Evolving Consumer Patterns

If you're reading and viewing habits have changed over the past few years, you're not alone. More and more of us are watching cable, going online, spending less time with magazines and reading more morning papers.

The result is that advertisers are re-evaluating the traditional mix of outlets they use to showcase products and services.

At the center of America's new media habits is a basic conflict between time and numbers. As a nation, we work longer and vacation less then most other countries. The result for many of us is less time to read, watch or listen.

But although we have less time for the media, the number of media outlets that compete for our attention is growing.

• The three major TV networks that dominated television for the past 40 years must now compete with a fourth network as well as dozens of cable channels.

• The number of magazine titles has greatly increased in the past decade while total industry circulation has grown slowly.

• Major big-city dailies now face strong competition from specialized publications such as shoppers, city magazines, suburban papers, entertainment guides and local real estate directories.

• Richard Harwood, past ombudsman for The Washington Post, says that 25 years ago 60 percent of all young people--those between 18 and 29 -- read the paper each day. Today, only 30 percent are daily readers. That's a stunning market loss, one reflected in circulation figures. According to the Newspaper Association of America, total morning and evening circulation stood at 57 million copies in 1996, down from 62.8 million in 1987.

"When you use direct mail," says Chris Rebello, Director of Postal Affairs for the Colorado-based Current, Inc., "there is a sense of individual contact. There is also a feeling of immediacy, that here is something of value which should be considered now."

Thomas Lagan, vice president of operations for Publisher's Clearing House, notes that while radio and TV are powerful mediums, their messages can be missed.

"Even if you have the world's best commercial," says Lagan, "it doesn't count for much if a listener or viewer is out of the room. And once radio and TV ads are finished, they're finished forever because few people tape even a tiny portion of the many programs broadcast each week."

The need for targeting is largely behind the move to make individual media outlets reach more precisely-defined audiences. As an example, instead of a large daily paper with a single editorial package for every area in a major city, a newspaper may instead publish zoned editions and specialized sections.

In similar fashion, generalized radio programming has given way to stations that feature only one type of fare. Stations that offer top-40 music compete for a different audience then those which offer religious programming or all-talk formats.

Magazines, too, are becoming increasingly specialized as new publications spring up to serve individual market niches. As for television, segmentation is responsible for the growth of all sports, all news and all music cable outlets as well as specialized channels for children, investors and movie watchers.

To make matters more complex, we not only have papers fighting papers and TV channels battling with other TV channels, we also have across-the-board competition.

Consider the dilemma of a company that produces a two-seat sports car. Does it advertise in local newspapers, magazines that cover the auto industry, or does it use direct mail to reach individuals who currently own sports cars and live in high-income residential neighborhoods?

"Advertisers today want to reach specific publics," says Gerald Reisberg, vice president , Dun & Bradstreet Information Services. "The availability of consumer and business data, useful software, computers and market segmentation allow advertisers to target their messages with great precision. And when messages are carefully directed, it becomes possible to obtain higher response rates and lower costs per sale."

Targeting offers other benefits as well, according to Reisberg. "First, with careful targeting consumers are likely to receive fewer irrelevant ads. They will increasingly receive only those ads which most closely relate to their buying patterns and demographics," he explains.

"Second, in an age of heightened environmental awareness, it's often wasteful to broadly advertise when targeting can lower costs and yet produce the same number of sales. More efficiency translates into less need for paper, energy and landfill space, benefits that help everyone.

"Third, direct mail is the most democratic medium of all. You don't need a $1 million advertising campaign to start a direct mail program. Individuals, small businesses, charities and growing companies can all find direct mail programs that fit their budgets."

The new emphasis on targeting can be seen in advertising sales. In the past 10 years, for example, direct mail and Yellow Page advertising have shown the greatest growth.

What the future will bring is an open question. Tough economic times in the late 1980s and early 1990s slowed retail, employment and real estate advertising--the traditional mainstays of big-city newspapers. Conversely, as the economy improves newspaper advertising volume should rise.

As for direct mail, it is increasingly popular both with advertisers and the public. A recent study of more than 5,000 households by the U.S. Postal Service found that 63 percent of all consumers found advertising mail to be "useful and interesting", and that the majority of all advertising mail is both opened and read.

Peter G. Miller is an image, marketing, and public relations consultant whose clients include selected national corporations, associations, and web sites. Mr. Miller can be reached at peter@boardroomarts.com