PHD Perspectives: Media Trends: the Convergence of Divergence - Sonya Svaty

Ah it39s that time of year when I start to pull together my annual media landscape and trends presentation It used to be that I had to bribe people with a big catered lunch to stay in the room for this presentation but the good news is that exciting changes in the industry make it one of the better attended and eagerly anticipated meetings Conversely it makes the media presentation more like the creative in that there is no shortage of people out there willing to offer their suggestions amp8211 a Google search on quotadvertising trends 2011quot yields 26 million results just between October and December 2010 This is slightly down versus the same search with year ago inputs when about 27 million were willing to try to help meSo where to start with so much inputPerhaps if I narrow the search to quotmedia trendsquot Doesn39t help amp8211 the number actually goes up to about 60 million but maybe I can find out what people are talking about by taking words outIf I take out the word social the number goes down to 45 million And if I take out mobile and video the first working entry I get is web design trends followed by fashion and jewelry trends so it might fairly reasonable to assume that those three words cover the bulk of what39s exciting in the media landscapeI don39t think anybody would argue with that What39s interesting is their convergence One of the biggest usages of mobile is social networking and while mobile video usage remains fairly small it39s growing rapidlyThe convergence is making it harder and harder to sort out media types amp8211 for example if I watch an episode of Desperate Housewives on ABCcom is that digital or television If I read an issue of Time magazine on my iPad is that digital or print As I39m writing my trends piece I39m having a difficult time categorizing things like the usage of social media on mobile phones social media or mobile or the increasing penetration of internetconnected television television or internetIt39s hard to tell which came first amp8211 the demand that39s making these trends leading topics of conversation or the technology making them possible Most likely the demand was always there Humans have been wanting to connect with each other ever since the first caveman painted the directions to the next woolly mammoth hunt on the first cave wallI39m probably dating myself talking about cavemen you mean there was a time we could plan media without the internet But I do remember a time before the internet became mainstream and I do remember article after article in the trade press touting the death of television because of DVRs Oh no Chicken Little the sky is fallingBut don39t get out your umbrella just yet Chicken Little amp8211 according to Nielsen we39re watching more television and consuming more content than ever before DVRs People with DVRs watch even more primetime Me included If sent to a desert island I would have a hard time choosing to pack food or my DVR People outside the business are astounded quotAren39t you in advertising Shouldn39t you watch adsquot No I think of it as the media planner39s job to figure out how to get to me despite my wily ways And believe me it can be done I still watch Law ampamp Order SVU reruns on the weekend still read my favorite news weeklies and have accidentally gotten myself addicted to Angry Birds on my smartphone I39m sure most of the rest of us are the same although maybe not the Angry Birds part amp8211 and we certainly aren39t going to be willing to pay for all that content any time soonSo it creates a paradox of needing a specialized knowledge as each media type mobile search display social gets more complicated while at the same time needing an overview of each to determine how to fit the puzzle pieces together to create an integrated marketing approach to the consumer Being on the strategy team I feel more and more like the impact on the media profession can be compared to what39s happening in the medical profession amp8211 I39m a strategist the general practitioner with an overall understanding but the specialists network online mobile search investment teams are called in when things get complicatedSo there at least is one trend for me to throw my opinion among the million already in the ring amp8211 the convergence of media and the resulting divergence of generalists and specialists on the media team as it gets increasingly more complicated to reach those wily consumersSonya Svaty Group Director of Strategy at PHD Media a Division of Omnicom Sonya can be reached at SonyaSvatyphdnetworkcomRead all Sonya39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at PHD PerspectivesCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory 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PHD Perspectives: Media Trends: the Convergence of Divergence - Sonya Svaty

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