We're with the (broad) band

Synovate's global media and advertising study showed that the internet is now edging out TV as the world's favourite medium.

Seventy percent of respondents across 11 markets say they either could not live without it or would miss it a great deal if it wasn't there, while 69% said the same for TV.

Whose digital love affair is the greatest? Ninety-two percent of Brits, 91% of Spaniards, 90% of Australians and 89% of both Dutch and American respondents rate the internet as completely necessary to their lives.

Synovate's global executive director of media, Steve Garton, says the data bore out intuition.

"Of course the internet is more tightly woven into everyday lives in markets with good broadband infrastructure and less so in the developing nations we surveyed. Also borne out by the data was that it was the younger segments of all populations who were more likely to state they could not live without the internet.

"With this in mind, mainstream media like TV, print and radio all clearly remain invaluable to large segments of populations. We're certainly nowhere near a time when advertisers should abandon them. But what does need to happen more and more is targeted advertising."

United Kingdom-based Synovate director Philip Shaw says the internet is embedded in Brits' lives.

"It's not just information and entertainment, it's communication and networking. The internet's multifaceted nature makes it more compelling. This is something that TV cannot match.

"Advertisers are increasingly moving marketing budget online. For now, they need to ensure campaigns are effectively integrated across all media but platform convergence means that we will soon cease to think of TV and the internet as separate things."

Synovate also asked about the importance people attached to their mobile or cell phone. An incredible 70% of Chinese respondents said they 'can't live without it' and this figure was also high in Hong Kong (59%) and Taiwan (54%).

In all but one of the countries surveyed, a clear majority said they either 'could not live without' their phone or would 'miss it a great deal'. Canada at 46% was the only exception.

Garton says the importance of the phone in people's lives is clear but it's a little different to other media.

"The mobile is not really a media... it is a platform. And as the internet gets more and more accessible via mobile, it's online advertising and content that is delivered. A word of caution though... people feel quite passionately that their phone is more personal than their PC screen."

About the Synovate In:fact survey on media and advertising
Numbers of surveyed

AU 519

BR 600

CA 1000

CN 1016

HK 1000

IN 1023

NL 943

ES 503

TW 1010

UK 500

US 500