State of the Media 2011

With hundreds of thousands of television, radio, print and online outlets, are you wondering where to focus your media and P.R. Efforts?  Here’s some new data  courtesy of the experts at media monitoring service Vocus: TV wakes up earlier, radio continues to put record cume numbers on the board, and the world of print is still seeing declines.

Radio: Keep in mind that when we refer to “radio”, we mean all audio platforms…AM, FM, satellite, podcasts, streaming audio/web only radio, etc. Overall radio listenership continues to increase, but is more fractured than ever.  70% of radio listening happens in the car.  Maximize your radio appearances by remembering to include additional content for station’s web presence.

Print: The Audit Bureau of Circulations reports U.S. magazine sales dropped 7% in the second half of 2010 following a 6% drop in the first half. Even the top title — AARP The Magazine — was off 3%. Mobile platforms are the fastest growing obsession in the magazine world; look for an explosion of magazine apps this year. For newspapers, the trend is also online; 18 of the 36 newspapers that launched in the past year are online only, while hyper-local news sites are catching on. AOL.com’s Patch.com service alone launched over 700 sites.

Television: In TV, additional pitching opportunities are coming in the form of many stations expanding their morning news start time even earlier (in some markets, as early as 4am) and their expanded mobile and digital presence. Also, look for continued strong Spanish language TV growth.

On-line: The big trend is for traditional media outlets like newspapers and radio stations to focus on their “on-line brand”, with reporters filing web columns, and air talent supplying video content.  Online video is big: In January 2011, 83.5 percent of the U.S. Internet audience, or 171 million Americans, watched online video, according to a report from market research firm comScore. Google sites, driven by YouTube, were the top providers in January with 144.1 million unique viewers. The report also says Americans watched more than 4.3 billion video ads during the month. Do you have video as part of your online media kit?  If not, you should…and, if you don’t have video for your site, contact us and we can help get you produce a clip.