Don’t Mix up Your Marketing Mix
How to Allocate Your Marketing Budget for Today's Consumer
I first got a cell phone when I was in college. Well, it was really just a flip phone…nothing like our smartphones today. My kids can't imagine a world where you send your kids to school without a method of communication. There I was, heading to Bloomington, IN, five hours from home, not knowing anyone. Go Hoosiers!
That contrast is exactly why finding the right marketing mix starts with understanding how people actually consume information today, not how they USED to. Today's kids select their college roommates and join Instagram groups to get to know new friends before they even step foot on campus. With everything at our fingertips, I can't help but wonder: for the key decisions brands make about products and channels, how are consumption trends actually changing?
How much time do Americans spend on social media vs. streaming vs. podcasts?
How do people consume information and news?
What is our customer's preferred channel for entertainment?
How do Gen Z and Gen Alpha prefer to get their news?
Understanding these trends is the key to informing your marketing mix and maximizing your marketing budgets. The data tells a more nuanced story than most brands assume. Gen Z now averages roughly 3.2 hours of daily social media use, more than double the 1.5 hours Baby Boomers spend, according to Sociallyin's 2026 generational social media report , meaning the "right" channel genuinely shifts by generation, not just by industry. Nearly half of Gen Z (44%) gets news daily through social platforms, with a quarter naming TikTok as their primary news source outright, per Attest's 2026 Gen Z media consumption survey. Gen Alpha is following the same pattern even younger: the Razorfish-GWI Gen Alpha study found that 43% of Alpha kids are already using their devices to learn what's going on in the world, well before they're old enough to have a "media diet" in the traditional sense.
Brands today are quick to jump to tactical marketing approaches and favorite channels to try to reach their target audience. At Conversate, we hear from our clients all too often:
"We have a strong Instagram following and want to launch our new campaign there first."
"We are a B2B company, so LinkedIn makes the most sense."
"Our audience is too hard to reach. We can't afford a media strategy."
Many of these assumptions have more to do with historical preferences, generational bias, and legacy marketing plans than with how the audience actually behaves today. With consumption trends changing this fast, brands have a real opportunity to investigate the customer experience before launching a new campaign or product. Here's how to find the right mix:
See your customer as a person, not a persona:
Your consumers are human. Whether a doctor, President, or construction project manager, a consumer is human and their behaviors need observation just like you would treat a general mass market consumer. Thinking about a potential customer’s entire day or experience with your brand can help reach them in ways you never thought of before. A multi-channel approach can also cover your bases and ensure messages are seen many times to improve recall.
Conduct research before you launch:
A new trend is observing customers and their live online behaviors. What someone says they do online can be quite different than how they behave online. Hire a professional research firm to conduct behavioral interviews to understand how to connect and improve the experience while identifying unique moments for brand touchpoints.
Test before you spend:
When we don’t conduct marketing research, we can fall into old habits. Testing a new campaign or value proposition with your target audience can help avoid bias and inform a specific digital marketing strategy to ensure you have the right channels and mix, thus improving your ROI.
Invest in earned media opportunities and expanding your digital footprint:
Positioning your team and brand as the expert in your industry will be your main goal in the future. Gartner predicts a 2x increase in PR and earned media spend by 2027. As AI search engines prioritize earned, organic, and owned content, brands will win AI search based on a real, credible media footprint.
Source: Attest 2025 US Media Consumption Report
What’s the right marketing mix for your next launch? Start a conversation and find out how to maximize your strategy with the next generation.
