Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Video consumption has reached its tipping point. According to a new study, U.S. consumers under 45 years of age spend even amounts of time consuming both digital video and television.Millward Brown’s study, “Ad Reaction: Video Creative in a Digital World,” found that while older generations may be more reluctant to move away from cable television, their younger counterparts have no problem doing so.

Individuals between ages 16 and 45 spent a little over three hours every day watching online video. Half of that is through smart TVs, but 45 minutes are spent on smartphones, on average, with desktop and tablets claiming the rest of the share.

This behavior isn’t limited just to the United States. Online consumption was even higher in some foreign countries, with Nigeria leading all other countries in online consumption.

Millward Brown points out that the trend is forcing brands to reconsider how video is targeted as a marketing medium, highlighting the differences and challenges between online and traditional TV. By now, it’s clear there’s no turning around: Online video is going to replace television....

This is particularly true in the world of video, where TV—still a powerful medium, to be sure—is now far from the be-all for securing desired levels of video impressions. According to Nielsen, traditional television viewing has decreased from the prior year across the majority of demographics.

MoffettNathanson reports that the pay TV industry lost an estimated 556,000 subs in Q2 2015, and that commercial ratings for cable channels have been down every month since May 2014. And Americans are now spending almost five and a half hours a day viewing screens ... without even turning on a television!  At the same time, Kinetic USA reports Americans now spend an unprecedented 70 percent of their time out of the home.

So the conundrum is this: TV is moving in a negative direction, yet we know that video remains the most powerful form of ad messaging At the same time, with consumers out and about more than ever—what's a media planner to do?...