Study: TV ads still effective amid digital media

New York--Advertising on television consistently is more effective at impacting sales and new accounts than paid search, print or online ads, according to a recent study by consulting company MarketShare.

The company said its finding show that television “provides a direct and meaningful sales lift,” because it increases awareness and consideration and increases the effectiveness of other marketing vehicles further down the purchase funnel, meaning TV should be a relevant part of a marketing campaign that includes both online and traditional advertising mediums.

The study, “Evaluating TV Effectiveness in a Changed Media Landscape,” identified four major findings that show television advertising is the most effective and efficient way to reach consumers. They are as follows.

1. TV has the highest relative efficiency in achieving key performance indictors (KPIs) at similar spending levels when compared to other media outlets, including print, radio and online ads, both display and social.

This is true across a range of industries, including automotive, financial services, consumer packaged goods and retail, and comes despite the explosion of digital media in the past five years, MarketShare said.

“TV is a major driver of indirect outcomes such as inbound calls, organic search query volumes and website visits, which, in turn, lead to direct outcomes, such as purchases or other significant conversions,” the study states.

2. In spite of changes in consumer habits over the past few years, TV’s effectiveness at driving advertiser KPIs has not diminished.

The study found that, for all media analyzed, there was an 11.5 percent decline when comparing 2009-2011 media effectiveness to 2012-2014, “likely due to the splintering of media channels brought about by the new digital landscape.”

However, TV was the only medium that retained its relative effectiveness when compared to other channels over that time period. TV’s effectiveness dropped only 2 percent while online media’s effectiveness was down about 10 percent and offline media’s effectiveness (sans TV) declined nearly 23 percent (graph shown in gallery.)

“The value of many digital channels has been eroded by such factors as ad-blocking, click fraud and visibility issues,” MarketShare states.

Still, TV spend allocations are not a one-size-fits-all.

“Specific spending recommendations will vary by advertiser, depending, in part, on where a marketer’s media spend lies on the outcomes response curves for each advertising medium, and the interaction effects between media channels.”

3. Marketers can use advanced analytic techniques to optimize TV spend more effectively.