Media is sold in demographics (the numbers of people who use your product) while psychographics show a clearer picture of the potential client.
For example Rosanne and Murphy Brown were on television several years back and both fit in to the same demographic cell - yet I can assure you that a stay at home Mom with bratty kids and a lazy slob of a husband probably is not going to buy the same Lincoln that the contemporary well educated downtown business woman is going to buy.
If you simply break your lifestyle groups into three tiers - the Traditionals; the Moderates; and the Digitals it's easy to show their media usage preferences.
The Traditional (usually plus 55) likes his/her newspaper in hand; watches television and likely doesn't use his PVR/DVR; and has two or three radio stations to which the bulk of his/her listening goes to.
The Moderate (usually 30 plus) is getting integrated into the digital lifesyle and likely owns a Smart phone - or Tablet - where they use approx. 50 to 60% of the technical capacity of those units. They watch television, but DVR 'most' things - skipping over television commercials - and listen to about 4 or 5 different radio stations, multi format for their diverse listening patterns, and scan through newspapers/magazines but search for interesting articles to post to their Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest - and 'email pals.'
The Digitals would rather 'text than talk' - watch NO traditional television (well ok "Jersey Shore") and listen to about 6 or 7 radio stations but leave within seconds of when a commercial comes on that station.
The Traditionals are the ones who've graduated to HD and giant screen televisions - while the digitals are happy to access their video content on their much smaller but mobile platforms.
It's a bitter reality that this 'digital shift' means if you are still buying your advertising and promoting your product in a traditional manner you've missed a great portion of the audience out there in this reality.
Another major complication with maintaining status quo in your buying patterns is that 'most' of the media across Canada now have their decision making process moved back east and by that I mean there is little local control anymore other than the exact quoto of how many spots - promo's you can run for your client as that is now totally restricted by the rules made in the centre of the universe.
In the US cable cancellations are at an all time high. People are tired of a) paying for channels they never use and b) pissed at the price they have to pay for bundled services and c) simply watching less 'live' television and knowing that they can access their favorite shows 'digitally' and watch them whenever they please.
Lets face it. It's getting extremely expensive to have cable services especially now that you 'double pay' for analog and digital - and all those 'extra' services like movies, and sports packages.
Advertisers are trying more and more new innovative ways to get their message out to get around the aforementioned problems. Product placement is also changing. That can of Coke that sits on the American Idol tables is now old and stale.
One very neat way to make your product placement stand out is being done currently on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. If you've seen it lately she builds her clients into very goofy 'skits' that she does with her guests. A recent 'soap opera' had a guest 'die' during the skit yet everytime a key word was said his hand held up a J C PENNY sign. It appeared over and over and you just could not miss it - especially when the guests had a hard time holding their laughter when the sign hit Ellen in the face.
And how long has it been since you've seen a PC on a desk as opposed to a Mac? Man - Apple wins!
Giving each and every member of the audience an expensive gift from her sponsors is also a giant plus for the advertiser.
Locally what can you do now?
Negotiate to the local media strength.
Radio stations are very active over the summer months and a Street Team blitz where there are giant crowds avaiable are a gold mine. Sample your product. Do something fun/innovative. Stand out in the crowd.
In the newspaper try to get 'editorial' support. A great story about you - your product - your community service - is always a giant plus.
For television, LOCAL news.
As for the newspaper try to become that 'guest expert' so that you are the go to person/brand when they need content to support a story.
In each case you want, as often as possible, to not get into those crowded long stop sets on television and radio - and you want to get that extra 'ad libs' and 'live' coverage from the announcers, news personnel, anchors, etc.
Most traditional media have digital media to compliment their companies as well and each client should again try to find a way to reach those 'three tiers' of lifestyle groups that I've described in this blog.
If you have an Emerging Media Manager in house remind him/her that being 'in control of your own creative' is key. Film your own events if the media aren't showing up. Post the best on your own web site. Send local media brief snippets of audio/video with your media releases.
Post to Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest and thank those of your followers for their share/retweet so that the digital "rabbit theory" kicks in and your message gets shared around the globe.
Buying advertising is easy - it's a mathematical equation - but making sure that you have corporate exposure in each lifestyle groups 'comfort platform' will make a huge difference in the only way you should measure your advertising effectiveness....the good old fashioned "bums in seats" theory.
I haven't covered OUTDOOR but it too has made a significant move to digital products which are graphically attractive and can be updated very quickly via remote access. I would like to investigate their effectiveness a bit more with an expert in that field to see if their clients are enjoying great results with this platform.
I couldn't agree with you more on cable services. When you look at what you pay every month to keep feeling that there's nothing good on, you know something is terribly wrong. Even in Canada, it's possible to watch new episodes of top rated shows, one day after they air on cable. The commercials that are part of that feed obviously are another revenue stream for the carriers. After all, there has to be a way to generate revenue for you to watch it on-line.
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