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Shifts in Consumer Media Consumption
Kim Martin, Executive Vice President and General Manager, WE tv
In today’s fast environment, consumers demand news and entertainment instantly – where and when they want it. And they are equipped with all of the latest gadgets to help them get it - computers, mobile phones, beepers, BlackBerrys, iPods…and now iPhones.
The numbers are staggering, if not surprising.
- Nearly 209 million Americans (69 percent of the population) are using the Internet an average of 31.6 hours/month, according to Nielsen/NetRatings and comScore Networks.
- U.S. mobile penetration was at 78 percent less than a year ago, and according to The Mobile World, global mobile phone subscriptions are expected to reach 3.25 billion by the end of 2007.
- BlackBerry maker RIM expects to hit 20 million units shipped this summer, and
- Shoppers snapped up more than half a million iPhones their debut weekend, representing the largest consumer electronics product launch in history by dollar value.
As technology proliferates, viewers look to new platforms for their entertainment options. Digital entertainment and digital marketing are no longer alternatives, but imperatives to brand extension, experience and loyalty.
The shift in strategy to digital media and marketing has been swift and strong, and has fundamentally impacted the way companies do business. Now standard, high-speed Internet access was first offered by cable companies a little more than a decade ago, with advanced digital services like video on demand, HDTV and interactive TV becoming ubiquitous only in the last five years. Today, Web sites, blogs, podcasts, e-mail, texting, instant messaging, streaming media and user-generated content are industry norms, expanding on-air offerings across multiple platforms and making brands “stereophonic.” Watch any on-air segment of Larry King Live or Anderson Cooper 360°, and you’ll be invited to visit CNN.com, access a podcast, post to a blog, and submit an e-mail or video message.
Via their participation in the process through digital technologies, viewers are not only demanding information faster, but they also have a multitude of options available to them. How does our industry meet this demand, and take successful brands and extend them to new platforms without compromising brand integrity?
Hint: It’s not just about re-purposing content.
It’s about keeping viewers engaged and connected with a brand. It’s about creating original content specifically for these new platforms as part of an overall strategy to expand a brand and viewers’ relationship with it.
At WE tv, for example, we’ve focused on extending our signature series Bridezillas. We made our biggest investment and strategic move just weeks ago with the launch of WE Go Bridal, the first cohesive multi-platform destination for weddings and the bridal community. Anchored by Bridezillas and consumer demand for wedding content and information, We Go Bridal is a fully branded environment with its own look and feel, and involves the largest brand and content expansion in the network's history. It dramatically increases wedding content on the network and the Web, branding a special evening each week for original on-air wedding programming and building an online portal of shared bridal content and information.
WEgobridal.com features original video and user-generated content, tools for sharing via text, video and photos, themed games and national promotions. Viewers can watch new original Web programming, including WE’s Webisode series Groomzillas, The Best of Platinum Weddings and mini-Bridezillas episodes. They can create video logs, polls and flipbooks; post advice, ideas for non-traditional wedding options and “How We Met” stories; and test their planning skills by playing “Wedding Planner Bridezillas.” They can even have wedding guests RSVP directly to the site.
But that’s what’s necessary in this entertainment environment. And there’s no such thing as downtime. As the apparent success of the new iPhone indicates, viewers’ media consumption habits change constantly. We must modify our marketing strategies and the way we reach consumers as a result.
Consumers are loyal, but only so long as we continue to satisfy their needs and means of entertainment and entertainment delivery. Staying ahead of the curve has always been important in our industry, but the curve has changed. It’s no longer airwaves we have to contend with, but the flow of bits and bytes.
So celebrate short-term successes, but think long-term. We may not know exactly what the next technology trend will be, but we must be prepared to extend our platforms – and brands – ever further to meet, and embrace, it. If the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes knows no bounds, then neither should we.
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WICT surpassed its previous membership record of 5581 members, achieved in 2006, by welcoming Julie Guyah as our 6000th member. Julie is Sales Overflow Supervisor for Comcast in Miramar, Florida. She looks forward to taking advantage of her WICT membership to build relationships that will provide her with opportunities for growth, to be an effective leader through the many leadership programs offered by WICT and to continue to grow her career in cable.
