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CAN THE RETAIL ENVIRONMENT BECOME A MASS MEDIA SPACE?

With nearly 40% of consumers browsing online whilst watching TV, media consumption amongst consumers is truly changing (BIGresearch).

The fact is then that this is making it increasingly difficult for advertisers to influence consumers in the home. As the number of these simultaneous activities increase, this is forcing consumers’ attention to be increasingly divided between these multiple media channels.

Locally, one only has to look at the data below to see the decade-on-decade growth of traditional media platforms in South Africa. This growing fragmentation of audiences as consumers adjust to more media choices, has created a mass media consumers audience that is truly costing marketers “an arm and a leg” to reach.

The flip side of this coin is that more and more manufactures are starting to be aware that the advertising future does not lie with traditional media (Forrester Network). In a study conducted by Forrester Network, respondents believe the effectiveness of TV is declining whilst 60% are very actively looking for alternatives (Forrester Network).

The growing fact is that manufactures are putting their money “where their mouths are” so to speak. Noticeable global trends indicate a great number of major advertising budget reallocations as manufactures shift funds away from traditional media.

Where are these funds being shifted to?

In the instore media space. The survey highlighted these insights:

• 72% of advertisers were looking to instore media as an alternative to traditional advertising,
• 50% rated instore advertising overall effectiveness as excellent or very good
• 54% stated that they would increase their instore budgets at the expense of TV (Forrester Networks)

So the fact is manufactures are driving 2 trends globally:

• That the store plays an important role in reaching shoppers (consumers in buying mode).
• That more money is headed towards instore advertising now and increasingly in the future.

Collectively then, this decline of mass media usage globally against the growing realization of the “instore mass media” is what has encouraged amounts of advertising spend away from traditional media. The likes of P&G and Heineken’s strategies in restructuring their advertising promotional mix away from TV to instore media advertising is proof enough (WSJ)

In effect 2 trends are shaping the advertising industry today:

• The first is the decline of mass media as we know it
• The second is the growing realization that communication at the “first moment of truth” (P&G) where consumers become shoppers has a more direct impact upon buying patterns than traditional forms of advertising.

The question here is not whether traditional media will live or die. If anything, we all note that traditional media creates awareness. The unequivocal fact, though, is that it is the instore media space which makes shoppers (consumers in buying mode) buy.

Advertising is changing. Media is changing. Consumption of media is changing. We, as a society are changing.

Undoubtedly, marketers’ ranking of “mass media as traditional media” should be changing. If reaching mass is what is of value to your advertising strategy, then the stores offer you the opportunity to speak to that mass – but at the “first moment of truth” (P&G) – where it matters in getting that “k-ching” sound to drive incremental sales of your brand.