unlocking the power of the adults 18+ audience
Adults 18+ is now the premier buying demographic in Canadian television advertising, aligning with demographic changes, audience trends, and the growth of Total TV.
In recent years, the effectiveness of linear TV has been enhanced by a range of innovative tools and platforms, all of which are designed to help advertisers engage with and target their customers in more meaningful and impactful ways.
While traditional demographic metrics like age and gender remain important, some conventional categories—particularly the Adults 25-54 segment—have become less representative. Consider this: since 2010, Canada’s total population has grown by an impressive 16%, yet the Adults 25-54 demographic has increased by just 4.7%.
We’re also seeing substantial changes in behaviours and lifestyles: Younger adults are delaying major lifestyle milestones such as purchasing a home and having children, while older adults are continuing to work and staying active longer—all while exercising their significant spending power on a diverse range of products and services.
The upshot of these trends for advertisers is that targeting Adults 25-54 today means targeting a smaller proportion of the Canadian population and a fraction of the total buying power than they did even a decade ago. An Adults 18+ approach offers attractive economies of scale – without sacrificing the ability to target other audience demographics – and aligns with the advertising practices of other video providers, allowing advertisers and agencies to benefit from more cohesive planning and comparability across platforms (including within marketing mix models). Marketers will be able to more easily assess the effectiveness of their advertising strategies and make more informed decisions about where to continue to allocate their spending.
thinktv encourages all industry stakeholders—broadcasters, advertisers, and agencies—to embrace this more inclusive approach.
For more, download the thinktv paper.