Thursday 27 February 2014

Generation Y. You won't get them on TV, you will get them watching online video.


'Millennials' are often referred to as 'Generation Y', the generation born after 'Generation X', probably born from the 1980's. So they're 20-30's year old. 

In a way, they are now the Internet generation and this is an interesting study from 'BusinessInsider' and 'Youme' which looks at their habits.

They're watching less TV. In fact, their constant decline in TV viewing means they're switching online to watch content. No great surprise there....to some of us....but it does re-enforce the ongoing collapse of traditional TV globally.

They are though, high viewers of all content. They like to go online and are prepared to watch. Whether that's long form video or short form, they are there and they are watching.

The favoured device is of course, mobile (smartphone) which means they're watching content when they can be distracted. Importantly too they're using video whilst their shopping (13%). So clearly looking at products and product reviews as they purchase. So they multi-task.

Their "Ad" recall is low - I think probably because they're not bothered by it and want to get onto the real reason they're watching video. A pre-roll just gets in their way and it also shows (I think), that simply replicating a TV commercial as an online duplicate, is not working. 

Online Video is way better, so online deserves, a different version of the TV Commercial - especially when you can skip it. You need to get your message across now, in 10 seconds before the skipping begins!

They also see brands that are using video online as being 'modern' and therefore, more applicable to them. The medium is the message.

All of this means that to attract this audience, TV is no longer the answer. You need online video that works across all devices, notably smartphones.

We are saying it a long time, but this is not a trend, it's where the future lies.