Via Eliot, a Wall Street Journal article titled “Buddy, can you spare some time? [requires subscription, of course]. A few choice quotes…
… The battle for Americans’ disposable time — among a vast proliferation of entertainment products and media channels — is becoming even more pitched than the battle for their disposable income.
Indeed, in many key demographic groups, time is scarcer than money. [emphasis added]
Not exactly a terrible problem to have, but interesting that it’s reached the point of media commentary. More…
Starcom recently surveyed a significant portion of all households with a TiVo. “Fifty-five percent of the commercials were skipped,” Mr. Tobaccowala [executive vice president in Starcom Mediavest Group’s media planning and buying group] says.
Only 55%?? Why the heck is anyone watching 45% of the ads broadcast on TV today if they have a TiVo or other PVR? Hey, I work for an ad-supported media website, so I want advertising to work (and it does… but I digress), but consumers are snatching whatever control they can, and very few ads are useful or entertaining enough to warrant my attention. Or, more directly, my time. When I am flipping through a show, 30 seconds at a time, it’s quite impressive when an ad catches my eye enough for me to rewind to view it. The distinctive solid colors of the Apple iTunes/iPod ads are one example. No others come to mind, but I do, occasionally, stop and take stock of an advertisement even though I don’t have to. When watching via TiVo, I’m more likely to pay close attention, with my thumb on the ‘skip’ button to avoid wasting precious seconds. I’m not one of those people — like some mentioned in this article — that can watch TV ‘in the background.’ I don’t multitask well, and the TV is oh-so-distracting.
One last clip from the article:
A media firm owned by Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners recently placed round, black stickers advertising “Traffic,” a new USA Network miniseries, on 50,000 one-dollar bills and sent them into circulation in New York and Los Angeles.
Yes, advertisers are willing to pay people to see their advertising. Of course, this is enough of a stunt that the $50K is really just buying PR… the Journal picked it up, and a full-page print ad with online complement probably costs more than that, so money well spent, getting the ‘free’ mention. I would have mentioned it for much less… oops, I did it for free! 😉
I need to start tracking the daily exchange rate of time against the dollar. If time is a currency, this should be doable, right? Ideas are welcome.