I have to say I enjoy my TV on a regular basis, in small, incremented doses. I select what I enjoy – taped or live – and it’s a chance for me to unwind. In this, I’m not alone. According to an A.C Nielsen survey, the average American watches around 31.5 hours of television per week.
So does this mean TV is not dying as the online gurus predicted it must? While one would automatically assume it’s the youth of today who are switching gears from sitting in front of a television screen to that of a computer, a study conducted by MTV entitled A Beta Life Youth, found that one in four people between 12-24 acknowledged seeing a brand first on TV, and 60% admitted that TV ads influenced them!
As the research points out, there are a number of reasons why TV has such a widespread effect, including the fact it adds a touch of quality and luxury that online advertising often can’t match; it is backed by online advertising in the form of social network messaging and website sales; and it delivers a sense of trust that the highly competitive online market often fails to.
But there are other changes happening to television, which once again puts it firmly back into our family rooms. For one, with the onset of games like Wii and Kinect, entire families gather in front of the television screen, spending hours at a time playing interactive games, where interactive is the keyword. While this was once the domain of computer games, with television going digital, it now means that more time can be spent together in what is billed as a ‘family hobby’.
Then, there’s the introduction of DVR’s (Digital Video Recorders), pay-per-TV or online video sites like Netflix and Amazon, which has once again affected the way we watch programs. No more trips to the library and fines to pay – this easy to use option grants you access to the latest HD programming, within seconds of making a selection.
And the best part about both these options? Commercial free entertainment. Great for viewers, but how does this translate for advertisers? If people don’t switch on the television to watch regular programming, how then does the brand influence its audience with commercials?
More and more brands are beginning to recognize the need to use newer marketing tactics to promote their goods and services. While television as we’ve seen is a great way to target youth and a middle class audience, it’s become imperative to create niche targeting opportunities.
And to go online. Cross channel – TV and online – advertising is becoming more of a norm as traditional TV advertising brands seek to explore a growing online market. Some of the options available include Google TV Ads; and there are multiple advertising opportunities within a TV setting (e.g. TiVo which is a DVR that allows you to access videos, surf video sites like YouTube and stream music, through its interactive interface), using social media such as twitter, YouTube and facebook, and mobile marketing opportunities.
These are used effectively to promote targeted TV programs and create a more interactive online medium which grows an offline buzz. So now you can order pizza on your TV and discuss super bowl commercials online. And it’s this very cross-channel interaction that will work for television in the long run.
While the delivery mode might be changing, I think it’s safe to say that people will continue to watch television – free cable or paid TV, just as they will experiment with other mediums. How far this experimentation goes and how much television can adapt to accommodate it, is a question that remains to be seen.
