Post by Inside Australian Idol on Mar 11, 2005 0:29:51 GMT 10
The perfect TV age
March 10, 2005
Television stations are targetting women in the 16 to 39 age group.
Photo: Montage
What's all the fuss about 16 to 39-year-old TV viewers? Wendy Tuohy examines the numbers.
You love your SMS, your mates, watching anything on TV with Gretel Kileen in it - and maybe even your mum for still doing your washing despite the fact you are 27 and back living at home (saving).
You watch about two hours of TV a night, drive a used car, are a bit of a sceptic are not particularly bonded to any one type of toothpaste - or any other brand for that matter.
If you are a guy, you might have been an X Files fan and now you like a bit of CSI and the Friday Night Football - plus computer games for entertainment.
If you are a girl, you probably went to at least one Melrose Place party, voted for Guy Sebastian or some other Idol star and can't wait to get to work to dissect the last Desperate Housewives.
You are part of the loose group of TV watchers known in the industry as the 16 to 39 demographic; a seemingly disparate bunch but an endlessly analysed one. One whole free-to-air TV network has dedicated its energies to romancing your remote, and the others are also more than a little interested in how you use it.
AdvertisementWhen television writers discuss the success of a new show, they often refer to you as the "key 16 to 39s", the "cashed-up 16 to 39s" or the "coveted 16 to 39s" - the group whose patronage means gold for the network.
But what is so special about the 16 to 39s as distinct from the rest of us, and why has it become accepted TV wisdom that their viewing habits matter so much?
For the Ten network, winning the hearts and loyalty of such younger viewers has become a mission since it introduced the strategy nearly a decade ago.
As the network's general manager of sales, Grant Blackley tells it, the then-battling network was just coming out of receivership, into a "highly competitive" TV market in the early '90s, when the youth-programming policy emerged.
Network executives found themselves left with a range of on-air product that was naturally appealing to 16 to 39s, and decided to make that group Ten's target or "core" audience. "We had a suite of product (programs) that gave us the option of going in a direction and focusing on a particular (viewer) profile, which we felt would be profitable," says Grant Blackley.
Since then "we have continued to strengthen our position in the 16 to 39s." The network is the almost-undisputed king of the age group.
This has been good for the fortunes of Ten, he says, because "no less than 40 per cent" of advertising clients want to target younger viewers. The advertisers want them because their research shows 16 to 39 year-olds are still flexible in their brand preferences and ripe to be hooked for their consuming life by the right campaign.
"They are very impressionable, and a lot of marketers spend an extensive amount of time trying to understand their consumer habits," says Blackley. "They want to know how they can lock in these impressionable younger people, (because) that allows you what a lot see as a life-long benefit."
Ten's "We Want You" message has gotten through to young viewers, who became very dedicated to programs such as Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, The Simpsons, Neighbours and The X Files. More recently, they liked The Secret Life of Us and have helped make Rove a household name.
They stayed with the network to participate in "event" TV shows such as Big Brother and Australian Idol.
And although these viewers are acknowledged by the industry as the most fickle and transient, they have demonstrated great loyalty, says David Mott, the network programmer.
He says the young viewers appreciate the entertainment value of such so-called "water cooler" shows as Idol or Big Brother, and enjoy talking about them with friends at water coolers or anywhere else in their schools, universities or the workplaces.
Another plus for advertisers is that young viewers get very personally engaged in their favourite programs, as demonstrated by what Grant Blackley says is an "unprecedented" number of viewer calls to the Ten switch after screenings of the US drama The OC.
"All our viewer (feedback) reports say they want to know more about The OC, want more depth on the program. It is 'appointment' viewing; they watch in a group, and when you (a program) are on an appointment list it becomes a must-see."
And the marketing language used to talk about those young viewers by Ten - which always stresses the importance of winning 16 to 39s - has been adopted by commentators and industry observers to the point where it is virtually a given that that getting them watching really counts.
Gradually, the 16 to 39s have taken on what influential media ad-space buyers such as Harold Mitchell say is an importance in the minds of some that outweighs their numerical significance and their spending power.
"The strength of the under-40s is a myth," says Mitchell, who has been asked to interpret data on the spending power and size of various viewer-demographics (and hence the importance to advertisers) to extremely senior people in commercial television.
"Over-40s account for 44 per cent of the population, and 55 per cent of people over 16. They have 54 per cent of total income and 58 per cent of discretionary income," says Mitchell. One third of the ads whose space is bought for clients by Mitchell are aimed at 18 to 39 year-olds.
Mark Pejic, managing partner at the large media consultancy Zenith, agrees that while "the focus has been taken off anyone older than 40, and it's become the new currency to talk about people with money under 40", the reality is the baby boomers are more valuable to networks in dollar terms.
But even though the buying-power of the under-40s may be mythical, Harold Mitchell and others say the Ten network is to be congratulated for the way in which it has marketed the value of the 16 to 39s.
The impression that those viewers matter more has been created so successfully that Mitchell and Mark Pejic have observed other networks considering adjusting their programming strategy.
Says Mitchell: "Others have been tempted to skew (their programming) younger; last year Channel Seven tried to meet Channel Ten head on with shows such as Popstars and fell between two stools to an extent ... Now Seven have turned back to their core (all-ages programming strategy) they are within a whisker of being number one (rating network in Australia)."
Says Mark Pejic: "Seven tried to young-down last year, but it worked completely against them, because their product wasn't suited as a whole to that demographic.
"They overloaded on reality, and the wrong type; too many bits (such as short seasons of The Simple Life or Average Joe)."
Conversely, Harold Mitchell says Ten "has been able to isolate them (16 to 39s) and promote them and to have parts of the advertising industry respond to them - they are very good at promoting themselves".
In reality, says Mitchell, the baby-boomers are the more influential bunch of TV watchers because they have more disposable income than other age groups and are willing to spend money on life-enhancers such as travel, hobbies or goods.
The Seven network's director, corporate development, Simon Francis, says that although the network did have a strategy in the last two years to reduce the average age of its target audience, the network, like Nine, regards 25 to 54 as the key age-group for commercial television.
"The target audience for television is 25 to 54; that is the largest segment (in society) demographically, and most advertisers target that," says Francis.
The idea of targeting 16 to 39-year olds is "purely an Australian phenomenon; largely a result of Ten marketing itself as the youth network as a perennial solution to coming third (in overall ratings)," he says.
March 10, 2005
Television stations are targetting women in the 16 to 39 age group.
Photo: Montage
What's all the fuss about 16 to 39-year-old TV viewers? Wendy Tuohy examines the numbers.
You love your SMS, your mates, watching anything on TV with Gretel Kileen in it - and maybe even your mum for still doing your washing despite the fact you are 27 and back living at home (saving).
You watch about two hours of TV a night, drive a used car, are a bit of a sceptic are not particularly bonded to any one type of toothpaste - or any other brand for that matter.
If you are a guy, you might have been an X Files fan and now you like a bit of CSI and the Friday Night Football - plus computer games for entertainment.
If you are a girl, you probably went to at least one Melrose Place party, voted for Guy Sebastian or some other Idol star and can't wait to get to work to dissect the last Desperate Housewives.
You are part of the loose group of TV watchers known in the industry as the 16 to 39 demographic; a seemingly disparate bunch but an endlessly analysed one. One whole free-to-air TV network has dedicated its energies to romancing your remote, and the others are also more than a little interested in how you use it.
AdvertisementWhen television writers discuss the success of a new show, they often refer to you as the "key 16 to 39s", the "cashed-up 16 to 39s" or the "coveted 16 to 39s" - the group whose patronage means gold for the network.
But what is so special about the 16 to 39s as distinct from the rest of us, and why has it become accepted TV wisdom that their viewing habits matter so much?
For the Ten network, winning the hearts and loyalty of such younger viewers has become a mission since it introduced the strategy nearly a decade ago.
As the network's general manager of sales, Grant Blackley tells it, the then-battling network was just coming out of receivership, into a "highly competitive" TV market in the early '90s, when the youth-programming policy emerged.
Network executives found themselves left with a range of on-air product that was naturally appealing to 16 to 39s, and decided to make that group Ten's target or "core" audience. "We had a suite of product (programs) that gave us the option of going in a direction and focusing on a particular (viewer) profile, which we felt would be profitable," says Grant Blackley.
Since then "we have continued to strengthen our position in the 16 to 39s." The network is the almost-undisputed king of the age group.
This has been good for the fortunes of Ten, he says, because "no less than 40 per cent" of advertising clients want to target younger viewers. The advertisers want them because their research shows 16 to 39 year-olds are still flexible in their brand preferences and ripe to be hooked for their consuming life by the right campaign.
"They are very impressionable, and a lot of marketers spend an extensive amount of time trying to understand their consumer habits," says Blackley. "They want to know how they can lock in these impressionable younger people, (because) that allows you what a lot see as a life-long benefit."
Ten's "We Want You" message has gotten through to young viewers, who became very dedicated to programs such as Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, The Simpsons, Neighbours and The X Files. More recently, they liked The Secret Life of Us and have helped make Rove a household name.
They stayed with the network to participate in "event" TV shows such as Big Brother and Australian Idol.
And although these viewers are acknowledged by the industry as the most fickle and transient, they have demonstrated great loyalty, says David Mott, the network programmer.
He says the young viewers appreciate the entertainment value of such so-called "water cooler" shows as Idol or Big Brother, and enjoy talking about them with friends at water coolers or anywhere else in their schools, universities or the workplaces.
Another plus for advertisers is that young viewers get very personally engaged in their favourite programs, as demonstrated by what Grant Blackley says is an "unprecedented" number of viewer calls to the Ten switch after screenings of the US drama The OC.
"All our viewer (feedback) reports say they want to know more about The OC, want more depth on the program. It is 'appointment' viewing; they watch in a group, and when you (a program) are on an appointment list it becomes a must-see."
And the marketing language used to talk about those young viewers by Ten - which always stresses the importance of winning 16 to 39s - has been adopted by commentators and industry observers to the point where it is virtually a given that that getting them watching really counts.
Gradually, the 16 to 39s have taken on what influential media ad-space buyers such as Harold Mitchell say is an importance in the minds of some that outweighs their numerical significance and their spending power.
"The strength of the under-40s is a myth," says Mitchell, who has been asked to interpret data on the spending power and size of various viewer-demographics (and hence the importance to advertisers) to extremely senior people in commercial television.
"Over-40s account for 44 per cent of the population, and 55 per cent of people over 16. They have 54 per cent of total income and 58 per cent of discretionary income," says Mitchell. One third of the ads whose space is bought for clients by Mitchell are aimed at 18 to 39 year-olds.
Mark Pejic, managing partner at the large media consultancy Zenith, agrees that while "the focus has been taken off anyone older than 40, and it's become the new currency to talk about people with money under 40", the reality is the baby boomers are more valuable to networks in dollar terms.
But even though the buying-power of the under-40s may be mythical, Harold Mitchell and others say the Ten network is to be congratulated for the way in which it has marketed the value of the 16 to 39s.
The impression that those viewers matter more has been created so successfully that Mitchell and Mark Pejic have observed other networks considering adjusting their programming strategy.
Says Mitchell: "Others have been tempted to skew (their programming) younger; last year Channel Seven tried to meet Channel Ten head on with shows such as Popstars and fell between two stools to an extent ... Now Seven have turned back to their core (all-ages programming strategy) they are within a whisker of being number one (rating network in Australia)."
Says Mark Pejic: "Seven tried to young-down last year, but it worked completely against them, because their product wasn't suited as a whole to that demographic.
"They overloaded on reality, and the wrong type; too many bits (such as short seasons of The Simple Life or Average Joe)."
Conversely, Harold Mitchell says Ten "has been able to isolate them (16 to 39s) and promote them and to have parts of the advertising industry respond to them - they are very good at promoting themselves".
In reality, says Mitchell, the baby-boomers are the more influential bunch of TV watchers because they have more disposable income than other age groups and are willing to spend money on life-enhancers such as travel, hobbies or goods.
The Seven network's director, corporate development, Simon Francis, says that although the network did have a strategy in the last two years to reduce the average age of its target audience, the network, like Nine, regards 25 to 54 as the key age-group for commercial television.
"The target audience for television is 25 to 54; that is the largest segment (in society) demographically, and most advertisers target that," says Francis.
The idea of targeting 16 to 39-year olds is "purely an Australian phenomenon; largely a result of Ten marketing itself as the youth network as a perennial solution to coming third (in overall ratings)," he says.