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Email and Social Media spends to top traditional media in 2010

2009 November 4

A study from the Center for Media Research, in conjunction with InsightExpress, indicates that more than half of marketers plan to include social media in their media plans next year.

The survey of 1,972 MediaPost subscribers found that 57.7% “ideally” plan to use social media, while 56.3% “realistically” plan to include social media in their upcoming plans, MediaPost writes.

In another study conducted in August of 2009, by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) in conjunction with B2B magazine found that 66 percent of marketers utilized social media in 2009, as compared to 20 percent in 2007. Fifty percent employ viral videos, up from only 25 percent in 2007. The study also revealed that Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and Linkedin (in that order) were the top choices of marketers.

Yet in a study just released on October 7, 2009  TargetCast reveals that  traditional media is still hanging in there – noting that “marketing in newspapers and magazines still score well in terms of consumer attentiveness and purchase influence”.  Click here to read the complete TargetCast Consumer Trend Report.

Here are some highlights from the TargetCast report:

Key findings:

● Newspapers and magazines score well in terms of attentiveness and purchase influence

● Men and women are consuming media differently

– Men are more likely than women to indicate that printed news is a less relevant source of news and information

● Newspapers and magazines are not considered as relevant today and are easiest to eliminate from usage

● The biggest usage declines were found among men and young adults 18-34 in newspapers, magazines and radio

● TV and Internet, respectively, identified as most important media – Young adults 18-34 rank the internet as more important than TV

The study concludes that:

  • Newspapers have a legacy of breaking news and uncovering stories of historic proportion, yet they are losing ground to a generation of consumers embracing digital and mobile alternatives.
  • Established magazines, often iconic brands, have begun to lose advertiser support after years of consistent readership and inspiring content.
  • Over the past 100 years radio has been a ubiquitous part of our daily lives, however, after surviving the challenges of broadcast TV, the emergence of cable and the launch of the Internet, radio is slowly being tuned out by a generation addicted to personal, programmable MP3 players, iPods, iPhones and other multi-media devices.

While many will continue to use traditional and new media as much as they have in the past, it is important to understand the shifting relationship between how men and women and different generations will consume media in the future so the industry can evolve these media in a way that is relevant and impactful to consumers.

RadioTrends - TargetCast tcm Consumer Trend Report (Oct. 09 Page 6)
RadioTrends – TargetCast tcm Consumer Trend Report (Oct. 09 Page 6)

And while the TargetCast study shows that overall consumers seem to be happy with radio, a study reported in a September IAB SmartBrief shows that regardless of that public sentiment, radio is in a world of hurt.  The article says,

“The message coming from the radio industry is clear: Terrestrial radio is in trouble financially and things will get worse before they get any better. EMarketer foresees steep declines in ad revenues for the remainder of 2009 and into 2010, as many of radio’s former top advertisers in the automotive industry were among those hardest hit by the economic downturn. In 2009, advertisers will slash spending on terrestrial radio advertising by $3.2 billion, down 18% from 2008.”

Click here to learn more about eMarketer’s report “Internet Radio Makes Waves”.

The takeaway?

We’re at the dawn of a new era.  We’re experiencing first hand the “what the hell” stage of the biggest media shift since the invention of the printing press. And that’s huge.  Really huge.  It’s bringing full circle the transformation of media from word-of-mouth, to narrow-casting, to mass media, back to narrow-casting and the all new “Social Media”, which is “word-of-mouth” on steroids.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again.  Traditional media is still vital.  But it is losing it’s vitality little by little each and every day.

Will traditional media be around in 10 years?  Absolutely!

What will it look like?  Your guess is as good as mine.

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