How changes in the media are affecting advertisers

Continuous change in 21^st Century Media has meant that Advertisers have to keep up with “the whims of the market place” (Greengard, 2012). Traditional mass marketing platforms such as TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and billboards are still being used by advertisers, but a digital trend is now dominating the spotlight.

Advertisers have to be ever more vigilant in the way consumers are using media, and, as a result, they should identify the most effective market platform to focus on. Chan (2012) feels that trends in the media are derived from a “long term shift in consumer motivation and behaviour”, which is very influential in the future of media consumption. It is clear here that changes in the media are being driven by consumers and not advertisers. The digital market, unlike previous mass marketing methods, because of its flexibility and ability to quickly adapt to the moment, is much more consumer/user-specific, focusing on consumers as individuals, not mass segments.

Results from Ofcom’s 2012 reports indicate that the three top growth in digital services and devices since 2005 have been: digital television (98%), mobile phones (92%) and internet broadband (76%). All of these are media platforms used by Advertisers, and their growth should be therefore matched with a growth in advertising opportunity. The Internet has been a popular marketing platform for some time, and it continues to be one of the largest, with advertising expenditure of £4.8bn in 2011 (Ofcom 2012). Following this, both TV at £4.2bn and Printed advertising at £3.9bn expenditures are still holding ground.

The internet’s popularity amongst Advertisers could be explained by two factors: the availability of digital and behavioural data which can be collected from a consumer’s online activity.

Firstly, on-line consumption generates vast amounts of digital data, which, according to Guerra (2012), has provided the “biggest changes in the Advertising industry owed to the increased focus on data and analysis”. Instant market intelligence on consumer information and how their audience responds to adverts enables Advertisers to gain market intelligence on gauging how effective their advertising methods are, as well as the ways in which they can be improved (Bernstein, 2009). This makes advertising cost-effective as digital data response gives Advertisers immediate results on how effective their adverts are amongst its consumers. This indication supports the theory that the digital market is consumer/user oriented as it is focused on consumer response.

Secondly, the Internet is also able to generate vast amounts of behavioural data. This is done by tracking a consumer’s online behaviour; methods of this behavioural data collection include: IP addresses, third party cookies, web tools that track what the consumer has purchased or looked at purchasing, and consumer clicks through websites (Greengard, 2012). What this means for Advertisers is that they are able to analyse a consumers’ individual movements and, as a result, place adverts in accordance with their particular set of behaviours.

Another means of collecting data is through Social Media. For example, Facebook has benefited from behavioural data analysis through the ‘FBX exchange’. It allows Advertisers to use behavioural data combined with Facebook’s digital demographic data of its 500 million plus users, in determining where an Advert should be placed (Pearlstein, 2013). This is a technological strength for Advertisers as a better understanding of the consumer means that adverts are more interesting and eye catching, as they are more accurate and specific to the consumer, increasing recall and purchase intention (Beirnstein, 2009). Furthermore, social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook have also opened a direct line of communication between Advertisers and consumers at an interpersonal level. As such, Wasiak (2010) believes that social media “has morphed into the fifth P of the Marketing Mix, which relates to People…it has enabled people to play roles as receivers, creators, critics, advocates, transformers and transmitters of messages” encouraging engagement of and interaction with the media. The focus of the new advertising through social media is about enhancing the relationship between the Brand and the consumer, increasing loyalty.

On the other hand, Wolfsohn (2011) argues that Advertisers should not measure the consumers’ level of engagement in the likes, comments, shares and tweets alone. This is because when consumers do not respond to an Advert it does not mean that they are not engaged. If Advertisers are using social media as a promotional tool then the level of engagement should be taken into account. However, brands that are looking for a lasting relationship with consumers cannot measure their brand likeability by the amount of consumer engagement. Advertisers therefore have to make their content entertaining, informative and appealing, so that consumers remain interested.

A medium increasingly used to access Social Media and captured by Advertisers is Mobile Advertising. This is growing rapidly and is attractive due to its portable characteristics. Figures from Ofcom (2012) report show that £203m was spent on mobile advertising in 2011 in the UK, with the two top mobile destinations being: social (30%) and music, video and media (22.5%) (Opera, 2012). These figures demonstrate Mobile consumption is an interesting proposition and that such a platform should be considered in Advertising strategies. A rise in Mobile advertising and its quality means that Advertisers have to adapt to changes in consumer media consumption to follow the change in media technology. The Mobile Advertising’s effect on Advertisers is that it will push them to be more creative, taking advantage of the technology and high quality graphics in Smartphones, increasing consumer interaction.

Lastly, media buying is also affecting how advertisers work. As a result of the digital takeover, new platforms have emerged, facilitating negotiations between the brand and media owners with regards of purchasing media space. Previously, media buying was based on a three-way relationship between brands, Ad agencies and media owners (Barnett, 2011). A report by consultancy group MediaSense found that the removal of the agency middle man could be down to the brand wanting to take more control over their advertising budgets. This will have a major impact on advertising agencies as there will be a decrease in demand for their services. Moreover, the media is owned by giant corporations which control 90% of the overall media (Frugaldad, 2012); this will mean that prices will be set at a high rate, with no opportunity for price negotiations.  

In conclusion, rapid changes in technology have deeply influenced how consumers access and consume media, and this provides great challenges but also vast opportunities for Advertisers. Delivering effective, speedy and bespoke marketing communications in the future will require more from creative teams than ever before.

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