Apr
2010
Are we still evangelising digital in the digital age?
A study has just been unveiled by Arbitron and Edison Research with findings showing how the internet is the “most essential” medium, surpassing TV amongst consumers in the US.
Mentioned in Marketing Charts, “When asked which they would choose if they must, never again watching television or never again accessing the internet, slightly more people chose TV as the medium they would eliminate. Forty-nine percent of respondents chose to eliminate TV, compared to just more than 48% who said they would get rid of the internet.
When first asked the question in 2001, 72% of respondents said they would do without the internet, while only 26% said they would eliminate television. In the demographic of persons younger than the age of 45, the gap between the two forms of media is more profound, with more people choosing to live without TV.
So I ask the question, how come we still find ourselves having to evangelise digital and social media in a world that seems in most countries (not all) prefers the internet to TV? Or at least a combination of both.
I can totally understand why marketers would want to measure the medium and understand its role in driving sales, which is still misnomer (in Digital PR not necessarily adverstising) but could we please pass this now where we speak about Digital as a “must” not a “nice to have”?
Apr
2010
Richard Becker
Gaylene,
It only makes sense most people would choose the Internet, given that most media ends up here in one form or another. In 2001, this wasn’t the case.
Great stats though. I appreciate this post.
Best,
Rich
Apr
2010
Gaylene Ravenscroft
Thanks Rich, I think I just had a bad day and wanted to make a point some way or other:-) I do appreciate clients and colleagues alike who do get it and go with it and are successful because of it.
Apr
2010
Daan Jansonius
I do share your frustration sometimes Gaylene.
It’s actually surprising the number of respondents chosing the internet over TV is not higher – as Richard rightly points out, the internet provides access to almost all content anyway.
It really is a no brainer though. Lady Gaga recently hit 1 billion combined views of all her video clips – good luck buying the attention of an audience that size! Never mind whether they actually watch your ad or not.
Whilst we are not there yet, there are promising signs that indicate marketers realise they need to allocate their budgets to suit the behaviours of their audiences – http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/sep/30/internet-biggest-uk-advertising-sector