CES 2009: Don't count out those Millennials or Online Media, Cell Phone on the rise as entertainment device, says Deloitte

 The idiot box is still king, but don't count out online advertising. (Source: Deloitte LLP)

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Deloitte LLP revealed the results of its 3rd State of the Media Democracy Survey, which are likely to be dissected and re-analyzed over and over again by advertising and media executives all over the world.

The survey, which was conducted between September and October of 2008 by Deloitte's Media and Entertainment practice and the Harrison Group, an independent research firm, was taken by 8,824 participants between the age of 14 and 75, across five different countries -- Brazil, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States. The objective was to determine which media formats were most used, read and viewed, including traditional print advertising, television, radio, as well as on-line.  In the United States, a total of 2,056 consumers were used as participants using an online survey methodology.

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The results shouldn't surprise anyone -- Millennials (ages 14-25) are among the most rising and influential consumer groups, and they value the newer forms of media much more than traditional types used by "Matures"   (born 1932-1946), "Boomers" (1947-1965) or "Gen X" (1966-1982).  In particular Millennials see the computer as their most important entertainment device, with their televisions playing second fiddle. In general Millennials are seen as the most important early-adopter group for new products and new technologies.

Millennials are the most active of all the groups in their use of gaming, online communities and social networking,  and they are the largest consumers of Internet-downloaded music.  According to the survey, 80 percent of Millennials are regularly searching, downloading and listening to music over the Internet, while 73 percent are also regularly socializing online (via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards). Additionally, the majority of Millennials -- 59 percent on average -- use their mobile phone as an entertainment device, versus an average of 33 percent of all consumers. At the same time, they are spending one-third less time watching their television than are other generations.

But don't count the TV out. It's still the most important advertising mechanism overall, as all the participants ranked it as the most important source influencing their purchasing decisions. However, newspaper and magazine advertising is now considered to be on-par with Internet advertising. Radio is now considered to be in fifth place, even behind print and online.

While only a small amount of participants considered the cell phone as an important advertising medium,  the cell phone is gaining tremendous ground as an entertainment device.

According to the survey results, cell phones have evolved from being a status symbol for the business elite to a ubiquitous multifunctional accessory. A third of consumers surveyed across all five countries state that they use their cell phone as an entertainment device -- nearly 50 percent in Brazil, 34 percent in Japan, 33 percent in the United Kingdom, 32 percent of in the United States and 26 percent in Germany. Camera and text messaging are the most commonly used phone features overall, with Japan being the notable exception with extremely heavy texting use.

Across all countries, consumers surveyed are using their cell phones to watch user-generated online videos -- 20 percent in the United Kingdom and United States -- as well as professionally created content (TV, movies, news) -- 33 percent in Japan. Early-adopter Millennials are the primary drivers of beyond-just-calling feature applications -- texting, video, gaming, music downloading and listening and social networking.

If you are at CES and you are a client or perspective client and want to schedule a meeting or get the full report, contact Deloitte's Jodi Gray at (408)704-2051 or email jogray@deloitte.com

Will the 2009 Media Democracy Survey have any impact on how your business advertises in the future? Talk Back and Let Me Know.