UP is the new UP - Matthew Greene - MediaBizBloggers

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I tend to like hard data, not soft data; engaged and measurable consumer activity, not passive activity; improved results at retail and e-commerce, not 'oh well' acceptance that 'flat is the new up'a currently popular belief amongst old-line media defenders.

To that point, I recently read an article in the Grey Lady that got my media—think dinosaur-collusionary—hackles raised. It seems that this good ol' fashioned newspaper collaborated with good ol' fashioned TV to announce…GREAT NEWS!!! The 'passive activity' of viewing TV commercials is alive and kicking.

The primary boil-down of this article claims that "46% of viewers 18-49 are still slouching on their couches watching messages about movies, cars and beer during playback" of their favorite DVR-recorded programs. This has allowed big brands and agencies fretting over the potential mass-loss of eyeballs from people fast-forwarding through the TV commercials to keep rearranging the chairs on the sinking ship.

Read the full NYT article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/business/media/02ratings.html?_r=2

As you read the article in greater detail, it becomes clear that certain hand-wringing parties are scrambling to desperately crow about this 46% viewership that is, doing the math, a 54% loss-rate. How's that workin' for ya?

To me this news story about DVR commercial watchers is the equivalent of a 'put on a brave face' TV news item celebrating the fact that one newspaper or another lost only$25MM last quarter, and 10,000 subscribers this year vs. last. Right?

I mean…I feel terrible about the decline in newspaper readership over the past decade, especially since I take personal responsibility for hastening their downward momentum. The same holds true for TV. That being said, these two media channels STILL collectively enjoy approximately 60% of ALL advertising dollars…so I don't feel too bad.

The argument that fewer people are fast-forwarding through commercials is mitigated by the confession that TV viewing is a 'passive activity,' according to Brad Adgate, SVP Research at Horizon Media.

Passive experience is NOT what consumers want anymore. This is exactly my point, and one with which all my clients are familiar. Furthermore, there are more and more substantive findings that indicate quite the opposite—an engaged consumer experience is not only preferred but also expected. Which is why my counsel to clients has always been to REDUCE spending in traditional media channels, and allocate far greater dollars online. My argument is strengthened by the datasets and accountable results that inform every single Search, Display, Social Media campaign we undertake on our clients' behalf.

We need to change the go-nowhere homily of 'flat is the new up' to 'Up is the new Up' because that's where innovation thrives.

My suggestion to the television industry: findsolutions for the 54% of viewers who do fast forward, don't just sugar coat the flat, er, facts.

Matthew Greene has over twenty-five years of strategic advertising and marketing experience working with blue-chip companies. Matt can be reached at matthew.greene@blueribbondigital.com

Read all Matthew's MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Media Malfeasance: Observations from the Front Lines - MediaBizBloggers.

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