THE
$3.5 billion television market took another hit this week with the release
of a landmark study that suggests the power of TV advertising has
slipped markedly in 18 months.
The 3D study –
looking at the world through the eyes of consumers — released by media
agency MindShare shows that TV commercials are the second most powerful
promotional channel, noticed by 57 per cent of people, down from 61 per
cent in the previous survey.
Surprisingly, the channel most often noticed by consumers — who
were prompted once an hour to enter information into a personal digital
device about which commercial messages they had just seen — was the
old-fashioned shop window, noticed by 66 per cent of people.
MindShare Insights director Mary-Ellen Vincent said advertisers
would get more bang for their buck by layering messages designed to
reach people in their homes with others that would reach them on the
move.
"There is a hierarchy of receptivity based on location," Ms Vincent said. "People are noticing less advertising at home."
She said about 60 per cent of advertising was designed to reach
people in their homes, partly because outdoor and ambient, or guerilla,
media were poorly measured.
"People are noticing messages when they’re out of home and when they’re in stores, so they’re on high alert," she said.
The study, conducted last month, is believed to be the largest of
its kind in the world. It aimed to compare the impact of up to 96 media
channels on 1600 Australians aged 15 to 65.
The previous 3D study, conducted in March 2006, was for alcohol marketer Diageo and targeted 400 respondents aged 18 to 40.
The latest research, thought to be more representative, shows the
most powerful media are shop windows and TV commercials, followed by
in-store displays, which were noticed by 49per cent of respondents,
large billboards and posters (48 per cent), and transit media such as
buses and taxis (41 per cent). Radio is next, registering a response
from 32 per cent of participants.
"Coffee cups and sandwich bags also made it into the top 20 media," Ms Vincent said.
"Their subtlety makes people think they’re not powerful, but they’re
transient and they move with you. Maybe they’re being underutilised."
The study also examined the power of different types of
word-of-mouth marketing, from friends, family, experts and children.
Combined, those channels were noticed by 81 per cent of people, up from
44 per cent.
"The most important word-of-mouth (recommendations) are made at
home, when a friend drops in," Ms Vincent said. "Travelling, it’s
really about what the kids are saying to you in the car. Pester power
kicks in."
She said the study also showed the benefits of radio advertising.
"Radio comes up for everything because it’s moving with people and it integrates with people’s lives."
Search engine advertising was the most powerful internet channel,
according to the research, followed by email, news websites and video
hosting or streaming media websites.
Although print media ranked in the top 25, Ms Vincent said its
advertising needed to be layered with other forms of outdoor and
ambient media to maximise its influence.
The study found that toilet-door advertising was also quite
powerful, although Ms Vincent said not all types of products were
considered suitable for advertising in all channels.
"We need to understand not just what contacts people are noticing
but how they resonate with the brand message," she said. "We’ll be able
to see for different categories which types of contacts are noticed
more.
"You need to understand if it’s OK to place a message for food on a toilet door."
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2 Responses to “Future in the mix as TV ads take a hit”
Fascinating report! I am particularly interested in the way that print requires the assistance of other media to break through. On the web front, this seems to indicate that we are 12-18 months behind the US in terms of the way that we engage and consume online media. It will be interesting to see how the convergence of word of mouth and online impact the next study!
Yes the tide is definitely turning Gavin. While this study concentrates on the threat to TV I believe the threat to print is much greater. As you point out, it requires other media to break through.
My personal belief is that in the future the best campaigns will be a mixture of broader branding for awareness (ie. television) supported by targeted online initiatives.
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