Mobile phones have quickly become the third screen for many Americans, following television and the internet. According to a Nielsen study, “americans consume media at a record pace – 129 hrs of tv, 27 hrs of internet, 3 hrs of mobile video each month.”
The Nielsen report continues to discuss a week in the life of a connected consumer:
“The American consumer is spending more and more time with his/her technology, especially with the three screens of television, Internet and mobile devices. Each age group appears to be multi-tasking media, but interesting patterns emerge by comparing viewing by device and across demographics. Television is clearly where consumers of all ages spend the majority of their screen time – as of 3Q09, the average person watched television 31 hours:19 minutes per week compared to 4 hours of Internet time (Table 6). Though kids and teens are two demographics that online advertisers want to reach, their Internet usage is actually only one fourth of adults’ Internet time. Also, young adults 18–24 are the only demographic group that spends more time watching online video than timeshifted TV. Not surprisingly, older Americans 65+ use traditional TV the most, at 43 hours:44 minutes per week, but they also are on the Internet more each week than teenagers (2 hours:25 minutes versus 1 hour:29 minutes).”
What does all this mean for you? Trends like this show that there is a shift. More and more people are viewing video content online and on their mobile devices. According to this Nielsen report, “much of the growth in video consumption within social media is coming from older demographics, with the 35-49 year old segment increasing their viewership by 37% and the 65+ segment increasing their viewership 47% year over year.” Some may think is is just the younger generation leading this shift in media consumption, these numbers speak clearly.
As you plan marketing communications campaigns/outreach, make sure you are considering all forms of media that are available to you and will help you best reach your target audience. Television commercials might not be the best and end all medium for your outreach efforts.
