by Martin MacGregor (@MartMacG) There is always that moment after arriving at a new place on holiday when you realise it is nothing like what you imagined. Looking at the website images, you built up a picture of how it was all situated and what it felt like. At the moment of arrival, everything readjusts, disappointment and excitement is dealt with, and you quickly move on.
A similar process needs to happen in the marketing and media community, regarding the supposed death of TV.
There has been an image built up of the modern media-consumer sitting at home in front of a TV set. All media measurement is structured around consumption of TV in this way, and the figures show it is declining. TV-set sales are also showing year-on-year declines. The conclusion? TV is on the way out.
Fundamental readjustment
But what really needs to happen is that moment of “arrival”, and a fundamental readjustment based upon reality.
A good place to start is to go to the source. In this case, it’s the youngest, smartest demographic in the biggest developed market: age 18-22 college students in the US. Then take a look around where they live: the college dorm room. There is the usual mix of furniture. But what is definitely striking is the total lack of a TV set. Is there anything in its place? Yes, the all-in-one sheet and media pocket.
All it is is a pouch on the side of the fitted sheet, just below the pillow, which is big enough to hold an iPad or an Air, whatever your preferred screen is. This, according to research done by the US based millennial-focused agency MRY, is “everything you need to know about the future of TV consumption”.
You see, this demographic spend two hours a day streaming video, 12% using their phones to do so, and less than 20% of their watching is live. But they are watching TV. A lot of it.
What research shows
The research goes on to say that the “lack of TV sets is not a lack of interest in TV. They are more interested in TV than any generation we have seen, they are just not watching it on TV sets.”
So, there we have it. It really is time for everyone to stop confusing TV consumption and TV sets. TV is no longer defined by what we watch it on, but rather as audio-visual content, neutral to whatever it is consumed on. Millennials are loving that content more and more — and will watch it in whichever way they feel like.
Martin MacGregor (@MartMacG) is managing director of Connect, an M&C Saatchi Company, with offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Martin has spent 18 years in the industry, and has previously worked at Ogilvy and was MD of MEC Nota Bene in Cape Town. He contributes the monthly “Media Redefined” column, in which he challenges norms in the media space, to MarkLives.com.
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