Research indicates the “very affluent” watch television almost as much as those less affluent.  And they spend even more time on the web.  

 

It’s sometimes commonly thought that the “very affluent” don’t consume media like those less affluent.  With all the entertainment options available to those with high incomes it would seem they would spend less time watching television.  Not so!  A study by Ipsos Mendelsohn, a division of Ipsos MediaCT discovered that homes with incomes of greater than $250,000 watch an average of 17.3 hours of television per week.  This is just barely less than those with incomes in the $100,000 to $150,000 range who average 18 hours per week.  Even those who are very affluent and have many more options for use of their leisure time, still consume almost the same amount of television per week as those less affluent.

However, David Goetzi reporting for MediaDailyNews referenced the study stating that higher income households average 27.4 hours per week on the internet as compared to 22 hours per week for those households with lower incomes.

There are two important observations from the study that are very relevant to hospital marketers.

• Television is still a very viable option for healthcare advertising. Seventeen hours per week is a significant amount of time.  Even the affluent can still be effectively reached with television advertising.

• A hospital’s marketing plan should include a strong emphasis on the internet. Consumers are on the web.  They are very active using the internet.  And the more affluent, the more time they spend on the internet.

Every hospital wants to reach the affluent.  Every hospital wants to communicate with those who are more likely to have private insurance or have the ability to pay for healthcare services.  And they can be found in the same places as those less affluent.  They too are still addicted to television.  And they supplement TV time with even more internet time than those with lower incomes.