Modern humans are finding new ways to use and consume today’s endless buffet of media options. Like never before, we’re splitting our attention among different media simultaneously. In fact, a recent Agora/BIGresearch consumer study found 27% of television viewers regularly surfing the web at the same time they’re watching TV. About 3 in 10 people who go online also keep their TV on. All of which is leading marcom thinkers to question orthodox ideas about media planning, messaging and measurement.
But if the issue is being well-documented in the general consumer world, up to now no one we know of has looked into the prevalence of media multitasking in our everyday working world, among business people.
SO WE ASKED:
“How and when do you simultaneously use multiple b-to-b and general consumer media when you’re doing things that relate to your job?”
YOU ANSWERED: Turn down that radio, we’ve got the top line for you. Our sample reveals significant media multitasking going on among business people while they’re doing things related to work. Anywhere from 40% to 83% say they “regularly” or “occasionally” multitask their media. Business professionals appear to multitask more than the general consumer audience surveyed in the Agora/BIGresearch study. This is especially true of regularly reading magazines while watching TV (26% for business compared to 6% for consumer) and regularly reading newspapers while watching TV (32% to 9%). Simultaneous use is pervasive across many situations, from 88% who regularly or occasionally read magazines while watching TV, to 83% who read newspapers while watching TV, to 70% who listen to radio while they’re online doing things job-related, to 58% who read business-related direct mail while listening to the radio, to 56% who refer to business publications while they’re online. Obviously, most multitasking for work takes place at work (83%) but there’s a decent amount that takes place at home (17%). More than 8 of 10 business people say they pay more attention to one medium than another while media multitasking. Online and newspapers appear to get the most attention. When people are seeking guidance on decisions related to their work, they most often go online, get advice from other professionals, refer to articles in trade journals and read articles in general business magazines.
Whole lot of multitasking goin’ on.
Compared to civilians, we’re the AV club: One elite corps of multimedia pros. For example, over 26% of our surveyees say they regularly read business/trade magazines while watching TV, compared to 6% of consumers reading magazines in the Agora/BIGresearch sample
Respondents completed a survey covering their media habits, including traditional b-to-b media, and contributed comments and insights.
It’s no surprise to us: Business people are truly hooked on multitasking. Whether reading a trade magazine while watching TV, or opening direct mail while listening to radio at work, our sample revealed high levels of occasional or regular simultaneous media use.
While doing this...
Regularly or occasionally engage in other media
(average among all media choices in given use case)
reading newspaper
83%
watching TV
67%
listening to radio
57%
reading trade or business magazines
54%
going online for work
45%
reading work-related print material
44%
going through mail/memos at work
40%
If you can manage to tear yourself away from reading your Harvard Business Review while watching Greatest Hair Metal Stupidities on VH1, go ahead and pat yourself on the back. Our survey found that in most media categories, business-to-business people tend to multitask more than the general consumer sample.
The exception
Because of their lack of access to TV at work, business people don’t regularly multitask TV and online media while doing things related to their work. However, when you consider that 17% of business professionals multitask while working at home and that 52% regularly or occasionally go online to business sites while watching TV, the results seem pretty significant.
Audience comparisons of those who regularly:
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| consumers | business | ||
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| read magazines while watching TV | 6% | 26% | |
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| read business/trade magazines while watching TV | n/a | 26% | |
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| read newspapers while watching TV | 9% | 32% | |
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| go online while watching TV | 27% | 16% | |
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| go online while reading a magazine | * 5% | 16% | |
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| go online while listening to radio | * 16% | 33% | |
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| read magazines while listening to radio | * 5% | 26% | |
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| read newspapers while listening to radio | * 9% | 26% | |
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| read direct mail while listening to radio | * 8% | 20% | |
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| listen to radio while online | * 16% | 26% | |
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| read magazines while online | * 3% | 13% | |
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| read direct mail while online | * 11% | 11% | |
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| watch TV while online | * 34% | 5% | |
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| *Agora/BIGresearch SIMM study March 2003 of Wal-Mart, Target, JC Penney consumers | |||
What kind of cosmic multitasking bunny hole have we fallen through here? And most importantly, it suggests that the business audience your media plan presumes is singularly focused on a publication or your print ad or your direct mail piece or your cable TV spot is more probably involved with at least one other medium at the same time. Think of it this way: 76% of your business audience regularly or occasionally read trade publications while watching TV. About half log on to a business website while they’re at the TV. Seven of 10 listen to radio while they’re searching a business site; 56% refer to business publications while they’re online doing things related to their job; while listening to radio, 66% read a trade publication; and 64% of listeners go online to a business site. Our survey also confirms that some things just seem to go together. Reading magazines is often accompanied by the drone of TV and radio. Radio listeners especially favor visiting websites and flipping through magazines. Work-oriented web users favor radio.
OK, Alice, it’s time to double-click on the refresh icon called business media and reframe the environment your messages are going into. The survey gives us a glimpse into just how pervasive simultaneous media use is among professionals across virtually all business media today.
When business people do this...
They also do this...
regularly
regularly /
occasionally
watch TV
read consumer magazines
26%
88%
read business publication
26%
76%
go online to consumer site
15%
58%
go online to business site
16%
52%
go online for
things that
are job-relatedlisten to radio
26%
70%
refer to business publication
13%
56%
refer to sales literature
9%
50%
read direct mail
11%
47%
read newspaper
watch tv
28%
83%
listen to radio
21%
74%
read trade journals
watch tv
13%
64%
listen to radio
19%
62%
go online
16%
45%
listen to radio
read newspaper
26%
71%
read consumer magazine
22%
67%
read business journal
26%
66%
go online to business site
33%
64%
read direct mail
20%
58%
go online to consumer site
34%
52%
Huh? What? Don’t bother me; I’m turning into a preoccupied blithering idiot. Not only that, they seem to have some favorites that they consistently attend to more than others. Last time they used media simultaneously, business people said they paid the most attention to:
In the words of T. S. Eliot, we’re “distracted from distractions by distractions.” So in order to keep their sanity and their ability to function professionally, a whopping 83% of business people told us that they pay more attention to one medium over another when using them simultaneously.
online
41%
newspapers
20%
TV
18%
trade journals
5%
general business publications
5%
radio
4%
direct mail
4%
sales literature
1%
never use media simultaneously
2%
Karloffing around the mediascape in their Doc Martens?
You could get the impression that business people are multitasking monsters wandering aimlessly as they simultaneously bounce off medium after medium until their minds are numb.
But that’s not true. In fact, when it comes time to make business decisions, people tend to turn to certain media more than others for advice and direction. Online, other professionals, articles in trade and general business magazines and, believe it or not, product literature appear to be the “go-to” media for business people.
When making decisions related to work, business people most often:
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| regularly | regularly / occasionally |
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| go online | 93% | 99% | |
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| seek advice of other professionals | 61% | 99% | |
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| read articles in trade publications | 58% | 97% | |
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| read articles in general business publications | 52% | 95% | |
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| read product literature | 45% | 92% | |
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| read direct mail | 15% | 73% | |
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| watch business TV programs | 4% | 44% | |
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| listen to business radio programs | 3% | 34% | |
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Rectum? It almost killed ’em: the Mobium bottom line.
There are more misconceptions about how communications is really taking place out there in the real world than a press conference with Saddam Hussein’s Information Minister.
So now would be a good time to get our heads out of our collective butts and realize that business marketing information and messages are not being delivered, used or perceived in the ways most of us were taught. Or, for that matter, in ways for which they are currently planned and executed. Our business messages are being hurled into environments that are very different than the ones they were conceived to go into.
See those pit stains on Ms. Media’s shirt?
With multitasking so prevalent in so many situations, the question begs to be asked: If people are paying attention to more than one thing, can they grasp any of it? And if not, or only somewhat, do these media exposures count? For communicators, these crucial issues must be addressed in future studies that look at things like comparative media intrusiveness and message comprehension in simultaneous use situations. And while we’re waiting for more answers, we just might take a second look at McLuhan.
Amidst the attention chaos of the simultaneous multimedia maelstrom going on out there it looks like McLuhan was right. Some media are hot and some are cold. Some media are paid more attention to than others in a given situation.
OK, if we only have the attention span of a gnat, let’s focus it on the real issue.
The real question, it seems to us, has nothing to do with picking one medium over others. The real issue is figuring out how and when to use “background” media to direct and drive audiences to attended-to, “foreground” media — media where involvement in messages is more intense, interactive, relevant, immediate and, as a result, more compelling and memorable at a specific time. And that requires understanding what kinds of messages are most effective in each situation.
So while you’re at it, did you check out the Creative Director’s pants?
One thing is clear: the simplistic “three-hit” media models that were developed in the days of the Edsel and perpetuated ever since have, in practical terms, gone the way of the Edsel. Chiefly because they are divorced from considerations of their messages’ subject/time relevance to the audience as well as attention and involvement level requirements of the people who receive them.
In other words, they are developed in a one-dimensional spreadsheet vacuum devoid of creative content and context.
Extricating our b-to-b heads from our business communications butts.
So what are business marketers doing about this situation? More than half tell us they are not currently accounting for the effects of simultaneous media use when assessing media buys and budgets. In fact, only four of 10 business marketing people are either considering the effects of simultaneous use somewhat or a lot.
Recognizing the situation is the first step in the extrication process. But we should be a lot further along than that. We think the trends and implications call for closer consideration by more business marketers.
In fact, to us, the question no longer revolves around if or even how the communications environment has changed. The question is how can media planning, message development, integration, delivery and measurement evolve to meet the challenges of this new paradigm.
Finally...and most importantly…what did you think?
When offered the chance to share their general opinions about media multitasking, respondents contributed these comments:
“When I take work home is the time I most frequently am online and watching television simultaneously.”
“The radio is on the background as I am answering this.”
“I realize that I do not usually tend to use media simultaneously, however I will when it pertains to the radio or a TV program I’m watching.”
“Most will probably admit that multitasking makes one FEEL more productive (receptive), when in fact it’s likely to make one LESS productive (receptive). Hmmm... This quiz sure makes me think about perceptions and realities in the productivity/receptivity equation. Thinking about the impact of this on communications really interesting.”
“Is it a hot medium or a cold medium—time to consult Marshall McLuhan.”
“At work, I don’t typically have access to many different types of media at the same time. When working from home, I use dial up for the Internet which precludes me from using some other forms of media (including the TV in the other room).”
“I don’t like direct mail. It seems a waste and I have never been convinced to buy or use something because of it. Word of mouth especially backed by an article or a networking event handout seems to impress me more. I like to try new things and if I can discover something through an article or an acquaintance, I’ll consider it. At least explore it more.”
“I mostly listen to the radio in the car or for ambient noise, so you may want to take those elements into account.”
“A man with two watches is never sure about what time it is.”
A distracted thumbs-up from us.
Congratulations to the three lucky winners of the book Information Anxiety 2 by Richard Saul Wurman. We also hope you enjoyed our online booklet, Interactivating Your Messages in the Face of Business Communications Change. Also, special congratulations to the winners of the swanky and functional super-special computer rear-view mirror which allows its users to multitask in several directions at once.
Thanks to all our multitasking survey takers. And watch for the next Marketing Out Loud Survey from Mobium, arriving soon here at mobium.com.