Hedrick+R.+Final+Report

Hedrick R.
 * Proximity Research Report **


 * Reaching Your Target Audience Through More Effective Advertising **


 * A Guide to Reaching Female Members of Gen Y **

Ben Hedrick Associate Media Analyst Proximity

Spring 2010

**Table of Contents **


 * Title Page **


 * Table of Contents **


 * Executive Summary **


 * Introduction**


 * How the way Gen Y receives Entertainment is Constantly Changing **


 * Differences between Sexes and Age Groups and How they view Entertainment **


 * How Female Members of Gen Y specifically View Entertainment **


 * The Future of How Females Receive Their Entertainment **


 * Implications and Recommendations **


 * Attachments **


 * Resources **

=Exectutive Summary= In the past, it has been fairly easy for companies to reach their target audiences through advertising. Making this easier for companies to effectively advertise to people was the fact that very little modes of entertainment were availible. However, today's world has changed in many ways from yesterday's, expecially for companies trying to effectively advertise. Beginning with new technology which gives people many more different ways to view entertainment. This technology has not only given us new ways to view entertainment, but it has also made it possible for people to be selective to be able to use any one method that they like. This has made advertising for companies much more difficult than it has been in the past.

The technology has also furthered this complication by creating gaps between males and females and how they each view entertainment differently. Along with this, new technology and methods of entertainment are being developed constantly which only serves to further all of these problems and obstacles that companies face in advertising. In order for companies to be successful in reaching their target audiences, these questions along with others must be answered acurately.

=Introduction= Gen Y is currently being surrounded with new methods of viewing entertainment. This constantly changing methods being used by Gen Y has made it difficult for many companies to keep up with the msot effective ways to advertise to Gen Y. It has become neccessary for companies to not only learn about the new modes of entertainment for Gen Y, but also the implications of them in order to make the most of their entertainment.

=How Geny Y Recieves Their Entertainment Is Constantly Chaging= The very fact that Gen Y has a constantly changing source of entertainment is a main problem that faces companies trying to advertise. It use to be that T.V. and radio with the two main sources for people to be entertained. This made it very easy for companies to effectively reach their target audience through advertising. However, this has since changed to become one of the major obstacles for companies because of the fact that this not only has changed but that it continues to do so.

Today, the entertainment world has made it much easier for Gen Y to get their entertainment. Instead of making time to watch a specific show or movie on T.V., gen Y can now access that same movie or show online. This means that a person can view the show whenever it best fits into their schedule. This fact alone has drawn many members of Gen Y to use online streaming versus watching a show on prime time. The leader in online streaming content today is a site called Hulu. This site contains a great deal of shows that Gen Y is very interested in watching. Hulu makes viewing this entertainment easy and relatively stress free by minimizing the amount of advertising that each program gets. Hulu has also made it easier for companies to advertise by place adds only on shows that pertain the intended audience. For example, shows that are watched maily by males, only have advertising that are trying to reach males.

Along with online streaming, Netflix also provides Gen Y the capability of streaming content though both online and platform outlets. This makes it even easier for Gen Y to recieve their content by expaning upon the already large amount of options availible. Both Hulu and Netflix use advertisers to help make revenue.

=Differences Between Sexes and Age Groups and How They View Entertainment= There has always been differences between how certian people view their entertainment. These differences can be based on age, sex, as well as the amount of entertainment a person views. However, in today;s world of constantly changing modes of entertainment, these differences have been compounded. Today, with Gen Y, there is a large difference mainly between the sexes on how they view entertainment. Female members of Geny Y are still more likely to make time to watch their favorite shows on prime time cable in order to see it right away. Many of them also are not able to stream simply beause they have never done it before and they do not know how.

Males on the other hand are much more likely to stream content through an online provider or through a service like Netflix. This is true because it makes life much more easier for them to be able to view their shows whenever they want. Males are also more likely to stream movies online illegally even though the quality of the picture is not very good. MAles are more likely to know how to stream as well as how to use services such as Netflix in order to stream there entertainment.

Along with view entertainment in different ways, Gen Y males and females also have a different idea of what entertianment is. Males are more likely to watch shows likfe Family Guy and UFC and live sports, while females prefer to watch shows like Survivor and Dancing with the Stars.

=How Female Members of Gen Y Specifically view Entertainment= According to focus group results, the majority of the female members of Gen Y do not know how to stream. The easiest way for them to view entertainment is through prime time, ondemand, movie rentals, or going to the theaters. Along with how they view entertainment, it is alos important to know what they consider important so that companies know when to advertise and not just how. Females are not concerned with making time to watch very masculin shows or movies. This does not mean that they do not watch them, but it does mean that they will usually not make time to watch them on prime time. Females will however make time to watch shows like Biggest Loser, American Idol, and Dancing with the Stars.

=Future of How Females View Their Entertainment= According to Focus group results, females are willing and interested in learng how to stream video content on a regular basis as a way to view their entertainment. However, this is dependant on streaming providers. For example, there is a chance that sites like Hulu will begin to start to charge for their services. On a whole, Gen Y is not willing to pay fo rthese services. Also, the quality and ease of streaming video conten must get much easier for females to be willing to learn to use it. Even though the mode of entertinment will change however, the conten in which they are viewing will not change. Females will continue to watch the same type of shows whether it be online or on prime time cable.

=Implications and Recomendations= According to the above imformation, Companies should consider new avenues in which to advertise. Since, female members of Gen Y currently still watch their favorite shows on prime time, companies should continue to place ads in the commercials fo them. However, to compensate for the change from prime time to online streaming video content, it is important for companies to start placing advertising in the shows that females like to watch on online streaming sites such as Hulu. Many Companies have already do this and added their advertisements right into the site. It is important for companies to start doing this in order to keep up witht he constantly changing market.

=Attachments=