These news must be getting old

While the upfront is chugging along and advertisers continue to flock to the golden goose called TV, news broke yesterday that the average broadcast network viewer median age was 50. (Not including DVR users.) As Variety put it: “…if they were a person, they wouldn’t even be a part of TV’s target demo anymore.”

While the video viewing experience will become more and more important, the traditional TV experience is dying a slow death. This doesn’t mean above 50 aren’t desirable audiences and shouldn’t be addressed in your communcation strategy. But it means that younger generations have changed their behavior for good and won’t return. It happened with radio, newspapers and TV. And it will continue to happen with the online and mobile experience. Technology doesn’t drive revolutions. Changes in basic behavior drive societal changes. And we’re in the middle of one.

Selling out Social Networks

We tend to value things by putting a price tag on it: The watch must be good because it costs $5,000. The Mercedes-Benz must be better because it’s more expensive than the VW. Applying the same method to relationships or connections seems laughable: What is the value of a friend? What is the value of a business connection?  

Unfortunately, Wall Street, many businesses and agencies try to value Social Networks just on a monetary basis. They see the overvaluation of Facebook as a reminder of the dotcom bubble and a warning sign that all this talk about Social Media and Conversational Marketing might just be that: talk. 

I agree: Facebook is not a $15 billion company. But, at the same time, I couldn’t care less. I’m not Mark Zuckerberg, I’m not an investor, shareholder, don’t really care if Facebook ever makes a profit. I don’t even care if Facebook survives the next two years, ends up to be another MySpace aka Advertising Network or thrives and prospers. But users care: Once they feel the sell-out, they’re moving on.

What I care about are changing behavior patterns: People don’t ask companies anymore to get them things, they ask their peers. People avoid advertising at any cost but they are open to valuable tools that facilitate their conversations. Facebook is one site where many of these changing behavior patterns manifest themselves. There are thousand others. And you can experience it outside of the digital space: In airplanes, at work, in pre-school, stuck in traffic.  

Debating the value of MySpace or Facebook might be an entertaining discussion. But it distracts us from the fact that people are changing. Relationships and connections are the real value of Social Networks. Not a Wall Street price tag. 

Can you still buy marketshare?

Yes and no.

According to HuffingtonPost, Mitt Romney spent $1.16 million per delegate, a rate that would cost him $1.33 billion to win the nomination. The pundits will give you many reasons for his failure: flip-flopping, religion, track record, etc. The real reason is that he never connected with people in an authentic way. Most people thought he didn’t stand for anything, was not an authentic candidate. His campaign was muddled, never had a real focus and left possible followers shrugging their shoulders.

Compare this to Al Gore’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ campaign (If you want to call it a campaign.) The benefit to people was tangible, easy to understand. The premise and science behind was complex but it gave people hope by asking them to change their daily habits. Even though many detractors tried to undermine the climate change movement, they didn’t stand a chance against an audience that believed Al Gore was authentic and truthful when he was communicating his message.  

Marketshare can still be bought: Chevy Malibu showed us exactly that in the last few months. But you need to support your mass reach campaign with platforms that help people start their own mini-campaign within the campaign. This will help move your message from the Cul-de-sac of mass media to the viral world of social media and conversational marketing. Ask Mitt Romney.