Jerry Wind, a marketing professor of mine when I attended The Wharton School, has been working on a project called the Future of Advertising, in conjunction with the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). Professor Wind held a conference at Wharton and invited 100 global leaders in advertising to hear presentations from 40 advertising research papers chosen by Wind, according to an article in the Pennsylvania Gazette Sept./Oct. issue and Ad Age, June 1, 2009. Following the conference, 21 papers were selected for publication in the Journal of Advertising Research (JAR) and below are some key findings.
Surprising Findings about TV’s Effectiveness
Joel Rubinson, the Chief Research Officer of ARF, did a review of 388 studies on the effectiveness of TV advertising and “found that TV ads are as effective at generating “sales” lift as they were 15 years ago.” The research also showed that marketers that spent the heaviest on TV saw the best pay out. The studies also found that TV remains “more effective than online or print advertising.” Mr. Rubinson pointed out in Ad Age that his organization is independent and not working for the media companies or ad agencies. “The ARF is not a trade association.” “It’s not like we are a lobbying organization…We’re on the side of truth.”
Impact of DVR’s
Another study of 1000 TV households addresses whether DVR’s are eroding the effectiveness of TV advertising, with people fast-forwarding through the commercials. The study found no difference in ad recall among households with and without DVR’s. Mr. Rubinson and the JAR editors feel this may be a result of DVR users watching more TV, plus they still watch ads and programs that are live, and that “fast-forwarding reminds them of past ad exposures and focuses more attention on ads than less active viewing.”
Digital vs. Traditional Media
A different paper compared digital and traditional media and revealed that ads placed in “traditional media are more likely to leave a positive impression on viewers than those viewed online.” In the digital advertising arena, a study by ComScore concluded that search generates more of a lift in offline sales than display ads. It also points out that the combined effects of display and search produce a higher lift than either used separately.
Affect of Ad Clutter
Another study addressed the affect of ad clutter on the effectiveness of advertising. The findings showed that a crowded ad environment did not hurt an effective commercial. “Doubling the clutter does not halve the number of advertisements recalled,” noted the authors of this study, as reported in Penn’s Gazette.
New Product Advertising
A study on new product advertising found that more effective advertising for new products, produce as much as 250% greater lift than average and justify correspondingly larger outlays.
Optimal Media Mix
The next phase of this research will look at how old and new media are working together and which mix will generate the best results.
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