Nielsen

Newspapers remain largely a print medium, but the dramatic growth in digital media in recent years has compelled newspaper publishers to re-think their distribution models and become multi-platform content providers. According to the recent study, 81% of monthly newspaper readers engage with the print product, with 51% reading print exclusively. The remaining 49% reads a newspaper on at least one digital platform, with 30% reading both digital and print. Traditionally, newspaper audiences have been more educated, affluent and older than non-newspaper readers.

As digital media have gained in prominence, newspapers have attracted younger readers. Newspaper readers are still educated and affluent, but their ages are more reflective of the general population than they have been in the past. For example, 13% of the U.S. population is 70 or older, and this age group now accounts for 15% of the total monthly newspaper audience. Compared to previous decades, younger readers now account for a greater percentage of newspaper readers. Notably, Millennials 21-34 make up 25% of the U.S. population and now represent 24% of the total monthly newspaper readership. Based on the shift in age of the newspaper reader, it’s clear that the newspaper industry’s adoption of digital distribution has allowed it to reach adults of all ages.

This latest report highlights African-Americans’ economic and cultural gains and continues to shine a spotlight on how African-American Millennials are forging ahead in their use of technology and social media to raise awareness and evoke a national discussion on civic and political issues. African-American Millennials are expanding the use of mobile devices (particularly smartphones with a 91% penetration rate for all African-Americans), expanding their shopping carts with fresh foods and contributing to the diversification of mainstream primetime television viewership—forging a significant increase in advertising dollars focused on African-American audiences. As African-Americans, particularly younger Millennials, continue to develop and expand their influence on mainstream America, companies are making changes to reach this culture-rich group with unique, captivating campaigns, as well as products and services that meet their needs.

In a recent Nielsen global study, all forms of paid advertising -- TV, print, digital, radio -- showed a gap in the "trust factor," with a majority of respondents reporting that they don’t trust each type much or at all.

Conversely, and not surprisingly, “recommendations from people I know” scored highest on trust, with 92 percent of consumers trusting this source completely or somewhat. Owned media, such as brand websites, scored higher than paid advertising but lower than social recommendations. Yet advertising as a medium continues to thrive, with ad dollars on the rise globally and in many markets around the world.

Since trust in advertising lays along continuum that moves from earned (highest trust), to owned, then paid (lowest trust), it stands to reason that brands should want more earned and owned. But can paid be given up completely? We need to start thinking of how paid, owned and earned can work together to improve trust and deliver better results.

Marketers continue to discuss them as if they are mutually exclusive media. They’re not. And now technology is blurring the lines of paid, owned and earned media more than ever. Paid can now also be social, as social is often about paid. Owned can have paid embedded media in it. And sometimes, all three can exist in one consumer touchpoint.

Today, traditional TV still accounts for the lion’s share of video viewing, and will likely continue to do so for a good while, but online and mobile are where the growth is.

From fourth quarter 2012 to fourth-quarter 2013, the hours consumers spent watching online video grew 30 percent. When managed together, TV and digital hold the potential to drive real impact for advertisers -- enabling them to maximize the customers they reach and/or reinforce key messaging across screens.

Not surprisingly, advertisers believe the integration of campaigns across multiple screens is important and will become even more so, but the effectiveness of these campaigns in maximizing results has been mixed. On average, these integrated campaigns reached only 7.6 percent of the intended audience via both TV and online. That result is little different than the completely random duplication (7.0 percent) that advertisers could expect if they had planned their campaign for each screen independently.

This highlights a true missed opportunity. Nielsen research shows that, with careful planning and execution based on more precise identification of their desired TV and online audiences, marketers can generate an average of 8 percent greater reach, or achieve significantly higher frequency, without spending more money or altering their mix of spend.

While advertisers are looking for primetime ad space, they shouldn’t forget where the real opportunities lie -- with the viewers, who continue to access and engage with TV content in a variety of ways.

Knowing when and where to find consumers is crucial to reach them and ensure ads break through the clutter and catch attention.

• TGI…Sunday? When it comes to primetime television programming, gone are the days where the Friday night line up or must-see-TV Thursdays ruled our content consumption. Now people TV viewing takes place on Sundays.
• Time (Spent) Is Money. TV still dominates viewers’ time. In the US, people watched an average of 155 hours of traditional TV a month during the fourth quarter of 2013. But it’s no secret that audiences are viewing more content across screens. Americans watched an average of 14 hours of time-shifted TV per month and spent an average of 34 hours and 27 hours using smartphone apps and the Internet, respectively, during the same period. And when it comes to online video consumption, Americans now average 7.5 hours per month streaming video on their computers.
• Extending The TV Screen. With social media now a routine element of the TV-viewing experience, audiences are moving seamlessly across platforms to view and talk about their favorite shows. According to Nielsen, a whopping 86 percent of US smartphone owners say they use their devices while watching TV, and nearly half do it every single day.

Both the universe of US television homes and the potential TV audience in those homes continue to grow.

According to Nielsen’s 2015 Advance National TV Household Universe Estimate (UE), there are 116.3 million TV homes in the US, up 0.4 percent from the 2013-2014 estimate of 115.6 million. Nielsen estimates that nearly 296 million persons age 2 and older live in these TV homes, an increase of 0.5 percent from 2013.

Nielsen uses US Census Bureau data and auxiliary sources, such as state governments, to arrive at Advance TV UEs in early May before the television industry’s upfronts. It then distributes final UEs before the start of each TV season.

The 2015 National UEs reflect 1) real changes in population since 2013 and 2) updated TV penetration levels, differentially calculated for qualifying market break and age/sex demographic categories.

According to Nielsen’s forthcoming Advertising & Audiences Report, the average US TV home now receives 189 TV channels -- a record high and significant jump since 2008, when the average home received 129 channels.

Despite this increase, however, consumers have consistently tuned in to an average of just 17 channels.

This data is significant in that it substantiates the notion that more content does not necessarily equate to more channel consumption. And that means quality is imperative -- for both content creators and advertisers. So the best way to reach consumers in a world with myriad options is to be the best option.