Changes in the media

People are not just switching their media consumption from analogue to digital. Indeed, reading a newspaper or a book seems to be easier on a paper than via screen. 60% of surveyed internet consumers underlined the small screen size problem and their physical book preference to an eBook and physical newspaper to an electronic version (Gee 2011). The real reason for changing medias is because digital gives them amazingly more choices (Kaul 2012).

 Global media consumption is significantly growing. The nature of media is changing: 6 years ago, 50% of media was digital. In 7 years, that ratio will be 80% (Holloman 2012). Billions of people who used to have an access at most two or three locally-distributed printed newspapers, one to four television channels, and one or two dozen radio stations, can now access nearly all of the world’s news and information right away at home, office, or wherever they are (Admin 2010).

When radio first appeared, there was no doubt that this will change people life's. For the first time advertisers were able to reach people ears (Admin 2010). What is more, it does not need people's involvement other than turning on the radio. TV invention was even more groundbreaking as it linked communication to ears, eyes and brains together. Advertisers had much more choices what meant higher demand for creative ideas and of course, higher prices (Chan 2012).

Print is steadily decreasing and has been since 1940s. It is becoming an old fashioned media. The print versus online ad spending underlines the significance of online media as print ad spending is a bit decreasing while digital ads spend is steadily growing (Gillin 2012). What is more, there are far more internet users than broadband subscriptions. More and more people access web through mobile devices. It indicates a key shift in how people now access content and information. By 2011, mobile broadband was double the size of fixed broadband. Because most of the mobile phones are replaced every two or three years, these mean that probably by the middle of the coming decade the number of people who have Internet access will increase from 1.8 billion to approximately 4.1 billion as the number of mobile phones users is 60 percent of the world’s population (Admin 2010).

People usage habits can give a lot of useful information for the companies in order to target the right medias and places in the right time. Survey states that most of the interactions performed while out of home are: text messaging, accessing the Internet (online search, downloading applications, reading news, using social networks, looking weather and local information, playing games, searching for local deals) and using GPS (Ives 2010), (Gee 2011). Advertising based on such data provides more accurate and efficient targeting what reduces costs.

That is a huge market that can be targeted by new means of advertising. As an example, apps market is experiencing continuous expansion in terms of number of brands integrating it to its campaigns. It is almost most targeted approach as consumer decides what app to download.

Back to the first chart, analogue TV and radio have been replaced by digital formats. Internet integrates all media tools used in the past and advertisers make most use of it. That helps to target their markets more effectively and efficiently. TV had a huge growth from 1940 to 1980 but stopped to increase ever since. What is more, the graph does not take into account the growth of channels but consumption only. Adding hundreds of new channels would not affect consumption (Holloman 2012). Since 2005 independent producers of entertaining and sport channels did get a significant growth of 15.6% in revenue, while in-house production at the BBC and ITV has declined. What means that people are more willing to read and watch news on their mobile devices or using broadband. Nevertheless, "traditional TV remains the medium people would find it hardest to live without - except young adults between 16 and 24, who prefer the internet” (Brown 2008).

There are sharp differences in media consumption by age. Older people are less keen to use mobile phones as only 7% of over 65s make a mobile call every day, compared with 50% of all adults. In addition, they spend significantly more time watching television and listening to the radio. Overall over 65s are less trusting of information, including news, on the web (Brown 2008). In the same time, younger audience use phones not just in communicating purposed but also for entertainment. Advertisers should take into account all these aspects and adjust their activities accordingly in order to target right publics more efficiently.

The table shows consumers’ willingness to pay for purchases of in-app new content in both print and digital versions of magazines and newspapers. However, an initially free download would provide a key benefit and a further incentive. Furthermore, it is an increasing trend of offering a print code, or QR code, for the consumers reading the print version of the newspaper or magazine but who are also digitally inclined. The code can be converted online for a discount for the purchase of an application or access to a website (Gee 2011). It increases people interaction and encourages them to become loyal customers.

In the online world, location based advertising and cookies makes it much easier to track and target consumers. Companies are using these features widely for the last few years. However, many people do not want to see adverts and they are even keen to pay money just to remove them from their interfaces. Moreover, nearly half of all consumers state that online customer reviews and ratings make impact on their buying decisions more than any other type of online advertising (Ives 2010).

Social networking is continuously growing. According to the survey, one-quarter of U.S. consumers are socializing online almost every day and nearly 60 percent was maintaining a social networking site in 2010 what is more than 10% more than previous year and is definitely less than the current number. The connections maintained over social networks provide powerful sources for trusted recommendations and advertisers use these aspects to provide the most targeted and trusted communications and advertising. “The content generated through social networking provides a rich source for understanding the collective mindset of consumers” (Ives 2010). Top 10 brands that managed to get consumers’ attention are:

1. Facebook
2. YouTube
3. Coca-Cola
4. MTV
5. Disney
6. Red Bull
7. Converse
8. Starbucks
9. Oreo
10. PlayStation 

This list is generated by adding number of Facebook likes to the number of twitter followers (Fan Page List 2012).

References

Admin (2010) The Greatest Change in the History of Media. [Online] Available from: http://www.digitaldeliverance.com/2010/06/08/the-greatest-change-in-the-history-of-media/ [Accessed 23rd January 2013].

Brown, M. (Thursday 14th August 2008) Ofcom Communications Market Report: rapid changes in media consumption habits, but much remains the same. The Guardian. [Online] Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2008/aug/14/post92 [Accessed 23rd January 2013].

Chan, J. (2012) 2013 and beyond: Media trends and their implications for marketers. [Online] Available from: http://www.warc.com.atlas.worc.ac.uk/Content/ContentViewer.aspx?ID=115dd3d3-144f-46f2-972c-bf6216b174ac&q=2013+and+beyond+media+trends&MasterContentRef=115dd3d3-144f-46f2-972c-bf6216b174ac [Accessed 23rd January 2013].

Fan Page List (2012) Top Brands on Facebook. [Online] Available from: http://fanpagelist.com/category/brands/ [Accessed 23rd January 2013].

Gee, S. (2011) Media Content On the Go. [Online] Available from: http://academic.mintel.com.atlas.worc.ac.uk/display/588709/?highlight=true [Accessed 23rd January 2013].

Gillin, P. (Thursday 19th January 2012) eMarketer: Online Ad Spend To Pass Print in 2012. Newspaper Death Watch. [Online] Available from: http://newspaperdeathwatch.com/emarketer-online-ad-spend-to-pass-print-in-2012/ [Accessed 23rd January 2013].

Holloman, C. (2012) The Social Media MBA: Your Competitive Edge in Social Media Strategy Development and Delivery. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ives, B. (Wednesday 15th February 2010) Changes in Media Consumption: TV Rises in Popularity, Unlike NewsPapers, While Mobile Devices Also Move Up. Social Media Today. [Online] Available from: http://socialmediatoday.com/billives/105525/changes-media-consumption-tv-rises-popularity-unlike-newspapers-while-mobile-devices [Accessed 23rd January 2013].

Kaul, V (2012) Changing Paradigms of Media Landscape in the Digital Age. Journal of Mass Communication & Journalism. [Online] Available from: http://omicsgroup.org/journals/2165-7912/2165-7912-2-110.php?aid=3636?aid=4210 [Accessed 23rd January 2013].