Opinion - Generation Media

Talking to parents and gifters has never been more important to toy marketers. Audience decline has reduced the importance of “tried and tested” linear TV to marketing plans. Digital media is paramount to the success of campaigns. With this comes greater accountability for measuring ROI, especially given the ability to drive audiences direct to retail sites.

Engaging children remains a vital component to campaign success in order to influence parents and gifters alike. Many brands however (dependent on targeting and KPIs) will opt to focus on those with the ability to spend online and shorten the path to purchase. For those that choose to do so, even in some capacity as part of a larger campaign, it might surprise them to learn that when it comes to comms planning, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

As a nation, we remain creatures of habit. If we think about how consumers think of media (i.e. watching, listening, reading, etc.), then patterns of behaviour have actually remained incredibly consistent. The charts, as reported by IPA Touchpoints, compare the average media day for pre-lockdown all the way back to 2005, with post-lockdown in 2021 (all Adults). They show that people still get up and listen to their favourite radio shows or watch the news on TV (some might even read about it in the papers), get exposed to OOH advertising as they go about their day, then spend the majority of their evening watching video content.

This is despite all the changes brought about by technical innovation and the pandemic. What has changed of course is how preferred content is accessed. Linear TV is supplemented (and even surpassed, dependent on audience) by On Demand services. Radio broadcasts compete with Podcasts for attention. Newsbrands (Daily Mail, The Sun, etc.) focus more of their efforts on their online content than physical print. The proliferation of new platforms means more absolutely fundamental components in delivering on campaign objectives, but that does not mean they should be the driving force of marketing strategy. Instead, think of them as tactics. To build a winning strategy when communicating to any audience, especially parents, focus on how your audience consumes media and the need states they are in when doing so. Think audience first, not platform first.

Homing in further on the IPA Touchpoints study reveals another interesting consideration when thinking about how best to talk to parents and gifters alike, and the pitfalls of a platform first approach. Looking back to 2015, 44% of the media platforms used by 16-34 year olds (the older end being the average age of a pre-school parent) are the same as 55+ (the average grandparent). Looking at the same statistic today, that figure has increased to 52%. That doesn’t mean that we can use the same media channels to communicate to these different audiences in the same way though. Younger parents, for example, will be using digital platforms, particularly social media and online video as an extension of their real-world lives and experiences. The [stereo]typical 55+ however would often use these as extensions of news sources. Entering these channels with different mindsets means they are unlikely to receive the same message in the same way, and tailoring the approach is vital; for example, in terms of creative execution.

Another big question often posed of the media landscape is how much time is actually spent with commercial channels. Streaming platforms have grown their share of the media day significantly over time (accelerated by the pandemic), and, up until very recently, have typically not shown advertising. Yet despite this, 66% of the average adult’s media day is spent with commercial platforms. This remains consistent across most demographics. Even 16-34 audiences typically associated with ad avoidance and digital platforms, spend 64% of their media day in commercial environments. Children (aged 2-9) are actually the most likely to spend time with noncommercial channels, however even they spend 43% of their video day watching commercial channels according to Giraffe Insights - and this doesn’t account for other influences on their media day such as audio and OOH.

With the recent and upcoming changes to both Netflix and Disney+ however, there is a high likelihood that this percentage will increase relatively quickly. This will be brought about faster by the cost-of-living crisis, with many current customers likely to drop from premium subscriptions to lower cost ad enabled subscription. We will be charting the progress of these platforms with close interest going into 2023, as we look to build exclusive opportunities for advertisers (should they prove commercially viable as projected).

The pace of change in the media market is exciting, and there are certainly no signs of it slowing down, with 2023 set to be a year full of new opportunities for advertisers. That being said, remember to keep your approach to marketing strategy aligned with your goals and intended audience(s) so as not to be unduly distracted by new platforms. Think audience first, and select the right platforms to fulfil on their needs, or use a trusted media agency partner to direct you accordingly.