Every year, marketers go into the television “upfront” marketplace to purchase schedules in advance of the upcoming broadcast calendar year (fall 2014).
This provides a method to guarantee some cost savings. Traditional television is still the top delivery method for consumers to view programming. Across key demographics, it is till the leading consumption of media. However, other options for multi-screen viewing are opening up. Basically, one can deem television viewing as just content.
Consumers expect marketers to give them a personalized experience with their brand or company. The same expectation is being seen with television viewing experience. Trends show that consumers are viewing more programming, however, it is really a question of where the viewing is taking place. Much of the viewing is still taking place in the living room. However, laptops, tablets and smartphones are entering the conversation.
For those consumers storing programs on DVRs, as an example, storage is becoming a problem. Some saved programming is deleted before it is even watched. Like with traditional viewing, you have consumers who prefer to skip ads and others will actually make a purchase based on ads they see. And sometimes the television is just on for background ambient noise as consumers focus on their mobile devices or other activities.
What does this all mean? It means that businesses need to be smarter in their deployment of marketing messages. There is an array of content out there for consumers to watch. Women are heavy viewers of television content and younger audiences prefer mobile devices. A 360-degree approach that includes mobile devices allows messaging to be wherever consumer may be watching.
It is paramount for messages to be relevant and tailored to the audience of interest. In today’s competitive environment, it is not enough to saturate messages and talk at the consumer. Instead, it is more prudent to customize the experience in order to establish a conversation with your desired target audience.
| Adele Lassere is a marketing/advertising consultant with 20+ years experience, freelance writer and author of “Elements of Buying” (self-help advertising guide); available at Amazon.com. Adele was listed as Black Enterprise’s 2011 Top Execs in Marketing & Advertising and Black Enterprise’s 2013 Top Women Executives in Advertising & Marketing. Contact: [email protected] |
