New Report Analyzes How Energy Professionals Receive Industry and Technology News
For Immediate Release
For More Information Contact
Clint Woods 713.627.2223
Spur Digital and Petrotechnical Open Standards Consortium Provide
Analysis of How the Web is used in the Energy Sector
HOUSTON – May 23, 2005 -- Record oil prices have put energy-related companies in a strong position to invest in future growth and success. Companies that market to energy companies are seeking insights on how to reach decision makers in these organizations.
Spur Digital, a Houston-based provider of online marketing solutions , and the Petrotechnical Open Standards Consortium (POSC), an energy technology standards body, recently published the results from an online survey to assess how professionals in the energy industry stay up to date on industry news, trends and events. The self-response web-based survey was distributed by POSC and Spur Digital to 2,000 individuals. Approximately 10% or 200 respondents participated in the survey. To download the survey report, please visit www.spurdigital.com/ITenergysurvey.html
“Overall, the results show that in the Energy industry, the Web is becoming increasingly important as a medium for staying up-to-date on news and information,” said Steve Latham, CEO of Spur Digital. “For companies seeking to market to the energy sector, this study shows that the Web is often more effective than print media. Consequently, advertisers need to make sure their integrated marketing plan includes a meaningful online component.”
Survey participants represented a broad distribution of roles, departments and types of businesses within the Energy industry. Below is a summary of the survey respondents:
- Over 25% of respondents were on the business side (vs. IT), including 10% VP or C-Level executives
- Over 25% of respondents were in IT organizations, including 5% CIO/ CTO ’s and 20% Manager / Directors
- 25% of respondents were analysts or administrators
Survey respondents work for a broad range of companies within the energy industries, including E&P, refining, manufacturing, trading and distribution.
- 40% work for exploration and production companies.
- Nearly 25% work for companies that provide energy services or products.
- Approximately 15% of respondents work for companies that provide technology hardware, software and services.
Summary of key findings
Below is a summary of key findings from the survey.
IT News Web Sites
IT news sites were viewed on a regular basis by 71% of respondents. When segmenting by role or position, the most frequent visitors to IT news sites were CIOs, CTOs VPs and SVPs of IT. Of these, 45% visit IT news sites on a daily basis. There is a wide distribution among favorite IT news sites among respondents. When asked which sites are visited the most frequently, more 200 sites were mentioned. Oil IT, ZDNet and CIO were the most popular sites.
Electronic Newsletters
Overall, readership of electronic newsletters was just below 70%. Those that read electronic newsletters the most frequently are VPs and SVPs of IT, with most reading newsletters 2-3 times per week. Managers and Directors of IT and CIOs/CTOs were also frequent readers of IT e-newsletters. Based on functional area, those in audit/business continuity were the most frequent readers of electronic newsletters.
Print Newsletters
Readership of print newsletters was much lower than that of electronic versions. Almost half of those surveyed do not read print newsletters. Of those that do, VPs and SVPs of IT were the only significant group, with half reading them 2-3 times a week. By functional area, readership of IT print newsletters is consistent.
Associations and Trade Groups
When asked which associations and trade shows were most frequently attended,
POSC was the most frequently cited, followed by the Public Petroleum Data Model
Association (PPDM). The most popular trade shows were those hosted by Gartner Group, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists ( SEG ), and the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
About Spur Digital
Spur Digital is a full-service Interactive Agency based in Houston , Texas . Spur Digital helps clients leverage the Web to grow their business by developing, implementing and managing online marketing solutions that include search engine marketing, email marketing, online advertising and web analytics and Web ROI Measurement. Spur’s clients include Southwest Airlines, FedEx Kinko’s, Amegy Bank of Texas, Texas Industries, Camden Realty, Pro-Mark Drum Sticks, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, to name a few. Additional information can be found at www.spurdigital.com.
About POSC
POSC is an international not-for-profit membership consortium through which the energy industry works collaboratively to develop, implement and deploy energy eStandards – information exchange and interoperability specifications that support eBusiness in the ‘petrotechnical’ sector of the energy industry. Among the most widely used POSC standards is WITSML™ - a family of standards currently centered on drilling information and being extended to regulatory reporting and production operations through the POSC Special Interest Group (SIG) process. For more information, please visit www.posc.org or call 713.267.5123 .