The Era of Choice
Understanding Societal Changes
Course Information
• Class notes thru midterm are available at
www.journalism.wisc.edu/~dshah/J447
• Purchase and install media flight plan
program as soon as possible - Order Mac
and PC
• If you have a laptop that you are willing to
bring to class, please sign the sheet
Lots of Questions
• Who am I trying to reach?
• How many can I afford to reach?
• How often do people need to encounter my message?
• In which vehicles should I pursue message space?
• When should I communicate (day, week, month, year)?
• What markets and regions should receive extra
emphasis and which ones can be ignored?
• How can I take advantage of emerging media?
Lots of Challenges
• Expanding product categories
– Multiple brands competing in any category
• Proliferation of media categories
– Increasing pool of vehicles in any category
• Heightened audience control
– Technological developments and advances
Increasingly Complex
• Has become an executive function
– More research for understanding media
audiences and content
– More strategic guidance of overall
communication architecture
– Highly integrated into all elements of
the communication plan
Expanding Options
‘50s and ‘60s
Today
The Era of Choice
• Dominant trend affecting strategic
communicators: “Choice”
• Three forces drive this trend
– Changes in Demographics and Lifestyles
– Technological Development
– Economic Climate
Demographic Changes
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Changes in Household Composition
More Women in the Workforce
Aging of America
Growth of Ethnic Populations
Polarization into Rich and Poor
Lifestyle Changes
• Americans are…
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Busier
Less Social
Less Participatory
More Media-centric
More Technological
More Consumptive
The Take Away
• Americans are…
– Older
– More Diverse
• Ethnically
• In Their Family Structure
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Richer and Poorer
Busier
Tuned In
Dropped Out
Acquisitive
Questions for Media Planning
How do you contend with the clutter of the
marketplace?
How do you speak to such a diverse, busy,
disengaged audience?
Is there some communication potential in
media fragmentation?
Technology
• Second Driving Force of Change
• Brings more Choice into Media World
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Control with Remote Controls
Viewing Selection w/ VCR’s and Tivo
Programming with Digital Cable and DBS
Multi-media with DVD and CD-ROMs
The Example of Television
• More time shifting with video recording
using VCRs and digital technologies
• More personalized viewing with movie
rentals and video-on-demand
• More channel changing with remote
controls and multi-channel cable
Internet
• Takes fragmentation to a new level
– Anyone can be a media producer
– Email, Search, Shop, Chat, Plan, Invest…
• Great potential for customizing,
personalizing, tracking, generating buzz,
viral marketing
– Demands technical and strategic competencies
Network Development
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Greater Signal Compression
Fiber Optics
Broadband
“Digital Lifestyle” Innovations - MP3
players, Digital Television (HDTV),
Interactive Television, etc.
Peril and Promise
• What are the threats of this new media
environment for strategic planners?
• What opportunities exist within this
expanded and fragmented environment?
• How might technology of the future create
new opportunities and threats?
Economics
• Third Driving Force of Choice
– Fueled by GNP Growth in 80s - 90s
• Lots on Investment Capital
• Rising Stock Market
• Consumers Willing to Spend
– Increasing Trend Toward Mergers
Recent Downturn
• Current Economy Changes Picture
– Some contraction in innovation and consumption
• Companies focused on saving, not spending
Media Consolidation
• More Vertically Integrated Companies
– AOL - Time-Warner
– Sony - Columbia
• More Cross Media Deals
– Internet, Publishing, Broadcasting, Music
– How can these functions as opportunities?
Summary
• America has demassified
• Consumers have more media choices and
more control over selection
• New tech will provide even more control
• Economic climate will determine rate of
continued development and opportunity
And so…
• Era of Choice Creates Unique Challenges
and Opportunities for Media Planners
– Difficult to find your audience
– Once you find them, hard to keep them
– Difficult to foresee coming changes
• Diminished Effectiveness
– Hard to Get Noticed
– Hard to Get Consumers to Respond
• We Need New Ways to Generate Response
Case Study
• Introduce a new soft drink - Crunk!!!
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http://www.crunkenergydrink.com/
Highly cluttered product and info. environment
$25 Million - very small in category
Target: Urban and suburban youth into hip-hop
Discuss media options only
• Traditional Media Options
• Non-traditional Media Options
• Specialized Media Options
– How will you gain attention and build awareness