11: What impact has there been on the way in which the audience now consume the media products/texts involved in your case study?

How does it differ from what went before?

Life used to be so simple – one screen, three national broadcast networks and a handful of local TV stations in every market. Then along came cable, considerably expanding both the choice of channels and the time available to view them. Television programming has since migrated online and across a variety of mobile devices, while an array of newer technologies, showcased at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, promise to deliver all sorts of Internet content to digital TV sets anywhere in the home. Will online advertising become more valuable to all concerned?
For broadcast networks, online ads may present new revenue opportunities – even with smaller audiences online – given the ability to better target advertising.

Media consumption is changing and in turn it is changing how consumers choose to interact with brands. The average consumer today spends 14 hours watching TV each week and 14 hours using the internet, according to a new EIAA Report. Increasingly those hours are shared: the most valuable and influential consumers multi-task their media consumption, actively using digital media whilst engaging with traditional channels in the background. Integrated campaigns that incorporate digital thinking within marketing strategy are a must for communicating effectively with these consumers.

Digital media consumption does not cut consumers off from brands as once feared; instead it is growing their ability to consume brand messages.