Emerging Consumption of Digital Media

The Marketing Corner

It’s no secret that consumption of digital media is on the uptick. Marketers are seeing double-digit increases by consumers using digital media. 

This consumption includes online, mobile, video, and other digital media vehicles. Clearly, growth in television and other traditional media have slowed. This doesn’t mean that traditional advertising should no longer be deployed. It just means that a careful eye is needed when evaluating how to spend coveted marketing and advertising budgets. The landscape is changing at such a quick pace that constant review of consumer behavior should take place at regular intervals.

Millennials’ usage of digital media is rapidly growing. However, millennials are not the only ones with high daily usage of digital (online, mobile, video, social, gaming, and so on.). One can see high consumption with Gen X and baby boomers, too. Given these trends, don’t count baby boomers out of digital media consumption, as baby boomers plan to maintain their youthful habits all the way into their golden years. This is a clear aspiration of this generation to remain relevant. 

Another truism for millennials is that they would rather do without other material substances than do without their mobile devices. Smartphones have allowed consumers to access on-the-go information virtually anywhere. The importance placed on phones clearly demonstrates how important it is to have a well-thought-out digital strategy that can be deployed in every environment deemed important to the consumer.

It’s a no brainer that digital media should be an integral part of any small business marketing plan. OTT (over-the-top) video (DVR, ITV games, video on demand (VOD) and downloading other games via gaming consoles) usage, especially among young millennial males is a dynamic means to capture this audience. Young men are avid gamers. Consider how including OTT video into your marketing plans can assist in driving consideration and closing the deal with young men. Games can be created that include a small business’s product and offer points to get more play time on young millennial males favorite games online. Here you have organically gained legitimate entrance into their world in a very relevant fashion. 

Moving forward, one should freshen up digital knowledge, study the best practices and determine how to go to market digitally. After all, digital platforms are the future and you have a whole new generation being born who are now children that will only know the digital world.

Adele Lassere is a marketing/advertising consultant with 20+ years of experience, freelance writer, and author of “Elements of Buying: A How To Reference Guide on Advertising for Business Owners,” available at Amazon.com. Adele was listed on Black Enterprise’s 2011 Top Execs in Marketing & Advertising and Black Enterprise’s 2013 Top Women Executives in Advertising & Marketing. Contact: [email protected]