2 + 2 = Internet Math
Maybe.
This is internet math so the answers are not always clear. Everyone who sells or buys internet advertising (I do both) appreciates the comprehensive data that can be captured, tabulated and analyzed. Never before in marketing history have we had access to so much data on who, what, where, when, how, how long and even sometimes why consumers interact with specific media content. It’s the online goldmine of consumer research and the holy grail of marketing.
But wait.
It is estimated that 30% of internet users delete their cookies from 1-4 times per month. Without even getting into a complex mathematical formula, the result of this from a media planning perspective using just the base 30% is the following:
An overstatement of unique visitors. 100,000 reported actually = 70,000 uniques.
An understatement of frequency in the server logs. 500,000 total impressions for a reported frequency of 5 actually = 7.14 frequency.
2 + 2 = ? The answer in this case is not 4.
What it adds up to is that you get a very different online advertising campaign from what you planned and from what the numbers actually reveal.
Not everything that can be measured matters and, often, what matters cannot be measured. Of all the numbers that we deal with in business, the numbers that matter the most always have this very important symbol preceding them: $
Who's #1? Part 2.
We already know that advertisers spend the most money on direct mail and TV, but which media do consumers spend the most time with? Here’s the breakdown:
| Media Percentage | ||
| TV | 37 | |
| Radio | 19 | |
| Internet | 17 | |
| Video/DVD | 12 | |
| Newspapers | 8 | |
| Magazines | 7 | |
| (Source: Digital Hollywood) | ||
No surprise here. TV is still the powerhouse media. It’s #1. Over one-third of a consumer’s available media time is spent watching TV. And, when it comes to TV, women are #1.
| Time Spent Viewing TV – Per Person – Per Day: | ||
| (2007 U.S. Averages) | ||
| Men | 4:35 | (hours:minutes) |
| Women | 5:14 | |
| Teens | 3:21 | |
| Children | 3:25 | |
| (Source: TV Advertising Bureau) | ||
Both of the above charts are from credible sources. The TVB has been tracking television viewing time every year since 1950. The Digital Hollywood numbers are from March, 2008.
The problem is when you try and combine these numbers together -- they don’t add up. To make both of these charts work, the average woman would have to consume media over 14 hours per day. That leaves 10 hours a day for all other activities including sleeping, eating, talking on the cell phone, and working.
If you go on vacation to a desert island with no TV or internet access, be sure to bring lots of newspapers and magazines to read so you don’t fall too far behind in your media consumption. It's hard to make up with only 24 hours in a day.
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Every radio station in America is number one in something. Just ask their sales reps. Over the 25+ years I have spent planning and buying media, it never ceases to amaze me that every radio station will have language in their brochures or PowerPoints that boldly proclaims: WE’RE #1! The fine print often reveals that the station is number one in some bizarre and obscure demographic like: “#1 in suburban teens age 13-14, with an index of 150+ most likely to rent a DVD, from 2am to 4am on Wednesdays in July.”
Being #1 is important to a lot of people and it sometimes breaks out into public squabbles. CNN recently claimed that they were the #1 cable news network in a Wall Street Journal ad. Fox News fired back with their own WSJ ad disputing the CNN claim and making their own claim of being #1.
So which media is really #1 for advertising?
According to the South Carolina Newspaper Network, newspapers are still #1 “because they continue to display superiority in selling products and services.” The Simmons Radio Group claims radio is “the number one advertising medium that drives internet traffic.” And everyone who sells internet advertising says online is #1 because it is the fastest growing.
All of those claims could be true. But here is where the money goes:
Advertising Spending by Media – 2007 (U.S.)
(Source: Ad Age + NAA & IAB
Media $ (billions) Percentage
Direct Mail
60.9
21%
Broadcast TV
45.7
15
Newspapers
42.9
14
Internet
21.1
7
Cable TV
20.4
7
Radio
18.5
6
Yellow Pages
14.5
5
Consumer Magazines
13.6
5
All other media
55.9
19
At first glance it appears that good old direct mail is #1. However, if you combine broadcast and cable TV together they edge out direct mail by a single percentage point. But what’s behind the numbers? Even though newspapers and yellow pages appear strong, they are declining media. The fast-rising internet is certainly the most trackable of all the media, and mobile, another promising media of the future doesn’t even have its own category . . . yet.
Do you really care which media is #1? Yes. Which one is number one in selling your product or service?
10 - 2 - 1
Space and time are enigmatic theories of the greater universe but also useful media concepts. Space can define a newspaper ad in column inches or the location of a banner ad on a web page. Time can be the length of a TV commercial or an exact time of day it is scheduled to be broadcast.
For this discussion we examine not space and time, but space and distance. Most media content (with some obvious exceptions) can be consumed in a public or private space. Just choose your delivery device. It’s not easy to carry around a TV set but you can find them in many public spaces like bars, airports and waiting rooms. Likewise, computers and especially laptops are used in public and private spaces like offices, conferences rooms and coffee shops. The mobile phone needs no discussion because we have all seen them used everywhere and in many inappropriate public spaces. The space where these devices are used is much different from the distance in how the media is best consumed. Although screen sizes for all devices can vary widely, the approximate optimal viewing distance is:
Television -- 10 feet
Internet -- 2 feet
Cell Phone -- 1 foot
The video ad that you produce for TV does not necessarily transfer to the mobile device – not only because of the optimal viewing distance factor, but because you use the oven to bake bread and the microwave to make popcorn. The creative message should be designed with the media delivery system in mind.
34 - 24 - 41
In 2007, the Internet Advertising Bureau reported $21-billion was spent on internet advertising. According to TNS Media Intelligence, internet display advertising is up 8% in the first half of 2008. Compare that to a 10.2% increase in national syndicated television for the same period. How did that happen? Is it a Barack Obama government bailout with all those TV commercials on Oprah?
Here's how the $21-billion spent on internet advertising in 2007 breaks down:
34% was spent on branding.
24% was spent on display.
41% was spent on search.
Source: IAB
Considering that the internet is not a very good media for branding, and less than 1% of viewers who see internet display ads actually click-thru, almost 60% of the marketing dollars spent on the internet are wasted or ineffective. That’s not even taking into consideration that a majority of search advertising is poorly written and off-target.
As John Wanamaker, Founder of the Wanamaker Department Stores said in the late 19th century: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.”
When it comes to internet advertising, it’s more than half.
Welcome to Advertising 1
Here it is.
Advertising 1 -- the blog.
It's about -- advertising -- marketing -- media -- and the art and science of persuasive communication.