Addressing Consumers with Faster Sampling Rates

A recent seminar, “The ABCs of the New Entertainment Economy,” held by PricewaterhouseCoopers and entertainment law firm Littler Mendelson illuminates the fundamental fact that the days of available undivided attention are long over with insights into how it will affect brand and corporate strategies. Bennett McClellan, Managing Director of Strategic Consulting, Entertainment and Media Practice, PwC Consulting, explains that in their interactions with media, consumers are mirroring the way the technology itself works. “They are no longer looking for a continuous picture. They are multitasking content fare from the media menu. It’s not Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) — it’s faster sampling,” states the co-author of “Vying for Attention: The Future of Competing in Entertainment and Media — Our Industry Perspective 2001-2005,” adding that, “People have more choices and more ways to connect, but only the same number of hours in the day. Companies must reconsider what products they deliver and how they deliver them.” Thus, vying for attention becomes the competition for mind-space that a producer must win in order to succeed.

Download a PDF of the report “Vying for Attention: The Future of Competing in Entertainment and Media — Our Industry Perspective 2001-2005” free of charge at: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/threast/pdfs/pwc/pwc_vying.pdf (requires Acrobat Reader)

Moderator Comment: How do you create and distribute
new product marketing messages that reach and are acted on by consumers?

The average consumer gets hit with over one million advertising
messages every year and retains about one percent of what is communicated. Coupon
sampling rates of two percent are the rule for direct promotion. Broad media
communications such as radio and TV commercials offer a potentially large audience
but no promise of actual delivery.

Marketing technology that focuses on actual shopping
behavior such as that developed by Concept Shopping (www.conceptshopping.com)
seems to offer a more personalized approach and direct connection to consumers
but is it a means to introducing new products? [George
Anderson – Moderator]