MUMBAI: There was a time about a year or two ago, when the US advertisers' biggest obstacle to increase ROI was consumers' simultaneous consumption of media.
 

 
The latest Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM VI) of 14,000 Americans from BIGresearch details a new hurdle for advertisers -- multitasking. This refers to the engagement in other non-media activities while consuming media. The numbers are large.

The 25-34 year olds are most likely to engage in multi-tasking when using electronic media (TV, Radio, Internet) with almost 70 per cent saying that they do so regularly or occasionally. The 55+ age group multitasks the least but like the 25-34 year olds are most likely to do so when using electronic media, 60 per cent say that they multitask regularly or occasionally using TV.

 
 
69.3 per cent of the consumers 18+ surveyed say that they multitask when they are online. 40 per cent multitask while reading a newspaper. The figure is similar for magazines. For radio and television the figure shoots up to nearly 70 per cent.

The study states that it is apparent that multitasking and simultaneous media consumption creates competition for the same time and space [sic] attention. Media may be relegated to the background when consumers multitask e.g. talking on the phone. When they simultaneously consume media, one of the media can morph into the background and back to the foreground intermittently.

That is why understanding which media have the greatest influence on purchasing various merchandise categories becomes a key determinant for marketing ROI in today's complex media environment in America.

 
 
BIGresearch is a market intelligence firm providing analysis of consumer behavior in areas of retail, financial services, automotive, and media. The syndicated Simultaneous Media Usage Survey (SIMM) monitors more than 10,000 consumers twice each year to identify opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace including the media.

BIGresearch's methodology provides the most accurate consumer information in the industry with a margin of error of one per cent.