Recent studies that have shown an increase in the number of Internet users has led many to conclude that Internet usage is replacing television as the major opinion-shaping force for today’s consumer audiences.
Studies like this one from the Miniwatts Market Group consistently show that Internet usage in North America is up across the board. Such Internet usage studies lend credence to the perception that Internet is fast replacing television as the major form influence in most households.
While the numbers are telling the truth, it turns out, though, that many of these studies present only half of the picture.
Most Internet users watch television, too. In a surprising find, the newest statistics show that Internet usage and television viewing are not mutually exclusive activities. In fact, as it turns out, a significant chunk of Internet usage occurs while the television is also on.
According to this article from Reuters, a recent Nielsen study shows that the heaviest Internet users are also among the heaviest television viewers. (The statistics are from Nielsen’s new convergence panel, a panel specifically designed to discover how consumers interact with television and the Internet.) They show that 31 percent of home Internet usage happens while the Internet user is viewing television, with teens being the group most likely to engage in dual media usage (giving “multitasking” or even “multimedia” a whole new meaning!).
And what’s more, according to JupiterResearch, more than two-thirds (67%) of those searching online are driven to search by offline media channels, with TV advertising leading the way and driving the highest percentage of these online searches. Of these online searchers, nearly 40% that are influenced by offline media channels (like TV ads) do ultimately make a purchase (according to iProspect).
A multi-tasking society. While the new Nielsen study may have taken some by surprise, it actually makes a lot of sense. Americans are very busy. And rushed. And often overwhelmed.
Recent studies show that American are even too busy to do a large number of things, ranging from basic tasks like eating lunch to health-related areas like getting a good night’s sleep.
It only makes sense that Americans would try to multi-task whenever possible. Watching TV while surfing the Internet (or answering e-mail, chatting, paying bills online or numerous other online tasks) seems an efficient way to get multiple things done at one time.
Technologically-savvy. Not only are Americans busy, they are increasingly technologically savvy. This is particularly true of American teenagers, as one example. Technology has perhaps more impact on this generation than on any previous generation. According to a Harris Interactive study, Modern Technology Has Tremendous Impact on the Way Teens Communicate, technology is playing an increasing role in the lives of teens. And, as the teens mature and become adults, they take that savvy-ness with them and it will certainly become part of the changing consumer landscape.
Media working synergistically…works for everyone. Clearly, one of the best pairings in this new media world is that between TV and the Internet. Each enhances the efforts of the other, both in terms of content and when it comes to advertising. The better marketers understand the inner and inter workings of these and other well-matched mediums, the more effective they will be in reaching their multi-tasking target markets.
Complementary advertising campaign can be effective. So, the question becomes: How can advertisers respond to this new information?
To start, television advertisers should be aware that they might not have the primary focus of their Internet-surfing viewers.
Television advertisements may need to become flashier and/or more memorable to draw in multi-taskers.
To attract web surfers to commercials, advertisers should be more open to exploring and using more creative and non-traditional ideas and methods – the goal is to go beyond the visual and audio clutter that is everywhere.
However, the new data raises an interesting possibility of combining media. Advertisers, particularly those targeting teens, can now, as one example, reference specially-designed promotional websites in a powerful effort to combine the impact of the two media.
It will be interesting to see further results from Nielsen’s new convergence panel (and elsewhere) as we continue to discover the impact on consumers and adapt our media plans and buys accordingly.
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