MRG 2002: Traditional Forms Of Advertising Come Under Threat

Young people’s media habits are changing so rapidly that in ten years time traditional forms of advertising may no longer be so effective.

This was the argument put forward by Mindshareworld’s global head of consumer insight, Sheila Byfield, at the 2002 MRG Conference in Budapest on Wednesday.

Presenting research from the recent Snapshot of Youth survey, Byfield explained that the increasing popularity of mobile phones and the internet represents a significant long term threat to TV, radio and consumer magazine revenue.

According to Byfield, today’s youth has a passion for brands, but is harder to impress with traditional forms of advertising. Young people claim to watch less TV, read fewer magazines and spend less time listening to analogue radio than ever before.

However, the internet was perceived as an up-to-date, versatile medium and despite young people’s dislike of pop-up ads and badly targeted emails, Byfield predicted that the internet will be one of the most successful media for advertising over the next ten years.

The mobile phone is also becoming increasingly important amongst today’s youth and is viewed as much more than a communications tool. Research suggests that young people perceive their mobile phone as a personal and private medium and use it as a host for a range of media including radio, SMS text messaging and games.

Byfield went on to predict that mobile marketing will continue to grow over the next ten years and will increase its importance within the marketing mix. However, she emphasised that SMS ads must be relevant and permission-based if they are to be effective in raising brand awareness.

According to the Snapshot of Youth Survey, outdoor advertising and cinema will be the least affected by the growth of new media. Young people were found to be particularly receptive to ambient ads and cinema was viewed as a creative and entertaining advertising medium.

Byfield emphasised the unique relationship that young people have with brands and called on marketers to be more creative when targeting young people. She concluded by saying: “Marketing should be maintained and not re-written, however, this research has revealed trends which should not be ignored.”

Subscribers can access further MRG reports titles by selecting the option at the side of this page.