• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 24, 2004

Consumers Listening, But Maybe Not Hearing

According to the latest Simultaneous Media Survey by BIGresearch, advertisers' quest to increase advertising ROI through direct communications in a one to one environment may find unexpected vagaries caused by consumers multiple media consumption patterns.

Joe Pilotta, PhD, VP Research BIGresearch, said "Simultaneous media consumption is creating a moving target for advertisers through all communication channels. Directly targeting consumers based upon behaviors is, in theory, a great way of ... enhancing relationships and eliminating waste from ad budgets. However, the reality is that direct communication with consumers rarely occurs one to one, but is more like 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 in the context of simultaneous media usage."

Some of the findings on how this multitasking phenomenon is effecting online and direct mail are:

When online:

• 63.5% regularly or occasionally watch TV
• 59.7% regularly or occasionally listen to the radio
• 40.3% regularly or occasionally read the mail

When reading mail:

• 73.9% regularly or occasionally watch TV
• 57.5% regularly or occasionally listen to the radio
• 35% regularly or occasionally go online

Pilotta said that the next step is for advertisers to determine the foreground/background of the media in use to create a synergy between them.

Complimentary findings are available here.