Vice President of Sales, COMSCORE INC
Bryan Segal on Media Consumption Habits during the Pandemic
Bryan Segal, Senior Vice President at comScore, speaks to how media, news, and product consumption has changed during the ...
About Bryan Segal
Bryan Segal, Senior Vice President at Comscore, has discussed shifts in digital media consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that internet usage in Canada and globally saw a major increase as people sought information, and noted that news websites from Canadian outlets such as CBC, CTV, and Global, as well as newspapers like the Globe and Mail and National Post, experienced large traffic increases. Segal also observed that government websites became a key destination for COVID-19 information, and that e-commerce saw a "huge explosion" among retailers such as Loblaws, Walmart, and Canadian Tire, which he described as a "launchpad for transformation" for legacy businesses. In separate remarks on gaming and marketing, Segal argued that "not all gaming is equal" and emphasized the importance of segmentation among gamers and platforms. He cited data showing a 34% year-over-year increase in Twitch penetration, with the average Canadian spending over 420 minutes per month on the platform. Segal stated that eSports sponsorships represent a "huge opportunity" for brands, and that many gamers do not mind product placement in games when it is relevant. He also said that "the biggest issue in marketing is attention" and that the future of advertising lies in programs rather than paid ads.
Transcript (17 segments)
N
Narrator0:00
In response to the pandemic, daily routines were turned upside down for people around the world. Millions stayed home and turned to their computers, tablets, and smartphones for news and information, education and entertainment. Bryan Segal is the Senior Vice President of comScore Commercial. He joins Newspoint today to look at how digital consumption habits have evolved since the onset of the pandemic.
S
Sharon Bowes0:22
Bryan, thanks so much for being here.
B
Bryan Segal0:24
Thanks for having me.
S
Sharon Bowes0:26
How significant was the increase in online consumption at the start of the pandemic?
B
Bryan Segal0:31
So we saw a major increase in terms of internet usage in Canada and across the globe based off of the pandemic. Obviously, people flocked to the internet to get information on an ongoing basis. And we've definitely seen a major uptick if you look at the trend over previous months, previous years, and we've seen slight declines, but still at an elevated level.
S
Sharon Bowes0:58
Well, some of the categories that took a hit were the obvious ones: sports, travel, automotive among them. How have trends evolved over the past several months? And were there any big surprises to you?
B
Bryan Segal1:11
Yeah, so I think you hit the nail on the head there. I mean, we definitely saw some categories showing major increases, but then other categories that declined as consumer behavior changed. And I think as you start to see the coming back of sports, we're starting to see an uptick in sports. Automotive, I think we saw that a little bit earlier, back in April, and other categories which have seen significant increases since the pandemic like real estate, and other areas where you've seen a major increase in terms of the behavior of Canadians. And we see similar trends across the border and across the ocean. And so there's been a lot of change in behavior and I'm happy to see a lot of these behaviors bounce back. Travel is still an area where we're starting to see an uptick. And in Canada, we've seen a solid uptick, people looking to travel and to look for information locally. But when you think about the United States, you've seen increases, and then in June, you saw decreases again, as the continued case increases. But I think it's a major opportunity, especially here in Canada, where a lot of travel is starting to revive itself. And then you look at some other categories, for instance, wealth management, and those numbers were way up, people spending a lot of time looking at their investments.
S
Sharon Bowes2:41
Yeah, I mean, you definitely saw a lot of those categories and finance categories. People at the beginning, making sure everything's sound and in place and it obviously is, as it went on making sure they have enough money and checking their ongoing status. And I think, you know, you're starting to see again, some of these things bouncing back are getting stabilized towards pre-COVID measures.
Well, let's take a look at news in particular. Where were people looking to access their news? And what were the stats saying in terms of time spent viewing news?
B
Bryan Segal3:20
So people were looking everywhere for news. I mean, the internet obviously was a hotspot. In addition to local news and national news being highlighted, just I think people wanted to keep their finger on the pulse of all things news. And what we saw is huge growth by many of the Canadian players of news: the CBCs and CTVs, Globals of the world. In addition, the newspapers, like Globe and Mail and National Post, we saw huge increases in terms of traffic to their websites, traffic to their mobile devices. In addition, we saw many of the global news players or US newspapers and players showing huge growth. In addition, on the TV side in the US, you saw a huge local news destination seeing major upticks. And I think it's just a matter of people wanting to keep their finger on the pulse. And the web was a great place to get that information. And I think what we saw is a really heightened information. In addition to that, government websites were seen as a huge destination for COVID news, in terms of being able to keep people understand what's going on, what the rules and regulations, how it's going to affect them, and how they could sort of interact in the world. And it's just a proof point of how important the web, both on the mobile and desktop, has become part of our lives.
S
Sharon Bowes4:47
Well with so many people working from home, many were looking for social interaction. Was there also a similar surge in social media consumption? And was that across all platforms?
B
Bryan Segal4:58
Yeah, we saw a major increase in social platforms. And I think it's not just the social side of it, it's the community side of it. And so not only on the social front in terms of getting updates and status, but in terms of also using it as a networking source. So we saw messaging applications increase. So just the whole spawn of what people use social media for, we've seen increases across the board. And we saw that not just in Canada, but on a global basis. But it just talks to, you know, even though people were locked out in their houses, people still want to keep in touch with their community, and still want to keep in touch with their friends. And I guess the web was a great way to social distance.
S
Sharon Bowes5:40
And at some points, they just wanted a break from the nonstop barrage of information about COVID. What's been popular in the areas of entertainment?
B
Bryan Segal5:49
So in entertainment, we saw an uptick in sort of a lot of things especially as it pertains to kids. As schools locked down and you need a destination for kids to go to be amused, and obviously digital was a huge platform. So we saw entertainment news, entertainment sites for kids. And we saw streaming, just a whole increase in terms of streaming on multiple devices, being able to keep in touch. And I think it's just an explosion of different types of entertainment news. Obviously, with decrease in movies and sort of mainstay entertainment information, I think what we saw it replaced by streaming and downloading in terms of the amount of things that people looked at, OTT and all the different types of content that's out there.
S
Sharon Bowes6:47
Well, as we look to the future, what are you predicting? Is this a blip in the history of digital evolution? Or is this trend here to stay?
B
Bryan Segal6:57
Well, I think obviously, the trend is not over, we're still living it. And in different parts of the world, it's obviously at different stages. But I think, at least in Canada, this has been a launchpad for transformation. And I think what you're seeing is, especially when you think about things like e-commerce, educational tools, and a lot of the ways in which people now have to live the world in terms of social distancing, I think this has sort of sped up the transformation of how many legacy businesses either just had a website, but now they have to be more integrated on a digital basis. And e-commerce has sort of sped quickly, and you see the results by the Loblaws, Sobeys, Walmarts of the world of how you've seen a huge uptick in e-commerce. And I think you're starting to see that across the board and a lot of Canadian retailers: Canadian Tire, and Home Depot, and different players out there, which are just showing, Staples, which are just seeing a huge explosion of e-commerce. So I think this is the start of, let's call it an uptick of a trend that we've seen for many years. But it's transformed at lightning speed in terms of how we move and how consumers have moved towards the online channel.
S
Sharon Bowes8:18
Well it's going to be very interesting to see where the trends go from here. Bryan Segal, thank you for bringing your expert perspective to Newspoint today. Have a great day.