Who’s Watching What?
As we look back through the evolution of media, it was predicted that each new one would kill off the other…when television came into being, everyone predicted radio would die. Cable television was going to replace television, streaming radio was going to replace terrestrial radio and online video – yep, it’s going to replace television. And let’s not forget newspapers are dead. To paraphrase Mark Twain, “the reports of (fill in appropriate media tactic here) death have been greatly exaggerated.”
There is no doubt that the media landscape is changing and each form has its adherents. But nothing is that simple. Boomers surf the net while watching TV, they listen to Pandora, catch up on news via Twitter just like Millennials who do watch live TV and listen to terrestrial radio when in their cars. And everyone is exposed to Outdoor advertising!
The biggest challenge we face in media is figuring out how to reach our consumer in light of this proliferation and the answer is we have to consider each and every type of media. We have to recognize that each audience segment engages with media in slightly different ways and have to provide an integrated approach in which to reach these audiences. We don’t know which one tactic is going to lead them to our desired goal, we do know that they’ll be consuming multiple media tactics and we need to figure out is the right combination of these to get as many of our targets as we can to get them there.
A good media person is always on the look-out for the next big trend while keeping grounded in the present. Innovation, integration and ingenuity are the principles of media today. If you can find that in your plan – it’s a good one.
