Are you and your brand prepared for a shift in media consumption?

In April, the civilian labor force participation rate increased by 0.3% to 65.2 percent, as the size of the labor force rose by 805,000. Since December, the participation rate has increased by 0.6 percentage point. The employment-population ratio rose to 58.8 percent over the month and has increased by 0.6 percentage point since December. So what does this have to do with media consumption? It means people are going back to work, this is a good thing, but everything is relative.

A proven fact, an economic up tick creates disposable income. It is during these times when the middle class has extra income, that they invest in gadgets. During the Clinton years, the MP3 technology changed music consumption.  Remember the Metallica’s war on Napster?  To date the music industry has changed drastically due to the introduction of MP3 technology – namely the iPod. History repeats itself right?

Most American’s are gadget mongers and love toys. Look at the thriving Best Buy business as proof. The economy will make a full recovery sometime over the next 36 months.  Coincide the recovery with the iPad and we are sitting on the verge of a major shift in media consumption. Live TV as we know it will evolve from broadcasting at set times to releasing at set times. With that, the ability to watch on the consumer’s time is going to take precedence with younger generations to begin with. Eventually, the older demo will follow suit.  Look at Facebook as a an adoption case study for older demographics. The change in consumption is going to make the commercial advertising model that TV employs today null and void. The iPad is a game changer and once a Hulu app is available– game- set –match! Same with DVR functionality, even if television continues to broadcast, most consumers will start taping and fast forward through commercials. Come to think of it, I am a prime example of this. I never watch live television unless it is a sporting event. Alas, I digress. The iPad is a tool that makes consuming media easier than ever thought possible (they probably will make an app for you to watch your DVR), this will make the need for product placement that much more prevalent in TV. Did you see the episode on Modern Family where Phil Dunphy was having a birthday on the same day the iPad was coming out? There is the template for TV advertising in the coming years.

So why the post? Well below I put together a graphic that shows marketing in 2010 from a birds eye view. A major chunk of traditional marketing is about to change due to advances in technology and economic consumption. So the question begs to be asked, is your brand planning ahead and investing in Social Media and Organic search to compensate? Are you researching how to penetrate the market using TV in a future state? Or is it business as usual? OR- do you think I am full of hot air? Let’s check back in 36 months and see if we have moved from talking about Modern Family in favor of “Modern Marketing” with the iPad as the catalysts.

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