A Frank Magid Associates Millennial study conducted on behalf of ABC Family shows unequivocal validation in favor of word-of-mouth above all forms of paid media when it comes to finding out about "cool, hot and latest" products/services etc.
Combining the top 2 boxes (i.e. important and very important) reveals a landslide of support behind conversation:
- Friends: 71%
- My Kids (Millennials are growing up): 54%
The next tier of influence comes from content itself (which I guess justifies the ABC Family investment) - for example, programs on cable TV: 35%
TV commercials weigh in at just 29%.
3 interesting insights here:
- No mention of "online ads"; just "websites" @ 38%. Not sure what to make of that
- Social networking sites comes in at 28% (in line with TV advertising). I'm wondering how this differs from the "my friends" category. From a methodology standpoint, is the distinction here between "fun wall" and "skyscraper"
- Blogs prop up the list at pretty much the same level as billboards. Personally, I think that's pretty remarkable, given both category's tenures.
I wonder what would happen if marketers invested their dollars relative to this chart.