I think by now many of us have come to realize that television as we know it is on a slow path to irrelevance. We feel it, we see it, and most of us are certainly living it. The way we consume media has vastly changed. Technology has always had a way of disrupting the natural order.
The paid television market has had its worst stretches ever recorded. Just in 2018, 33 million Americans have canceled service. Some cable companies are doing worse than others, but the trend is down. Not only are fewer people watching traditional TV programs, but sports have been hurt as well.
Why is this important for Digital Marketing?
Well the simple reason is TV is a competitor for a potential customer’s attention. While most practices don’t spend much of their advertising dollars on TV, mainly because of cost, it is still a consideration. My point would be depending on the market you are trying to reach, it may just be a low return medium.
So where are people moving to?
The simple answer we all see is online, with mobile dominating that category. Reported by emarketer, in 2018, 88% of mobile consumers spent their time on apps (June 2018). In 2019, it’s predicted the average adult will spend more time on their mobile devices (3 hours, 43 minutes) versus TV (3 hours, 35 minutes). That doesn’t mean people have abandoned video, it has just gone mobile.
Here is where the rubber meets the road. There is a stark mismatch between where advertising dollars are spent and where the people are. Consider these statistics:
43% of media consumption is spent in the “digital world”, while only 28% of advertising dollars go there.
In 2019, it is expected for digital ad spending to represent 54.2% of media spending, leaving traditional at 45.8%.
Newspaper ad spent will decline to 5.5% in 2020.
Google and Facebook make up close to 60% of digital ad spending
The conclusions are clear; digital advertising deserves greater share of the ad spending pie. Traditional advertising is already losing its grip on the media landscape and ad spending will follow. The opportunity is there and the vision is clear.
