Television is Still King...For Now

According to a recent study, television is still the most influential medium in terms of marketing toward consumers. Details can be found here, but the takeaway is that television still earns the most revenue from advertising spots and that is because it was ranked as the most influential. 37% of respondents reported that they rely on tv advertisements more than any other channel, and it was almost quadruple the second highest choice. Newspapers came in second place, followed by the internet.

Although I can't say it's surprising that television takes the cake, I can't believe how low internet was rated on this survey. In an industry that is growing at such a rapid pace, they have struggled to gain influence and trust in the consumer's mind, and this is a problem. Until they are able to gain some trust, consumers will ignore ads from the internet. Social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook offer huge potentials in advertising because of their massive audiences, and I think we will see more of a push to boost credibility and quality of ads seen on these sites. Like an article I discussed earlier, these outlets are already working to make ads more relevant to the individual user, and I think this is a reflection of the industry's goal of moving the internet higher up on this list of influential mediums.

We will see what the next 3 to 5 years brings, but with the growing availability of TiVo and products like it, matched with an intense movement from the internet industry to improve their standings, I would be surprised if the internet had not taken over as the most influential ad medium by 2020.