In other words, it’s about how audiences use media forms, how many they use, in what combinations, at what times of day, and so on. And, it’s not about small groups — it’s not about watching a few people sit in front of a TV set in an artificial setting. It’s about large numbers of people reporting what they do, how they do it, when they do it and how often they do it. And, it’s about reports on people over time. The data in this report has been gathered for six years, so we’re able to spot trends and change — something point-in-time measures, no matter how sophisticated, simply can’t do.
Most importantly, these media usage measures are about not just media usage, they’re also about how that media usage is connected to retailers, stores, products and services that people buy. What is important about these consumers is that they’re the ones driving the entire economic system. They are the ones who make the marketing and communication business possible. Consumers create the income flows for marketing organizations. These are the people or firms who reach down in their purses, trousers or bank accounts and lay money on the table to acquire products and services they think, hope or dream will improve their lives, their businesses or, at least, their current situations. These are products and services they likely learned about through some type of promotional process, perhaps even through media advertising. For them, the changes need not necessarily be big or awesome or revolutionary. They’re not looking for shock and awe from products and services, nor from the media forms that tell them about those products and services. Consumers can often be satisfied in seemingly insignificant ways they think are worthwhile.
Consumers want change, variety, something new. Marketers resist change. They want loyal customers who buy and continue to buy what they can make, efficiently and profitably. So, there is an inherent dichotomy in the entire marketing system. And who do you think will win? Our bet is on the consumers.
Source: Media Generations by Martin Block, Don Schultz and BIGresearch, ©2009, Prosper Business Development. Consumer media patterns have shifted more dramatically in the last 5 years than the prior 50! Read how insights from BIGresearch’s SIMM™ Survey of over 190,000 consumers have yielded a new approach to media planning. To order your personal copy of Media Generations at a special RBR/TVBR discount of 20% off the cover price of $18.95, click https://www.createspace.com/3372271 and enter the following discount code: FH2T4Q5J.
