Originally posted on January 1, 2008 @ 11:42 pm
Looking at all of my new gadgets that my friends and I have acquired this year made me realize how wired and connected we are. We have achieved a level of connectivity with each other and with information that ten years ago we would only think it could happen in science fiction novels. Our laptops, our phones, our desktop computers… heck, even our refrigerators are plugged in and wired to the world wide web.
A new survey done in the United States by Deloitte and Touche shows the level of connectivity that we have and the results have been quite interesting. For example, 38 per cent of US consumers now watch TV shows online, while 36 per cent use their mobile phone as an entertainment device. Also, 45 per cent have made it a habit to make online content for others. This include music, videos, blogs and websites.
The survey confirms that new media is now a legitimate form and advertisers see a more universal strategy as the most effective means of reaching your target audience.
The figures cited have actually increased quite dramatically from the last survey and this is quite telling because it means the level of acceptability and absorption of these devices has also increased. Advertisers should take heed of this new development in making new ad strategies this year. We should also look at this as a sign that society is really becoming more and more connected whether we like it or not.
“I think for advertisers one of the conclusions is you don’t make decisions to advertise either on television or the Internet when you want to hit all the demographics, but rather you need to have a multiplatform strategy,” said Ken August, vice chairman and national sector leader for Deloitte & Touche’s media and entertainment practice, which commissioned the study. “It shouldn’t be an either or proposition.”
Among the study’s other findings:
— 54 percent of consumers said they socialize via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards, and 45 percent said they maintain a profile on a social networking site.
— 85 percent of consumers still find TV advertising to have the most impact on their buying habits, but online ads are second best, with 65 percent of consumers saying they have the most impact, beating out magazines at 63 percent.