FINDING YOUR WAY ON THE NEW MEDIA HIGHWAY: A non-traditional approach for traditional media Part 1: The Media Clutter Conundrum

1. FINDING YOUR WAY ON THE NEW MEDIA HIGHWAY A non-traditional approach for traditional media November 9, 2009 Part 1: The Media Clutter Conundrum Copyright ©2009 Small Media and Large LLC All rights reserved. Confidential and Proprietary. The contents of this material are confidential and proprietary to Smedial. Unauthorized use, disclosure, or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

2. MEDIA CLUTTER

3. MEDIA CLUTTER Today’s consumers are overloaded and overwhelmed with information and as a result marketers face a daunting task in today’s cluttered information landscape. That’s because an estimated 2,500 commercial messages bombard the average American every day. This information overload poses an obstacle for communicators, especially those working with tight budgets and limited resources. The eyes, ears and minds of the consumer are being bombarded in a relentless meteor shower of messages as advertisers and media members alike try to cut through the clutter to deliver their sales pitch. In our opt-in world, even as the consumer is being more selective than ever in what they will allow to get through, the modern marketer continues emphasizing quantity over quality. Is it any wonder where this is heading? This growing pattern of media clutter is resulting in increasingly fragmented media consumption, which in turn is putting new demands on advertisers looking to not only get their message into the eyes and ears of the consumer, but into their heads, hearts and mouths as well. Getting across the right message to the right people at the right time via traditional media not only isn’t the same as is was twenty years ago, it’s not even the same as it was five, or even two, years ago. More messages from more sources are reaching less eyes, ears, minds, and more importantly wallets, than ever before. Especially as the media itself struggles to “cut through the clutter” it should be no surprise that the advertiser is struggling even more with finding the proper application for their message. It is clearly time to find a new way to reach the consumer and as difficult as it is for media traditionalists to hear, it is no longer about the spots and dots! “It's true. The times are changing, and the tried-and-true media strategies that advertisers have used for decades no longer work quite so well. Old-school ad campaigns focused mainly on print, radio and television, in particular, aren't nearly as effective as they once were. You can blame it on too many TV channels, the Internet, TiVo, empowered and savvy consumers, or anything else that sounds good. But if you're an advertiser, you'd better find alternatives to traditional media, or find an alternative profession.” - Joseph Jaffe, Author & Marketing Guru SOURCE: Life After the 30-Second Spot by Joseph Jaffe, 2005 Wiley Publishing

4. MEDIA CLUTTER As hard as it is for mass media to hang on to their target audience, much less grow their reach, it is even harder for advertisers to find potential consumers. The bottom line is that if the media cannot find a way to break through the clutter to deliver their own message, how can they be expected to deliver their clients’ messages utilizing traditional means only? This illustration from Unmassed.com clearly illustrates that traditional media shares the same problems of cutting through the clutter mass as the advertiser whose message they are supposed to be carrying. The booming growth of social media and online marketing opportunities has afforded marketers with new channels of reaching the marketplace, and Here’s the zinger: unless traditional media changes their way of doing business, merchants will continue developing their own delivery mechanism to reach the consumer AND they will do it WITHOUT traditional media! In other words, if we in the media universe don’t change our ways of doing business and accept the new normal, which includes embracing non-traditional media, we will no longer cease to be relevant. Before you can fix the problem, however, you have to understand it. SOURCE: Unmassed.com

5. MEDIA CLUTTER “The gremlin of the media business, clutter, has grown exponentially, particularly in media that are under greater pressure to meet or exceed revenue goals in a recessionary environment. Wisely, many clients have forged ahead with their own clutter-busting ideas.” - Janet Stillson, AdAge READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE Copyright ©2009 Small Media and Large LLC All rights reserved. Confidential and Proprietary. The contents of this material are confidential and proprietary to Smedial. Unauthorized use, disclosure, or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

6. MEDIA CLUTTER It is not unique to the broadcast industry, but it is magnified in the sense that an industry that prides itself in its ability to communicate has a huge problem delivering their own message to the marketplace. Leaving the business community to wonder how can media be trusted to carry our message, when they seemingly cannot do it for themselves? The biggest problem that traditional media faces is that they continue to operate under a multi-silo organizational structure. As illustrated below, a typical television station sends three, four, five and more messages to the market every day, all the while proclaiming that marketing is the “keeper of the brand” and as such is responsible for delivering the appropriate message. Without even realizing that virtually every member of their organization carries the brand to the market, there is no way that this television station can be trusted to deliver a client’s brand message when they are having trouble developing their own. This Siloed Organization suffers from an inconsistent approach and a brand identity that never seems to be fully on the same page. An Integrated Organization succeeds when the approach is unified and all departments carry the same message to the consumer. It is this integrated company that will have the best chance of serving the needs of the client AND the consumer.