The first in a continuing series of erudite insights, market research and zeitgeisty marcomms dissection from Marketing Week.
- The whys and wherefores of Catch Up TV in New Zealand? How does it stack up?
- The year that was in TV land: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
- Facebook hits 400 mill. Happy sixth birthday.
- Statistics New Zealand’s suite of online tools small businesses quick and easy access to information.
- Marketing Rebooted: e-courses focusing on all things 2.0 to get you up with the play
The new television season is upon us and, apparently, there’s never been a better time to camp out in front of the telly and prepare to be dazzled, stunned, blown away or simply have your life transformed. The reality may be a little more prosaic. But what’s especially new, different and paradigm-shifting about this new season is the sheer volume of shows that are available for viewing on Catch Up Television on local broadcaster websites.
Most TVNZ local and imported shows are available on Replay TV, along with a substantial number of TVWorks offerings. Aotearoa is finally doing its own catch up with the rest of the world. A couple of global statistics to illustrate the point:
As long ago as March 2009, French studies were indicating that 52 percent of the internet-users questioned said they were watching free TV programmes on the Internet after their broadcast. The Dutch Public Broadcaster said that catch-up TV service Uitzending Gemist grew 25 percent in 2009 compared to the year before.
Why do people watch catch up TV? A Nielsen Company analysis in January 2009 identified the following reasons why consumers watch Replay TV:
- 54% I forgot to watch a specific episode when it aired on TV
- 47% I am catching up on the current season of programming because I missed a large number of episodes
- 33% I am catching up on a past season of a programme before the next season airs
- 32% I forgot to record a specific episode with my DVR or TiVo when it aired on TV
- 18% Another member of my household watches another programme at the same time as the show I want to watch
- 12% I watch TV programming online when I am at work
- 12% I watch TV programming online when I travel
This explosion of viewing options is good news for Kiwi viewers, but increasing headaches for television buyers trying to capture the eyeballs of programme-watchers. And let’s not even talk about the plight of our colleagues at Nielsen, trying to collate the disparate outputs of analogue television, Freeview, TiVo, Sky, MySky, MySky HDi, Telstra Cable (and now the internet) into a composite statistic that somehow catches the reality of what’s happening out there.
Plans are afoot to expand and enlarge the television research resources, but it won’t happen overnight. For now, let’s just be grateful for one positive side-effect of the recession: increased viewing figures.
New Zealand Television and The Year That Was
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That well-trodden phrase pretty much sums up the year that was 2009, at least for New Zealand television broadcasters.
Audience levels were up, up, up. Advertising revenue was, well, let’s not even go there. The NZ Television Broadcasters Council finally had some good news to share last week: The average viewer watched three hours 17 minutes of TV every day in 2009, an increase of nine minutes per day or 4.8 percent over 2008. Not only that, but more people were watching in total: on a daily basis, 2.94 million people watched television last year, up almost 63,000 or 2.2 percent over 2008.
We do need to put these numbers in a little bit of context: television viewing levels do rise in recessionary times, as typically do movie attendances. We may not be able to afford that fancy new car or indulge in that Manolo Blahnik footwear obsession, but by golly we can still manage some small indulgences.
On Friday, Facebook celebrated its sixth birthday. Founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg also announced the social network had just attracted its 400 millionth member. Guess it’s going to be around for a while then.
In New Zealand, Facebook now has 1,220,920 members – and it’s friending its way into Kiwis’ lives fast.
Both locally and internationally, marketers are extremely keen to learn more about social networks – it’s become abundantly clear that today’s consumers expect major brands and companies to be present and active on the key social networks. If they’re not around, consumers are first surprised, then angry and eventually vitriolic. Tough reality, but that’s the 2010s for you.
New Stats Tool For Small Business
Statistics New Zealand recently released Business Toolbox, a suite of online tools that provides quick and easy access to information for businesses.
Business Toolbox contains two online tools: Market Mapper, which can be used to find target markets and potential customers, and Industry Profiler, which provides details on industry performance over time, staff turnover and survival of similar-sized businesses.
Business Toolbox is available on the Statistics NZ website – www.stats.govt.nz/businesstoolbox
We love the information available through Statistics New Zealand – we just wish it was a little easier to find on the website. Hopefully the Business Toolbox offering will help with that.
Reboot Camp
If you’re one of those marketers keen to learn about the new breed of tools collectively called 2.0, you’ll be interested in our upcoming series of e-courses on what we’re calling MARKETING REBOOTED – the things that marketers need to know to flourish in a digital world.
The MARKETING REBOOTED e-course starts on 1 March. We’re keeping the numbers low for this first programme, so if you’re interested, please drop us an email at [email protected].
That’s it for this edition of MARKETING WEEK. It would be remiss of us not to point out that Ye Editor is now available for consultation and contract assignments (including presentations and keynote speeches) in relation to consumer research, trend analysis, eMarketing, eCommerce, writing and media. Contact: [email protected].
You’ll can also read these stories on the Marketing Week blog. Just click on the headlines and be amazed by the power of the internet.
