We just ran across an ad by the Newspaper National Network (NNN) in this week's Adweek magazine (Nov. 14, 2005) that boasts results from a study that its says proves newspaper ads have a greater impact on purchase decisions than other media.
What we find most interesting, however, is that the results of the study actually seem to prove that the vast majority of people (at least those in the coveted 18 - 34 age group surveyed) aren't really focused on the media they're using. They're "doing other things," or "multi-tasking" while they read newspapers and magazines, listen to the radio, watch t.v. or access the internet. So we ask, "How much of those expensive marketing messages are actually getting through?"
The NNN 2005 Media Engagement Study regarding "the relative strengths of media in today's ever fragmenting media environment" reports that 29% of newspaper readers "mono-task" while reading the newspaper. What that actually means is that 71% of people are "multi-tasking (and we hope that doesn't mean they're reading the newspaper while driving).
By comparison:
- 82% of people "do other things" while watching t.v.;
- 64% of people "multi-task" while accessing the internet;
- 81% of people combine other activities with reading a magazine;
- 99% of radio listeners are busy doing something else while the radio plays.
The average American is bombarded with more than 2,500 marketing images a day, and that's largely because it takes a great deal of repetition of a marketing message to actually get through to the consumer. Increased focus, the ad claims, translates to heightened receptivity.
Of course, that repetition is very costly. So shouldn't marketing efforts, especially for small companies and professionals who can't afford an expensive advertising campaign, center around ways to get small amounts of focused time from consumers?
That's what referral marketing is about. Only by building on-going relationships with clients and consumers can you get genuinely focused time.
So why is there so much emphasis in the marketing and advertising community on increasing the amount of marketing and advertising images consumers see instead of increasing the ability to create focus on the message?
Please let us know what you think. we'd love your comments.
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