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 12 month stretch ever recorded. More than five million Americans have canceled service since 2010. 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 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. A low return medium.
So where are people moving to?
The simple answer we all see is online, with mobile growing quickly in that category. Growing to 20% of total media consumption according to emarketer (Aug 2013). TV, print, and radio are set to drop under 50% sometime in 2014, they stand at 54% halfway through 2013. Online and mobile are up to 40%. That doesn’t mean people are 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:
44.8% of media consumption is spent in the “digital world”, while only 28% of advertising dollars go there.
38.4% of time is spent on TV but represents 42.1% of the dollars spent.
Print captures 19.6% of advertising dollars and only 4.6% of people media consumption time.
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.
