Want to reach buyers making $100K or more? You'll need to bridge the print/digital divide, says Ipsos MediaCT. The company released its 2012 Mendelsohn Affluent Survey yesterday, revealing that 82% of Affluents read at least one of the 150 measured and reported print publications (143 magazines and 7 national newspapers). Affluent women and "Ultra Affluents" (with a household income of $250k+) are particularly heavy print consumers, with highest reach and number of titles and issues read. The total duplicated average-issue audience (AIA) is more than 221 million, which reveals that the US's 59 million Affluents read an average of 19 issues across an average 8 titles. Ultra Affluents ($250k+) consume more print media, reading an average of 23.5 issues across an average of 10 titles.
"Looking specifically at the 24% of Affluents who read at least one of the six national daily newspapers measured in hard copy form, the total AIA increased by 3.9%, to 11.3 million," says Steve Kraus, Chief Research & Insights Officer for Ipsos MediaCT's Audience Measurement Group.
Television continues to rank first in advertising reach and receptivity, with magazines a close second. But TV has experienced a small drop (-4%) year-over-year (YoY) in the average number of hours watched weekly, for about 17 hours. Also true, 60% of Affluents reported listening to radio in the past week, and among those who listen, average time spent rose 4% to 10.6 hours weekly.
They're Strongly Digital, Too
They're hardly stuck in traditional media. 26% of Affluents personally own a tablet, and 47% live in a household with a tablet, about triple the percentage from 2011. More than half (55%) now own a smartphone, up from 45% in 2011.
Furthermore, Affluents reported using the Internet an average of 37.4 hours weekly, up 14% from 2011, with the largest growth seen in sites related to social media, entertainment and shopping.
Hence, luxury brands plan to ramp up spending on online video and rich media at the expense of traditional media (e.g., magazine and TV ads), per findings from an August 2012 study by Martini Media, in partnership with Digiday. Agency execs estimate that luxury marketers lag mass marketers in the percent they spend in digital marketing (31% vs. 37%), but perhaps they are wise, if Affluents skew higher in viewership, readership and listenership in traditional media.
Content Before Shopping Carts
So Affluents are online, and they spend online; but they expect more online, as well.
SayDaily today described how online retailers—particularly luxury retailers—compete through "value in the content." Simply put, catalogs front themselves as digital magazines.
Case in point, Condiment, the digital magazine about "life's little extras" with life's big pricetags. Condiment attracts readers with articles about "8 Cold Weather Must-Haves," to its upmarket Condiment Shop.
Mr. Porter is a digital front where one can read an article about "Eight Men With Style We Admire," then buy what those eight men are wearing in its catalog section.
Actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s precious online publication Goop went in the opposite direction. It began as a lifestyle blog by Paltrow to share recipes and yoga poses, and to remind us what a regular gal she is despite her Oscar, then merged into a thinly-veiled catalog for "curated essentials" from upscale brands like Chindi & Parker with its $485 sweaters.
But Goop just proves the point: Affluents are lured to shopping carts with content.
