ITWire

Although 46 per cent of Australians own a smartphone, that masks the fact that although three fifths of millennials (people aged 28 and under) have the devices, only about a third of Baby Boomers have smartphones, and fewer than one in five people 65 and over have such devices.

Also, while 39 per cent of millennials might use an online platform to view television content each week – that’s 6 times the rate of boomers, and 20 times more than older Australians.

The State of the Media report – the first of its kind from Deloitte – reinforces the extremely fragmented nature of the consumer market, and the challenge that content providers and advertisers face when trying to reach the different segments of the market. According to Damien Tampling, Deloitte’s head of technology, media and telecommunications, it’s more important than ever that content providers and advertisers understand exactly how the different market sectors are consuming content when they are planning their strategies.

What staggered him was the extent to which “people are multitasking in front of the flat screen in the lounge-room.” TV remains the most popular form of entertainment in Australia, but according to the report, which surveyed 2,000 Australian consumers, up to 60 per cent of people were multitasking even when the TV was on – Mr Tampling said he had suspected the figure was closer to 20 or 30 per cent and was staggered by the actual figure.

Companies needed he said; “To understand the customer and the content – but also how to deliver campaigns to tap that behaviour. I think if you are an advertiser or sponsoring TV and you are not engaging on a tablet or a phone you are missing out.”

The survey found that in total 46 per cent of Australians had a smartphone and 13 per cent a tablet – but television remains the most popular form of entertainment with 63 per cent of people nominating it as their preferred form of entertainment – even if they are not giving it their full attention when parked on the couch.

And for content creators if the lack of concentration and fragmented nature of the audience wasn’t enough to contend with, Deloitte predicts that; “In 2012 tablets and smartphones can be seen as portable playback devices with commuters catching up on their favourite TV show on the go.”