[OPINION] All over the world thousands of owners of television stations and newspapers are facing a tidal wave of change, hoping desperately for some sort of miracle to bring back the glory days of traditional media before the dastardly internet ruined everything.
These are the media denialists who have seemingly decided to go down with their storm-tossed ships rather than wake up to the reality of life as it is today.
In a nutshell, advertising has changed dramatically. Instead of waiting for newspaper and television ads to tell them about new products, best prices and all manner of incentives, consumers are not waiting around but looking for what they want, what’s new and where to get it, when it suits them. No matter where they are. It might be early in the morning, late afternoon or the middle of the night, because once the consumer of today decides to look, the opportunity to do so is immediate.
A phalanx of research data has long proved conclusively that 18-35 year old consumers simply don’t read newspapers or watch live TV anymore. From my own recent research I have a feeling that this top age limit of 35 is fast moving towards 50 plus.
If you don’t believe me, just go out and find the nearest person under the age of 50 and ask them when last they read a newspaper or watched a commercial break on TV. You won’t find many who have.
They want something, they go online and look for it. They want to know what’s new, they go online and find out.
So, why are there so many TV commercials still being produced, not only in South Africa but in Europe and America too?
They only possible reason is that large sections of the advertising industry refuse to adapt to new consumer habits and in any event, simply don’t want to kill what has always been a very lucrative cash cow. They are successful in convincing unskilled brand managers and corporate marketers that big TV advertising campaigns are still the bee’s knees and anyway, they give the chairman’s wife something to boast about at tea parties.
A phalanx of research data has long proved conclusively that 18-35 year old consumers simply don’t read newspapers or watch live TV anymore. From my own recent research I have a feeling that this top age limit of 35 is fast moving towards 50 plus.
I suppose this is the advertising equivalent of a lot of insurance companies that continue to convince consumers to invest in retirement annuities that aren’t worth a row of beans.
The simple truth is that big brands need to make sure that when consumers are looking for something, their brands and products pop up on top of the search list.
Proof of all this is the massive increase in online sales the world over. These are not just consumers who find it more convenient to purchase online but consumers who started their journey on the internet without waiting around for the mass media to inform them.
However, there are exceptions to this phenomenon. In South Africa, consumers in the lower economic groups still watch live television, mainly because they can’t afford subscription services that allow them to fast-forward through ads or watch programmes later.
They are also consumers who believe what they see on TV and this includes the advertising.
TV in this instance is able to overcome illiteracy and speak to consumers in their own language. It is enormously successful.
Add to this advertising success story that is the insert one finds in these community newspapers. Sure, everyone will say they hate those inserts that at the end of the month often make up the bulk of the newspaper. But they work. And because they are so localised, they are far more measurable than mass media advertising.
Another exception is the phenomenon that is the community newspaper. Young people do read them. Mainly, I suppose, because they can read about what is happening in their own neighbourhood.
Add to this advertising success story that is the insert one finds in these community newspapers. Sure, everyone will say they hate those inserts that at the end of the month often make up the bulk of the newspaper. But they work. And because they are so localised, they are far more measurable than mass media advertising.
Every week South Africa’s big retail brands spend millions on advertising inserts. And research going back decades show that for those retailers who get the right mix of product, loss leaders, time frames and so forth, the return on investment is just so much better than any other form of advertising.
From my own marketing audits conducted for a number of retail brands, the wastage on overall marketing budgets is between 25% and 35%. That’s massive. And the main culprits are ill-conceived TV advertisements and sponsorship.
But, while the traditional commercial break on TV is pretty much dead, there is still room for big brands on audiovisual platforms. However, this is most definitely not just taking TV commercials and bunging them onto YouTube.
Finding the most efficient way to ‘advertise’ these days is immensely challenging. It does, however, start with an important first step, which is to simply stop using the word ‘advertising’.
[Story edited at 5.26pm to check a fact.]
