TV ads have greatest impact on consumer behaviour in the UK

TV ads have greatest impact on consumer behaviour in the UK

MUMBAI: Television advertising had the greatest impact on consumer behaviour in 2011, according to a Deloitte report.

The UK’s appreciation of television advertising continues to go from strength to strength, with 58 per cent of respondents ranking it among the top three most influential advertising formats.

Since 2009 the TV ad has been consistently rated by respondents as the ad type with the most impact.

Newspapers were the second most influential with 15 per cent of respondents; magazines were in joint third place at 14 per cent alongside solicited emails.

In contrast, banner adverts polled poorly again in 2011 (4 per cent), online video adverts also underwhelmed (3 per cent) and adverts or sponsored links on Internet search engines failed to capture consumers’ imaginations (3 per cent).

The survey of 4,000 UK citizens was done on behalf of the Edinburgh International Television Festival, which takes place between 26 - 28 August.

Popularity of television advertising with the young:

Television advertising’s appeal, consistent with previous years, is strongest amongst young respondents, with 18-24 year olds rating television advertising’s impact the highest at 69 per cent, an increase from 63 per cent in 2010.

Over a third (38 per cent) of those aged over 55 consider that no form of advertising has an impact on them, compared to only 9 per cent amongst 18-24 year olds.

Deloitte media partner James Bates said, “Television advertising has continued to go from strength to strength in 2011. This can be attributed to television excelling at brand building and raising awareness and audiences are appreciative of television advertising, with younger viewers being television adverts’ strongest supporters.

“Television adverts’ number one ranking is due to many actors including high production values for many television adverts and the fact that the UK public spends a quarter of its waking hours watching television.”

PVRs and television advertising:

In 2011, Personal Video Recorder (PVR) penetration is forecast to exceed 50 per cent for the first time. As PVRs reach into the majority of UK homes, its actual impact
on advertising has been largely counter to initial expectations. The ad-skipping forecast has come true only as far as PVR owners’ perceptions are concerned. 51 per cent of viewers with access to a PVR reported that they always fast forward through the adverts at maximum speed.

However, TV advertising is being consumed in greater
quantities than ever before, with an estimated 47 adverts per person viewed daily in the first half of 2011, up from 33 in the first half of 2002.

Deloitte/GfK‘s research also shows how the PVR may be changing the value of the position in an advertising break. Almost half of all PVR owners “always” (20 per cent) or “frequently” (27 per cent) stop fast-forwarding adverts when the programme’s sponsorship appears. 80% of 25-34 year-olds stop fast-forwarding through ads at some point if they see an advert or trailer that interests them.

Bates added, “In cases where all advertising is fast-forwarded, there can still be an impact from advertising as viewers’ recognition of just a single image from the advertisement can aid recall.”

When respondents were asked what would encourage them to watch the entire advertising break, they cited shorter advertising breaks (50 per cent), more memorable advertisements (29 per cent), advertising that focuses on one theme, such as cars or food (6 per cet), or personalised advertisements (11 per cent).

Future challenges:

In the future, the audiovisual impact of adverts should increase. If brief and memorable, they can be consumed dozens of times without wearying the audience.

New forms of television ads will emerge, including the revival of interactive adverts and the arrival of targeted adverts. The industry will need to ensure that it evaluates the true potential and likely investment of each new advertising
format before taking major strategic decisions or projecting major new revenue streams.

Relevance of the traditional television ad:

Almost three quarters (73 per cent) of the respondents who were most likely to pay attention to a video advert broadcast on television, were most likely to pay attention to a standard length advert shown on television. An extra long advert (more than 30 seconds) was only chosen by one in five (18 per cent). Sponsorship messages played around a programme were only chosen by 9 per cent.

Video ads: Of those who are most likely to pay attention to video adverts online, 64 per cent prefer online video adverts shown before they start watching a programme/video online, compared to adverts shown at the end of the programme (6 per cent).

TV ads most widely remembered: When respondents were asked to think of the advertising campaign they considered to be most memorable in 2011, 80 per cent ranked television highest followed by cinema at three per cent.