The following is a summary of an article that was released this week by AdAgeStat and written by Stephen Krauss, and Bob Shullman president and chief research and insights officer of Ipsos Mendelsohn, respectively. The Affluency column appears monthly on AdAgeStat. It reiterates my comments in earlier articles about the fact that traditional media is still relevant and even shows among affluent spenders, print media is still preferred over digital. Now, this is not an article against digital media, as it has had tremendous impact on media usage, only a reminder that digital media adds to our media plans as one more way to reach customers but does not take away other media options.
Among Affluent Americans, Print Media Is Tops
Death of Traditional Outlets Has Been Greatly Exaggerated
It seems traditional media’s death is foretold by any number of people with examples like (Facebook’s 500 million members would make it the third-largest country in the world! Ashton Kutcher has more than 7 million Twitter followers! IPad-mania sweeps through coffee shops around the world!)
There is no denying the rapidly growing and disruptive impact of new devices and social media. But, there is also no denying that traditional media is thriving in the lives of consumers today, and that they form the basis of how most consumers use media. This is true for the general population, and it is even true among the affluent Americans that we study, even though they have the discretionary income to indulge in an array of devices, as well as the digital literacy to get the most out of them.
Throughout 2011, we have used our Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer to track new and traditional media use among American Affluents. This monthly survey consists of more than 1,000 online interviews with respondents making at least $100,000 in annual household income — in other words, the 20% of Americans who account for about 60% of U.S. income and approximately 70% of U.S. net worth. The survey was conducted between March and May 2011.
When asked how they read magazines, 93% said they read hard-copy print versions; in contrast, less than a third read them on computers, and no other format garnered more than 10%. The same pattern is evident for newspapers, which 86% read in print, compared to the 39% who read them on computers, and 14% who read them via smartphone. TV shows are watched on TVs by 94%, followed by 23% who watch them on computers. Websites are viewed on computers by 94%, followed by 32% viewing them on smartphones. The pattern is clear across all media. The vast majority consume content through its most traditional outlet: magazines and newspapers in print, websites on computers, video content through TVs and so on.
Media usage among all Affluents. Source: Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer
It has been well-documented that younger consumers differ in their media-consumption patterns from their older counterparts, and certainly they have been earlier adopters and heavier users of some emerging and alternative platforms. But even today’s younger generation shows the characteristic pattern of tending to consume media through its most traditional outlet, even as they show more cross-platform “experimentation.” For example, among those aged 18-34:
- 88% read magazines in print, followed by 35% who read them online
- Newspapers show the greatest amount of experimentation — 70% read newspapers in print, followed relatively closely by 54% who read them online
- 94% view video content on TV, followed by 35% who do so on computers
- 93% read websites on computers, followed by 38% who do so on smarthphones
