The consumer driven new media revolution, a major player in advertising, marketing, the Internet and wireless technologies, does not play by the same rules as traditional media. In 2009, Facebook reported a 276% growth in the 35-54 year old users. That demo is doubling roughly every two months.
A recent survey from PermissionTV.com shows that about 67% of marketing respondents report they will focus on online video through 2009 rather than social marketing (41%), search (34%) or pod/webcasts (32%). Another interesting sign is that about half report they will begin some kind of online video project.
The hot buttons for marketers show that 60% report an interest in having their own branded content/video destination, more interactive experiences for consumers (38%) and simply syndication (22%).
"As corporate and brand marketers look to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of digital marketing initiatives, online video will play an increasingly critical role in all interactive campaigns," said Matt Kaplan, VP of Solutions and Chief Strategy Officer of PermissionTV. "These survey results demonstrate the strategic importance of online video in the overall marketing mix, as well a growing requirement for more sophisticated video experiences."
According to a recent comScore report US consumers viewed more than 12 billion online videos during December 2008; that is an increase of more than 30% year over year.
Internet users are spending nearly half their online time visiting content - a 37% increase in share of time from four years ago and nearly as much time as spent on communications and commerce combined - according to a four-year analysis of the Internet Activity Index (IAI) issued by the Online Publishers Association (OPA).
The IAI is a monthly gauge of the time that users spend with e-commerce, communications, content and search; it is conducted by Nielsen/NetRatings. Does this mean that you should shift the greater percentage of your media budget to new media? The answer is no -- your marketing plan should still be diversified, and that's the challenge.
In response to
e-mails about whether it's good idea to invest the entire marketing
budget in new media, the answer is that it's important to diversify
such as e-mail marketing, a web site, print, radio/TV, public
relations, video profiles, outdoor, event marketing, co-op, direct
response, green marketing, blogs, and online advertising. Not every company
can afford all of the above, and it's even more difficult in this
economic cycle. Whether it's print, radio/TV and new media, if you
don't have enough reach (reaching your target) and frequency
(repetition), the campaign will not yield ideal results.
It makes no more
sense to put all of your marketing dollars into new media, than it does
to put the entire budget into television, or out-of-home advertising.
Then, there's the
question of your target market. As an example, let's assume that you
have a conversational media category product/service targeted toward
the 65 to 75 year old Hispanic senior market. Recent studies have shown
that 81.1% of 2-17 year olds visit sites categorized within the
conversational media category, while the age group with the lowest
reach is age 65+ with a 57.5% reach, resulting in a 23.6% difference
between the 2-17 year old target reach and the 65+ year old target
reach within the conversational media category. Likewise, 79.9% of 2-17
year olds visit sites within the social networking category, versus
55.5% of the 65 plus year olds, resulting in a 24.4% difference in
reach between the 2-17 year olds and 65+ years old within the social
networking category.
As far as Hispanic Boomers, that's a growing market along with the entire Boomer market. It would therefore
make sense to include other media vehicles in your marketing plan that
would give you the diversity and help you reach this older Hispanic
segment.
More and more
seniors are online. What do you do? Eighty-four percent of seniors
between 50-64 years do have a computer and 77% of them have access to
the Internet. This is not very different from the younger generations.
Even though these percentages decline with the increase in age (i.e.,
65-74 years: 54% own a computer and 42% have Internet access). The next
question is, how much time do they actually spend online? Where else do
they go for information and how can you cross promote?
Diversity is key
regardless of the market segment. The same would be true if you were
trying to reach the 18 to 35 year old male market, and you neglected
the web and new media. This would be a huge mistake for this target
group.
There's a reason
why this age group is called the "Elusive Male" target. Bottom line,
there are no easy answers. Diversity is important within the confines
of your budget. One size does not fit all.
New Media and Giving Back
After a 25 year search, Philadelphia businessman, Life Coach and book author, Lance Heft, finally locates his fourth grade teacher, Louise Zulick. The search was important to Heft for so many reasons. He wanted to pay tribute to Louise for her faith in him, and he wanted to say thank you to the woman who played a critical role in his childhood development and in his life.
After a joyful reunion, he learned that Louise is a breast cancer survivor. It was then that he knew that he wanted to do something to honor this wonderful woman. As a result, Lance created the American Society $10,000. "Your Turn To Win" endowment in honor of Louise Zulick.
Lance Heft agreed to make this very private search public on Father's Day. Creston used the power of new media to help increase breast cancer awareness and research. Heft states, "It's my sincere hope that this will be the very last generation of women to battle this disease."
Diane T. Creston, president of Creston Advertising & Marketing, states, "New media gives us the ability to instantly reach consumers, increase awareness for community service work, and strengthen B2B ties."
