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E-books in 5 steps: the key to digital success
The way we consume different kinds of content has undergone a significant transformation.
A new way of communicating
The first television broadcast happened in 1926, but it continued developing until 1937, when regular broadcasts began in the United Kingdom and France. There began the great communication revolution that this invention would bring, which came into technicolor in 1940, thanks to the contribution of Guillermo González Camarena.
Just as information changes rapidly, so does the media as well as the way in which different messages should be transmitted. Keeping this in mind at all times is critical in order to stay relevant. When television came into play, new needs and new ways of understanding the transmission of information, entertainment and advertising arose. A new industry was born and gradually became more complex.
It was then that a screen placed in the center of every living room around the world became the main object of the houses, which took over every activity and furniture of the household. Evenings of entertainment changed completely.
How did advertising benefit from television?
The first steps in TV advertising were very different to what we can see today. The first commercial in television history appeared in 1941, it was for the Bulova jewelry store in New York. Simple and short, it was a still image and an off-voice. It aired in the middle of a game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies and cost only four dollars, nevertheless it was the beginning of an evolution that continues to amaze us.
At the beginning there were no regulation or censorship: it was common to see cigarette commercials with glamorous scenarios and actors smoking, reflecting “positive” status and intellectuality. The 1950s were particularly special for advertising, the marketers of the moment, who already knew the advantages of television, unleashed their creativity with hard-to-forget slogans, catchy songs, very theatrical performances for television and eye-catching logos.
Television was very good at reaching the public in a more direct way to create experiences and generate changes in behavior. For this reason, advertising began to appeal more to emotions and, above all, to the immediate needs of households.
Advertising specialized and saw on the small screen the great means of exploration and exploitation for its interests. The number of advertising agencies grew and the number of commercials on television with it, which increasingly spread throughout the population. Audience segmentation was present because now it was possible to make studies of who stayed the longest at home in front of the TV.
This way advertising explored a new field, perfected its methods and devised new ways to reach its ideal audience, while television was enriched by advertising and strengthened as a communication industry.
And the television industry adapted. The analog blackout represented a new era, in which it teamed up with the internet in a new form: streaming, the best of both worlds.
Is conventional television in crisis? We shall say it is changing, which isn’t bad. Accepting that the audience’s behavior has changed and that changing the ways of communicating is necessary ensures the validity of the small screen. Also, it enables accessibility and comfort in users.
One of the most visible changes is that the use of the screen has become fragmented, that is, everyday life no longer revolves around television. Now screens have taken over in the shape of smartphones, computers, and tablets. Streaming then offers the well-known and valuable advantages of television (range and simultaneity, for example) and those of the internet in the same place. The effects of these recent changes will be seen in the coming years. However, advertising has benefited, since television connected to the internet offers the possibility of segmentation in order to reach very specific audiences with clear numbers.
Television is not dying, it’s only changing. And it continues to be one of the most important media in the world: only in Mexico, 32.3 million homes have at least one TV, which means that 92.9% of the country’s population is a captive audience.2
The way we consume different kinds of content has undergone a significant transformation.