This week I’ve been reading about the increasing divide in media consumption between the “haves” and the “have nots”. For some time now, media consumption amongst the better educated, better off demographics has been fragmenting faster than it has for the rest of the population. Pay TV, internet access, broadband, mobile internet, iPhones and subscription-based online content all have a significant barrier to entry. That barrier is money!
Consider this…
In NZ households where the household income is under $40,000, only 36% have a Sky subscription, 60% use a mobile phone, 59% have a computer at home and 48% have a home internet connection. Last week they spent an average of 23.25 hours watching Free-To-Air TV.
In households with income over $100,000, 65% have Sky, 88% use a mobile phone and 88% have a computer but 93% have internet access at home. Their average exposure to Free-To-Air TV was only 12.07 hours last week.
What does this mean?
It means that marketers are now faced with a greater need than ever to identify their target audience, and strategic planners and ad agencies have to work smarter and harder to identify media and communication options to reach those target audiences.
While Free-To-Air TV is still effective at reaching a large number of consumers in a short amount of time, it does not allow specific targeting of audience sub-groups (outside of selecting creative messaging to match programme content).
However fragmentation presents marketers with increased opportunities to reach specific demographic, sociographic and psychographic audiences through specific websites, social media, targeted DM etc.
IMHO, the “haves” can now be effectively reached with advertising or messaging within media that are relevant to the target audience and the product being advertised. The opportunities to reach – and engage with – the “haves” of this world are just beginning to be explored.
And the “have nots”? Well they are steadily moving towards becoming “haves”, as communications technology becomes more widely availably, seen as necessary and importantly, cheaper. Free-to-air TV can still reach this audience effectively, as can radio and community newspapers.
IS MEDIA TARGETING THE NEW CREATIVITY?
The blog linked to below refers to new technology in the US that allows advertisers to behaviourally target their advertising within Cable TV programmes. The writer recommends creating different versions of TVCs to more effectively target viewers.
The New Creative Imperative
