The continued growth of digital media will cause a fundamental shift in media planning by the end of the decade, according to Jerry Buhlmann, chief executive officer of Carat International.
Buhlmann predicts that advertising is about to significantly change, with emerging technologies such as the internet, digital television and 3G mobile phones expected to account for more than half of all media consumption by 2007.
He told delegates at the annual ISBA conference that this would give rise to a new breed of digitally literate consumers who are more cynical, more demanding and less receptive to conventional advertising.
Buhlmann claims that this digital environment will cause a shift in media planning, with advertising moving towards a more media neutral model where the consumer is put at the heart of the marketing communications process.
The Carat chief executive called on advertisers to take advantage of emerging media as part of a truly integrated approach to planning. He said: “The digital age will cause complexity and risk to increase and the agency structure to change, but the benefits of putting the consumer at the heart of all communications will be great.”
He predicted that the ongoing growth of digital media would lead to a decline in the importance of spot advertising over the next few years, with PVRs forcing advertisers to make longer, more creative television commercials.
Carat predicts that more than 60% of UK homes will have a broadband internet connection by 2007 and Buhlmann claims this will provide advertisers with a powerful new channel for brand communications. He said: “In the future, prime-time might be the home page of Yahoo! or MSN and not Coronation Street.”
Earlier this year research carried out by PHD revealed that the increasing uptake of personal video recorders such as Sky+ and TiVo could transform the media planning and buying process by 2006. The study suggests that the ability to skip through commercial breaks could challenge the currency of television trading and threaten the income of television channels dependent on advertising revenue (see PVRs Could Transform The Media Planning Process).
