18 to 24 Year Olds Like New-Age Ads

When it comes to new media, the 18- to 24-year-old age group has cornered the market and complicated most marketing models advertisers use today, according to a survey by BIGresearch, a firm that studies consumer behavior.

When marketers wonder what happened to 18-24 year olds usage of traditional media like TV, the answer is they are early adopters of new media, says BIGresearch, citing its survey of more than 14,000 consumers.

New media studied in the survey included internet, picture phones, instant messaging, blogging, cell phones, MP3 players, satellite radio, text messaging, TiVo/Replay TV and web radio.

“The 18-24 year olds are digital nomads who have adopted new media more readily than any other age group,” says Joe Pilotta, BIGresearch's vice president-research. “Not only do they use new media more, they are influenced by it much more than any other age group.”

(See cover story, starting on page 24, for a look at the future of new advertising media.)