AOL/Roper Survey Uncovers Group Of Super Parents

CEO used to mean Chief Executive Officer, but no longer. For millions of parents today, it means Chief Everything Officer. According to a new AOL/Roper Public Affairs survey, 41 percent of parents describe themselves as Chief Everything Officers - they take charge and manage everything in the home, and do it well.

Surprisingly, the survey found that more than a third of these modern-day Chief Everything Officers (37 percent) are men. The survey was conducted by Roper Public Affairs, part of NOP World, for America Online, the world's leading interactive services company.

Details of the survey are being released today at the first AOL Insights Series, which is intended to address key audience segments. A distinguished panel of experts will discuss the survey from various perspectives. In addition, award-winning journalist, best-selling author, mother and First Lady of California Maria Shriver will receive AOL's first Chief Everything Officer Award in recognition of her efforts to shine a spotlight on women as they strive to balance their lives.

How do these Chief Everything Officers do it? According to the survey, they succeed where others struggle because they are:

• more organized: 43 percent of Chief Everything Officers say they are excellent at being organized, compared with just 16 percent of other parents.
• more technologically inclined: 44 percent use Websites with household tips, vs. 36 percent of other parents.
• adapting workplace management skills for the home: 62 percent say they are excellent at multitasking, versus 33 percent of other parents.
• taking advantage of flextime: 72 percent use flextime to balance work and family, compared with 58 percent of other parents.

Chief Everything Officers - both moms and dads - also appear to be particularly influential in the marketplace and with friends and family. According to the survey, this group is more likely than other parents to be the primary decision maker about most household purchases. For example, 59 percent of CEOs make decisions about groceries to buy, compared with just 37 percent of non-CEO parents. Chief Everything Officers are also more likely to be asked for their advice on everything from raising children (76 percent vs. 65 percent) to managing finances (51 percent vs. 35 percent), and they are more likely to describe themselves as excellent when it comes to making smart decisions about major purchases (49 percent vs. 31 percent).

"These CEO's are leaders in their communities - and an indicator for parents in general," said Michael J. Kelly, President, AOL Media Networks. "Our Insights Series is designed to examine key audiences like parents because they are the most powerful consumers in the country, and AOL has always been committed to meeting their online needs."

"Our mantra is to make every day easier for families," said Tina Sharkey, Senior Vice President, Life Management & Community, America Online. "And this closer look at particularly effective family managers is helping us understand America's families and anticipate their needs - whether it is recipes for dinner, paying their bills or full service homework help."

Summary of findings about Chief Everything Officers:

• 41 percent of parents fall into the Chief Everything Officer category - representing about 28 million Americans; 63 percent of the parents in this group are women, 37 percent are men.
• Chief Everything Officers are more likely than others to assume various household roles, such as family doctor (71 percent), therapist (53 percent), and disciplinarian (69 percent). And 68 percent consider themselves child-care professionals, compared with just 44 percent of other parents.
• Chief Everything Officers are marketplace decision makers. They are more likely than other parents to make decisions about brands of grocery products to buy (59 percent vs. 37 percent), phone services to use (56 percent vs. 32 percent) and Internet service providers (49 percent vs. 28 percent).
• They rate themselves as excellent at making smart buying decisions (49 percent vs. 31 percent).
• Chief Everything Officers are influencers with friends and family. For example, 51 percent say they are turned to for their advice or opinion on managing finances, compared with just 35 percent of other parents.
• They utilize technology to save time. Chief Everything Officers are more likely than other parents to use online calendars (15 percent vs. 8 percent) and Websites with household tips and information (44 percent vs. 36 percent) to help organize their home.
• They are also committed to organization. For example, 54 percent have a regular schedule for house cleaning or laundry, compared with 41 percent of other parents.
• Chief Everything Officers are more likely to see the benefit of flextime - and use it. Similar to other parents, 65 percent of Chief Everything Officers say that having flexible work hours to help balance work life and personal life is very important. But 72 percent say they have used flextime to balance work and home life, compared with 58 percent of other parents.
• They are a decidedly mainstream group of parents. Their average age is 38 years old, they are dual-income, middle-class families. Median household income for this group is $47,600, 73 percent are married and 74 percent of them are employed.

To see an online copy of the Chief Everything Officer White Paper, go to www.aolepk.com.

Panel of Experts

A panel of experts will discuss the survey's findings at today's AOL Insights Series. The panel includes: Jean Chatzky, Editor-at-large for Money magazine, featured columnist at Time magazine, financial editor at NBC's "Today" show and AOL's Money Coach; Paul Bennett, head of the global Consumer Experience Design practice at IDEO, one of the world's foremost design companies for consumer products, services, and environments; Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author, Creating a Life, founder of the National Parenting Association, and Director of the Gender and Public Policy Program at Columbia University; and Deborah Roberts, award-winning ABC News 20/20 Correspondent and active mother of two; with Tina Sharkey, AOL's Senior Vice President of Life Management & Community, as moderator.

About America Online, Inc.

America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.

Study Methodology

The findings are from two studies conducted on behalf of AOL by Roper Public Affairs, a division of NOP World.

The main study was conducted with telephone interviews conducted from June 22, 2004 through July 13, 2004. The interviews were completed using a nationally representative sample of 704 American adults, at least 18 years of age, with an over-sample of 328 parents (with a child in their household). In total, the study was completed with 1,032 interviews, 550 of which were parent interviews. The 550 parents were then statistically weighted down to their proper proportion when reporting results for the total general public sample. Furthermore, the general population sample was weighted based upon the number of eligible adults in each household, age, sex, education and census region to ensure that it was representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for the total sample of 1,032 adults is plus/minus 3.6 percentage points; subgroups will have a larger margin of error.

A follow-up study was also conducted via telephone among a representative sample of 1,000 American adults (279 of whom were parents), from August 20 through 22, 2004. The sampling error for the total sample is +/- 3 percentage points.

In both studies, Chief Everything Officers were those parents who say the following statement described their role in their household "very well": "Chief Everything Officer - that is you take charge and manage everything in your household smoothly and effectively." About four in ten parents qualified as household CEOs in both studies.