Computers are becoming the main multi-media device used in households, with a new survey by BURST! Media finding that personal computers are rapidly replacing telephones, radio and television as the preferred communication tool of choice.
According to BURST!, respondents 24 years and younger say the internet is the primary way in which they listen to music or play games. Two out of five claim it is the main way they listen to music, with another 9.3% saying it will be in the future. One third of respondents 24 years and younger cite the internet as the primary way they play games, with 11.6% saying it will be in the future.
More than half of all respondents claim to use the internet to listen to music, 52.3%, with a similar number, 50.2% using it to play games. Teenagers and those between 18-24 are much more likely than other age groups to use the internet for these reasons. Three-quarters of respondents, 76.5%, say they listen to music over the internet, while 65.4% play internet games.
Commenting on the survey’s findings, Chuck Morna, manager of market research for BURST! Media said: “Computers are displacing many household entertainment appliances. Along with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and streaming video, this is just the beginning of a centralisation of most communication and entertainment functions into a single appliance.”
The latest estimates from Point Topic suggest that currently over 11 million people use retail VoIP, marking an increase from just over five million in mid-2004 (see Worldwide VoIP Subscribers More Than Double).
The increasing use of computers and the internet as a media consumption device are predicted by BURST! to impact on advertising.
Javis Coffin, chief executive officer and president of BURST! explains: “The new media environment centred around the home, and work, is a boon for advertisers who now not only have expanded opportunities to cross-sell their products and services, but also have the opportunity to cost effectively expand the reach and frequency of their media buys.”
A report published by eMarketer early in the year predicted that multi-channel marketing would increase in importance over the coming years, with 83.4 million US consumers researching products online and then buying offline (see Advertisers Must Look To Multi-Channel Marketing).
However, in a later report the analyst warned marketers that in order to take full advantage of the internet as an effective advertising medium, they must pay more attention to behavioural marketing and paid search to produce stronger and more targeted campaigns (see Online Advertisers Must Provide More Targeted Campaigns).
Forrester research projects US online advertising and marketing spend to reach $14.7 billion in 2005 as online advertising channels become more effective in relation to traditional channels (see US Online Ad and Marketing Spend To Reach $14.7 Billion in 2005).
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