A lot has been written about the movement of ad dollars from printed newspapers to newer digital formats. For the most part ads are still intrusive, you’re watching television or reading a newspaper and your train of thought is interrupted by an ad about something you may or not be in need of.
So, it’s important to track consumer behavior, especially when it comes to where they get their news, so ad dollars can follow.
According to the Pew Reseach Center,
In the new survey, only 29% say they read a newspaper yesterday, with just 23% reading a print newspaper. Over the past decade, the percentage reading a print newspaper has fallen by 18 points (from 41% to 23%). Somewhat more (38%) say they regularly read a daily newspaper, although this percentage also has declined, from 54% in 2004. Figures for newspaper readership may not include some people who read newspaper content on sites that aggregate news content, such as Google News or Yahoo News.
The first step in being intrusive is to find where people are reading, watching or listening and interrupt them. While printed newspapers are still important, you can’t put all your money on traditional media.
The second major trend in online news consumption is the rise of news on social networks. Today, 19% of the public says they saw news or news headlines on social networking sites yesterday, up from 9% two years ago. And the percentage regularly getting news or news headlines on these sites has nearly tripled, from 7% to 20%.
If you’re approaching retail advertising with the same thought process you had three years ago or even one year ago it’s safe to say you’re wasting some of your time and money.
It’s long past the time to embrace digital.