Press Release

From Prime Time to My Time: the future of media measurement

BRYANSTON – Media measurement will never be the same, says Steve Garton, Global Head of Media, at Synovate. Why? Because the consumer is now in control.

Speaking at From My Time to Prime Time, an event hosted by African Response, Garton addressed the key issues for media as we move into an increasingly digital world with an increasingly distracted audience. The age of ‘perpetual partial attention’ is upon us, and media planners and specialists need to find a way to be invited into their worlds. Our audiences are no longer passive participants but can actively decide on which media they choose to engage with.

The following mega trends in media were discussed:

A screen based culture is rapidly emerging. The Internet and cell phones are gaining major ground as sources for information, news and entertainment feeding the "need-it-now" mindset of the audiences of today.

Consumers now want to talk to each other instead of listening to the marketers' messages. With the advent of blogs and online forums, sharing information about products and services has become easier and bloggers trust one another, and mistrust marketers. There is now a far more discerning audience - an audience that will not lap up marketing messages without a fair amount of questioning and consulting with others. Word-of-mouth marketing, as well as continuous monitoring of online forums is therefore of paramount importance in marketing strategies in today's digital world. It is very easy for these media to create / destroy a company’s reputation in a matter of days.

There has been an explosive increase in the amount of multitasking amongst our consumers – which has generated the term 'perpetual partial attention'. Garton demonstrated this term using a video entitled 'a Day in the Life' – where cameras were positioned in 16 homes in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia and essentially 'watched' the consumer watch television. The consumers soon forgot about the cameras and got on with their daily lives. Multitasking, other technologies and household chores compete with the television for full attention from the audience and while there might be high viewership at a certain period of the day, this does not necessarily mean that viewers are paying attention. Further reiterating the point, Garton revealed the results of an Asian study which showed that mothers with children can generally cram 40 hours of activity into one day by multitasking.

The need exists for conversations with a select target audience (those that we know will be receptive to our messages on their terms) rather than mass messages to a passive aggregated audience.

The implications for Media Research:

As target audiences and media types fragment, media research will have to adapt to target, time, place, medium, needs and moods. Specific measures will become the norm.

As Synovate's partner, African Response is in the unique position of being able to offer these cuttingedge global research techniques and surveys to the South African (and African) market.

In 2007 surveys such as PAX Africa will be launched. PAX covers media, influence and affluence and is currently the sole media currency in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

For more info, please contact Anina Maree at aninam@africanresponse.co.za

More about Steve Garton:

In his 35 years of research experience Steve has worked all over the world, on the client, advertising agency, media owner and market research sides of the business. He’s been based in the UK, Australasia, and Asia Pacific, and is currently Media Director of Synovate Hong Kong. Steve has developed entirely new services for sectors such as the Internet, and built multiregional surveys such as PAX, the currency for upscale audiences in Asia Pacific and beyond. He is particularly focused on the discovery of new insights into the relationship between media and its audiences, and how digital technology will influence the future of advertising.

Steve is a frequent public speaker at major international events and holds an MA at Oxford University.

If you would like to find out more about media measurement and solutions, please contact Anina Maree at African Response. Email aninam@africanresponse.co.za or phone 011 709 7888

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About African Response

African Response is the most empowered, black owned, black managed research agency in South Africa. Established in an equity relationship with Synovate we offer a full complement of research skills.

African Response prides itself upon an exceptional ability to understand and interpret the needs of the South African black urban and rural consumer. We offer clients customized qualitative and quantitative research, innovative ideas and practical solutions. African Response's vision is to significantly improve clients' business performance and to achieve excellence through utilization of the wide knowledge and experience of our partners.