So, I was reading on ArsTechnica that TV ads are losing their relevance. More specifically:
“McKinsey makes a number of assumptions about consumer behavior such as projecting ‘a 15 percent decrease in buying power driving by cost-per-thousand rate increases, a 23 percent decline in ads viewed due to switching off, a 9 percent loss of attention to ads due to increased multitasking and a 37 percent decrease in message impact due to saturation,’ all by the year 2010 and in comparison to the year 1990. Those numbers are then synthesized into TV-based marketing becoming one-third as effective in 2010 as it was in 1990.”
Now, I can’t say that I find this to be terribly surprising… As the article points out, more people are using DVR/TiVO services, as well as on-demand services, than there were in 1990 (oh yeah…that stuff didn’t exist back then…), but at the same time, realize that these percentages are calculated from data spanning nearly 20 years. Wouldn’t you think that people’s tastes in television and advertising would change anyway, without any help from DVR or TiVO? Personally, I tend to watch shows when they’re premiering, so I can’t skip forward. On the other hand, Brooke’s sister (Rachel) will wait ’til her show starts, pause it, and then go take care of the dog just so she can come back a little later and skip the commercials.
On another note, last month, execs from the ABC network decided to start investigating ways to prevent DVR owners from skipping commercials (apparently thinking we wouldn’t mind). Obviously, the networks are starting to “get wise” to the situation and make adjustments as soon as they can, ’cause as the article points out, “TV advertisers today are paying more for access to a smaller audience, which makes that medium an expensive way to attract new customers.”
Regardless, the model’s going to have to change and we aren’t going to have commercials as we know them for much longer…
…except during the Super Bowl, of course…