This is the percentage of Canadians aged 14 to 34 that would employ television if they were ‘trying to advertise a message to people their own age (any message at all).’ This reflects those who rated television as a 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5 for effectiveness.

Television ranks, and has always ranked, at number one against radio, websites and portals, in-store activations and other media channels since the inception of our company in 2000. To misquote Mark Twain, the rumours of television’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. In the face of immense pressures from web-based media platforms and the rise of visceral activations, television has consistently performed well – even with the ever-digital millennials and cantankerous Gen Xers.

The real narrative is not the funeral of the television, but the rise of previously niche or ‘nice-to-have’ media as standard, essential elements of any large-scale marketing and communication effort. This is especially true for campaigns aimed at younger generations.

Virals, co-sponsorships, blogs, podcasts, cross-promotional opportunities and all manner of activations (from legion-hall indie cred-givers to mainstream music plays in-store) are all now essential considerations. But if you want to make people aware of something new or drive them to a website, event or store and you don’t have television in the mix, you are still throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Just look at the ratings for sports championships, American Idol and any televised speech by Barack Obama to see the power the shared experience still commands.

The term ‘television’ may soon be an anachronism, but the supremacy of this mass media shows no signs of abating.

This ‘statsthought’ was gleaned from Ping, Youthography’s quarterly study of Canadians aged 9 to 34. It was culled from a spring 2008 survey responded to by 2,224 14- to 34-year-olds, regionally represented. Mike Farrell (partner, chief strategic officer) can be reached at mike@youthography.com.