Commentary
18-24 Year Olds Most Influenced by New Media
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 11, 2005
According to information from BIGresearch's newest Simultaneous Media Survey, when it comes to new media the 18-24 year old age group has cornered the market and complicated most marketing models advertisers use today. When marketers wonder what happened to 18-24 year olds usage of traditional media like TV, the answer is they are early adopters of new media. New media includes internet, picture phones, instant messaging, blogging, cell phones, MP3 players, satellite radio, text messaging, TiVo/Replay and TV and web radio.
Joe Pilotta, PhD, BIGresearch's VP of research, said "The 18-24 year olds have adopted new media more readily than any other age group. Not only do they use new media more, they are influenced by it much more than any other age group when it comes to making purchase decisions. Which says that they have integrated new media in their daily lives."
Percentage of Respondents Who Say New Media Types Influence Purchases For Specified Products | ||||||
Media | Product | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | All 18+ |
Internet | Apparel | 17.2% | 13.7% | 14.1% | 11.9% | 13.8% |
Internet | Car-Truck | 13.2% | 12.0% | 11.1% | 7.7% | 10.6% |
Electronics | 20.7% | 19.2% | 21.3% | 17.6% | 19.8% | |
Picture Phones | Apparel | 3.5% | 2.0% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 2.1% |
Instant Messaging | Dining Out | 6.2% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 2.1% | 3.0% |
Blogging | Car-Truck | 3.1% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.7% |
Source: BIGresearch, June 2005 | ||||||
The use of new media has a counterintuitive effect among the younger age groups, noted Pilotta. He said "...users of new media are using radio, magazines and newspapers more, while TV has suffered the overall negative effect. Some new media have more effect on the traditional media than others, e.g. blogging, IPOD/MP3 usage, and text messaging."
Percentage of Respondents Who Regularly Or Occasionally Use New Media | ||||
New Media Usage | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-54 | 55+ |
Blogs | 29.6% | 21.7% | 15.5% | 11.4% |
Instant Messaging | 79.8% | 68.3% | 58.1% | 43.1% |
MP3/IPODS | 45.3% | 29.9% | 17.5% | 6.7% |
Satellite Radio | 12.2% | 12.5% | 9.5% | 5.5% |
Picture Phones | 30.6% | 22.7% | 14.1% | 5.2% |
Text Messaging | 58.3% | 46.1% | 27.6% | 8.3% |
TiVo/Replay TV | 17.0% | 21.5% | 14.6% | 8.3% |
Web Radio | 44.4% | 42.6% | 33.0% | 13.5% |
Source: BIGresearch, June 2005 | ||||
See additional information here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.