Wheredidtheygo

Where did they go?
By Paul Herbig

When Nielsen Media Research's fall sweeps ratings came out this past November, they clearly showed that men between the ages of 18 and 34 were watching less television, particularly fewer prime-time shows. For the time period during the autumn weeks, when many vaunted network shows hit the airwaves for the first time, Nielsen's data concluded that men 18-34 watched a hotly debated 7.7% less, or 270 fewer seconds, of prime-time TV programming a day than they did a year earlier. That may seem an insignificant drop, but Nielsen's research shows that younger men have been watching less television for the past 12 years and are no longer glued to the boob tube

This is not a trivial audience. For ad-supported network and cable TV channels, with more than $37 billion in annual revenue, 18- to 34-year-old men account for about $4.3 billion. So every minute that young males don't watch prime-time programming could carry a potential price tag of about $77 million across network, cable, national syndication, and national Hispanic TV channels

Where did the boys go? The Online Publishers Association (OPA) conducted a study
that addresses the where-the-boys-are problem TV networks are struggling with
(they appear to have found the girls, too). The coveted 18-34-year-old demographic
composes 24 percent of the U.S. population. Yet it accounts for a disproportionate
34.1 percent of the online population. This group takes access for granted, wherever,
whenever, and under their control. It is the first generation that grew up with the Internet. These young people are ditching their PCs in favor of laptops -- with wireless
broadband access.. It is not as if these people don't watch TV. They do. But "chaotic" schedules make concepts such as primetime all but meaningless. And when they do watch, it's often with laptop and cell phone at hand (they own lots of gadgets). When this demographic sees something in a brick-and-mortar store that catches their fancy, they'll often go home and buy it on the Web. "No lines,"

As TV loses its appeal among younger men, advertisers are using divining rods to follow the money. The PGA Tour, which tries to attract younger fans, sponsored EA Sports' golf video game, "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004." It even includes a section where the player can outfit his virtual persona with accessories from Nike, Tag Heuer, and Adidas. Says Kris Magel, senior vice president/group director of national broadcast at Optimedia, a New York advertising firm, "Partnerships with the developers of these games is a really interesting way to try to get in front of these guys." And while Volkswagen spent over $125 million on television advertising in 2003, the car company also paid Sony Computer Entertainment to have one of its vehicles featured in "Gran Turismo 3: A Spec." In the car racing game, the player can buy different car models from the Dodge Viper to Volkswagen's new Beetle

Research consistently shows men ages 18-34 watch less TV and go online
more. But research also says people who own DVRs watch more hours of TV.
Maybe people don't just watch more TV (since they can skip commercials),
but they watch it differently (because they control the schedule), at different
times (customized and managed to their availability and leisure), and only
the programs they want to watch. It resembles opt-in permission to exchange
personal information for tailored, relevant content.

TV media executives and advertisers should be glad they are not in the news print industry due to plummeting readership among younger consumers. I asked my son in college if he would like a subscription to The Wall Street Journal. His response: “If I want to read any articles I will check its web site.” This generation demands instant content on what matters to them and the newspapers must adapt their methods to customer’s behavior or die.

Behavioral targeting and DVR are ultimately about the consumer. Allowing
people to consume what they individually deem relevant will only increase
product affinity It is a war out there: the media and advertising versus the consumer. As you can’t win by fighting the customer, perhaps it is time to cooperate with him.