Media&Marketing: Are DVDs and games consoles slowly killing off TV and radio consumption among younger consumers?

Advertisers constantly talk about how hard it is to reach those aged between 15 and 24. This is mainly because the leisure activities of this group are so diffuse and a major switch-off may be underway.

New figures from AC Nielsen suggest other distractions are pulling younger consumers away from the television. Even more worrying for advertisers and TV companies is that this phenomenon is not confined to younger age groups.

While RTÉ will shortly report a strong surplus in excess of €3 million, the long-term climate for advertising depends on winning the allegiance of younger consumers.

This is of vital interest to the likes of TV3 as well, which owns valuable TV rights such as Coronation Street.

In 2004, individuals (aged four and upward) watched on average two hours and 54 minutes of television per day. But this was down from three hours in 2003, and 3 hours and six minutes in 2002.

While the decreases probably mean little in the short term, the big switch-off is much more pronounced among younger groups, particularly those between 15 and 24.

Back in 2001, this group was watching almost two-and-half hours of television per day, but this is now in danger of dropping to two hours.

The only comforting trend for TV companies and those who advertise with them is that another group - people working in the home with children - are increasing their television consumption.

It is difficult to be precise about what younger media consumers are doing each day.

Loyalty to the radio sector appears to be holding up, however.

Last year, 87 per cent of the population listened to a radio station (local, national and special interest) at least once during the day.

In 2003, the figure was 86 per cent. Readership figures are also holding up for newspapers, so the mystery of the disappearing younger TV viewers looks set to continue.

British v Irish media

New figures released by the Advertising Association in Britain highlight how similar the UK media market is to our own.

The only major difference is the power of the press, according to Dublin agency Saor Communications which has analysed the figures.

In Britain, the press takes the lion's share of advertising at 48 per cent, but in Ireland this is even higher at 68 per cent share.

Second place in terms of advertising revenue goes to the TV sector in both markets: it has a 25 per cent share of advertising spending in the UK and 17 per cent in Ireland.

Outdoor takes third place in both markets, with a 5.4 per cent share in the UK and a 7 per cent share in Ireland.

Of course, when it comes to scale, the two markets are very different.

The British advertising market is worth €26 billion, while our own modest market has an annual value of €1.3 billion.

Moving images

If the State-owned bus company, Dublin Bus, can do it, why not the private sector? Dublin Bus vehicles have been carrying advertising for years and now the company's main Dublin rival, Aircoach, is planning to use its fleet for advertising purposes.

Aircoach is no longer owned by businessman John O'Sullivan. Two years ago, most of the company was purchased by UK bus operators First Group plc.

Until the bus market is liberalised, Aircoach will remain a relatively small player but, in the meantime, it must maximise all commercial opportunities.

In recent weeks, advertisers have been offered the chance to take space on 15-inch LCD screens placed inside the 24 buses it operates in Dublin.

The screens will be available to advertisers from mid-April onwards.

A monthly package on the screens will cost over €2,000.

Advertise yourself

Major discount retailers are notorious for maintaining a sceptical distance from traditional advertising agencies.

Indeed, many retailers have gone the direct route, booking their own space and designing their own campaigns directly with media owners.

But German retailer Aldi has been happy to use the services of an advertising agency for some time. Now its account in the UK has moved from Carney Richardson to McCann Erickson in Manchester.

This could have a implications for the Irish market. The Aldi account here is believed to be worth between €4 million and €5 million.

While not the biggest account in the market, the level of attention lavished on discounters such as Aldi and Lidl makes it a high-profile piece of business.

It is expected that Aldi will use McCann Erickson Dublin when planning its Irish campaigns, although no official deal has been agreed yet. McCann Erickson Dublin was unavailable for comment when contacted yesterday.

Stuart Fogarty, the managing director of AFA O'Meara, said the use by Aldi of an agency was significant.

"Whilst 95 per cent of major advertising goes through established ad agencies, a number of clients, notably in retail, decided over the years to place their advertising directly with the media themselves, notably Ryanair and Dunnes Stores.

"It's interesting that Aldi have seen the light and decided to use an agency.

"We can only assume that they now feel they get better advice and a more professional outlook from an advertising agency and so say all of us," he commented.

Emmet Oliver can be contacted at eoliver@irish-times.ie