online video is mass media for the young (37.83012431987726 , -122.49275207519531)Pew’s latest report on online video consumption is an interesting read. It shows that although viewing is starting to mainstream (57% of all internet users have watched video online), it’s still got some ways to go to become a major challenger to traditional media (only 19% watch online video every day).
However, it’s clear that some of the impact needs to be explored by demographics. The younger 18-29 year old age group is simply a lot more engaged with over 70% having ever watched and 31% doing it every day.
There is so much video content online and people are watching a wide range of types of material, but news and comedy stand out, with comedy being the most popular for young adults. Ads rate surprisingly high in the list, just below sports and politics.
In terms of behavior with online video, it’s the young leading the way again, they are simply way more active with 67% of 18-29 year olds sending links compared to 45% of 50-64 year olds and 23% of 18-29 year olds rating video compared to just 4% of 50-64 year olds.
The Pew report indicates that online video is clearly here to stay and amongst young adults has established itself firmly as a mass media on the menu of media they actively consume and participate in.
Quite simply, every advertiser with an 18-29 demo should be using online video. How they creatively breakthrough is another challenge.
It remains to be seen if initiatives like the recent YouTube political debates can take online video behaviors to a broader demographic base.
