|
US
consumers are increasingly likely to watch TV while surfing
the Internet, according to findings from Knowledge Networks/SRI.
The Menlo Park, California-based company's bi-annual survey
found that during weekday evenings, simultaneous TV and Internet
usage among consumers ages 35 to 49 has nearly doubled during
the past six months, to 11 per cent.
For men between 18 and 34, simultaneous TV/Web use rose 3
percentage points to 13 per cent, after remaining at 10 per
cent for the past 12 months. For women of the same age group,
the figure is 8 per cent — unchanged for the past year.
Convergence also grew among teens, but more slowly. From 6
pm to 9 pm during the week, 13 per cent of consumers ages
12 to 17 were likely to be watching TV while surfing the Web.
That's up from 11 per cent six months ago, and 6 per cent
a year earlier.
As a result of the findings, the media picture becomes even
more complicated for media buyers, who increasingly struggle
to juggle traditional and online media
"When you enter the land of convergence, you start to see
involvement and attention being split, too," said Ericka Witnauer,
vice-president and managing director at KN/SRI. "When you're
multi-tasking, you're not paying 100 per cent attention to
either task. In terms of evaluating where to spend money,
that whole process becomes more difficult."
Nevertheless, the study is a vindication for supporters of
cross-media campaigns. Since the dotcom downturn, that's been
the rallying cry of many online ad players, who are seeking
a share of offline media budgets. In response to such efforts,
companies like Unicast have unveiled tools that make it easier
for offline creative to be reused online.
Additionally, in more good news for online ad sellers, Witnauer
said that the company also had found that the Internet tends
to hold its own relatively well in cases of joint TV/Web use.
"We've found that when it's simultaneous usage, greater attention
is being spent with the online medium," she said.
Click here for Archives
|
