Customers, competitiors and opportunities

An interesting insight into the world of the UK consumer comes in the form of Deloitte’s ‘State of the Media Democracy’ survey. The survey launched recently, seeks to understand the myriad of ways in which consumers interact with media and entertainment, forecasting how this will change in the future.

In the current sea of uncertainty the survey’s findings are somewhat of an anchor.
From the findings it’s clear that TV remains the favourite media source for most, with scheduled programmes still the preferred method for watching the nations favourite shows. However the fact that over 60% of UK consumers now believe their computer is more of an entertainment device than the TV, means that traditional platforms should look over their shoulder at the new kid on the block.

Time for television isn’t just about the TV anymore! A significant number of participants claimed to consume a range of media across competing platforms whilst watching television. Surfing the web came in as the main contender, closely followed by email, reading magazines, and reading newspapers. Our time and focus is then becoming more and more fragmented.

As a range of entertainment devices compete and overlap driving down the value of advertising space, it’s clear that traditional business models are losing traction. With an increasingly converging technology, media and telecommunications sector, new revenue models must be found. The ability to understand consumer’s preference for traditional or emerging media devices and platforms has then never been more important. Consumers may be flocking to the online world for entertainment, but as the survey neatly shows TV still has nearly double the impact upon consumers buying decisions when compared to the net.

So, whilst the age old advertising model of putting your message across to the biggest audience may no longer quite fly, it’s still not clear what exactly does. If you’re interested in how to get the biggest bang for your advertising buck, the next convergence conversation on June 4th looks at advertising and the impact of convergence.