Week 5: Do traditional measures still make sense for our fragmented audiences?

Even living under the same roof, everyone enjoys contents on different media and devices. In a typical nuclear family, while the mom is watching her favourite drama on TV, the dad is reading The Guardian on his Kindle. Upstairs, the son is riveted to a Star Wars movie, and his little sister next door is sweeping through her Instagram pages.

Although the number of media channels increased tremendously in recent years, traditional broadcast such as television is still indispensable in many households.  Let’s take the recent World Cup event as an example. Fans still enjoy gathering in front of a big screen (TV) at a bar or pub for matches while drinking beers because such collective experience – the atmosphere, camaraderie, and communion – is completely different from watching games alone with one’s mobile device. This also explains why figures generated by BARB are still essential for media planners and advertisers.

Don’t forget that more mature age groups are still resourceful financially and are the core consumers of many high-end products. When a brand targets this segment of the market, insights from BARB should not be neglected.