTube
81,882
1:01:33

7
Fox Interactive Media
69,838
1:39:31

8
Wikipedia
58,335
0:18:39

9
Amazon
57,682
0:25:33

10
eBay
55,438
1:43:41

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 2008).

View the full press release.
View the top U.S. Web brands for September and October 2008.

As reported on by the Hollywood Reporter, a new online survey conducted by Nielsen reveals emerging trends on media consumption and device usage across 52 counties.
While Western countries led the way in usage of media hardware such as DVD players and gaming consoles, up-and-coming markets, particularly in Asia, emerged as trendsetters in next-generation devices such as video-enabled handsets. In particular, the Philippines, topped the list of countries with the highest average of usage across a range of devices. Five of the top 10 countries on the list were Asian Pacific.
Klaas …

Among the top computer and consumer electronics websites for November, computer giants Microsoft and Apple easily drew the largest unique audiences, according to Nielsen Online. 
Visitors to Apple’s site logged the longest average stay-times.

Rank
(by UA, Nov. 2008)
Top 10
Computer & Consumer Electronics
Web Brands:
Nov. 2008
Unique Audience:
Nov. 2008
(in 000s)
Time Per Person (hh:mm:ss)

1
Microsoft
95,543
0:45:44

2
Apple
52,909
1:12:27

3
Adobe
29,472
0:05:19

4
Hewlett Packard
23,435
0:09:58

5
Best Buy
22,138
0:11:28

6
Flickr
19,304
0:09:06

7
CNET
17,935
0:06:23

8
Dell
17,058
0:18:38

9
Circuit City
16,609
0:08:18

10
Mozilla
14,400
0:02:23

Source: Nielsen Online (November 2008 ).

Note: Web properties reported at either the brand or channel market level and can include multiple URL’s.

More than half of U.S. consumers (58%) are “very concerned” about rising food prices, according to a survey of more than 48,000 households conducted by Nielsen in October.
So are consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers and retailers, who have struggled in recent months to balance consumer demand for low prices and high value with abnormally high raw materials and transportation costs.
Rather than raising prices, some food manufacturers have reduced the size of their products.  Such strategies may minimize sticker shock at the grocery store, but are unpopular with U.S. consumers.
Instead, according …

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.
Google was the most popular website with U.S. Internet users, drawing the largest audience (120 million unique visitors per month, on average) through October 2008.
As of 2008, the most prolific content downloaders in the U.S. live in California, according to Scarborough Research, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron. The San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose market had the highest percentage (32%) of adults who had downloaded …

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.
Motorola’s RAZR V3 series handset was easily the most popular mobile phone in use in the U.S., as of Q3 2008.
In October, more than 15.2 million American mobile Internet users visited Yahoo! Mail, making it the most popular mobile Web destination that month.  Google Search, which drew more than 10.5 million mobile Internet users in October, ranked second. 
Among master ringtones — 20-30 second excerpts of recorded …

In recent years, white spirits have dominated Bev-Al sales in the U.S., but now brown spirits — led by whiskey — appear to be making a comeback.
According to Nielsen, U.S. sales growth for whiskey and brown spirits is outperforming the growth rate of the overall spirits category in 2008.
Whiskey growth rates have been rising steadily this year, with whiskey dollar sales increasing nearly $85 million or 4.4% in 2008 — up from 2.3% a year ago.  At the same time, whiskey volume, while declining a year ago, is now showing growth.
In …

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.
Alicia Keys’ “As I Am” was the top selling album of 2008, according to Billboard and Nielsen.
Keys also had the most listened-to radio song of the year, “No One,” which drew 3.08 billion radio listeners between November 12, 2007 through November 16, 2008. 
“Low,” by Flo Rida, featuring T-Pain, was the most downloaded song of the year, through November 16.
According to Scarborough Research, a …

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.
Procter & Gamble was the top advertiser, spending more than $2.3 billion on traditional media advertising in the U.S. through September 30.  General Motors and AT&T rounded out the top three advertisers.
Among the year’s most-liked commercials, ads by the NFL, Budweiser, and Geico were most popular with American audiences. 
Product placements by CVS (on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”), TRESemme (on “Project Runway”), and …

It’s no secret that individual film genres attract very specific audiences. Chick flicks, like the “Nanny Diaries,” typically resonate strongly with women, while action films, like “3:10 to Yuma,” usually appeal strongly to men.
For advertisers trying to reach target audiences, understanding which film types attract specific consumers can make or break an advertising campaign.
In response, Nielsen PreView analyzed 400 recent movies to identify 11 key movie consumer segments.
Nielsen’s “Tent Pole” segment, for example, attracts viewers from all demographic segments. Popular family and action films, like “Spider-Man 3,” typify this segment. Advertisers …