Even Heavy TV Ad Campaigns Get Additional Reach Online
Even the heaviest TV campaigns gain four percent incremental reach if TV is used alongside online video advertising, finds research released today.
Organisers of the cross-publisher analysis -- online video advertising platform Videology (formerly TidalTV) -- claim it is the first time that this figure has been calculated.
"The question challenging TV buyers is just how much of my budget should be allocated to 'proper TV' and how much to these new platforms," says Rhys McLachlan, director of corporate and business development. "In the past, individual digital media owners have tried to demonstrate just how much their specific platforms add to the equation, but the secret sauce that's been missing is the ability to quantify the impact of all video platforms in an unbiased way. The Videology Incremental Reach Project was our solution to that conundrum.
"We found that even the heaviest television campaigns benefit from the incremental reach of online video. Obviously, different consumer groups have different media consumption patterns, so incremental reach will vary. Our analysis showed improvement in three very different segments, however, showing the broad stream shifting of viewing habits."
The research, conducted in May, 2012, in the U.K., is based on three mainstream TV campaigns targeted at mainstream audiences such as housewives with children, ABC1 adults 35 and over, and adults between 16 and 34. Each campaign featured parallel digital video activity.
While all achieved between 70 to 80 percent 1+ coverage across traditional TV, in all instances the online video campaign added incremental reach.
The research involved nearly 17,000 consumer responses to an online questionnaire. Incremental reach was calculated based on those who had been exposed to TV ads versus those who were not exposed.
"The result showed that combining cross-platform TV with online video adds an additional 4 percent of unduplicated reach for even the heaviest TV campaigns," said McLachlan. "The figure was higher at 5 percent among 16 to 34 adults and 3 percent among ABC1 adults aged 35 or older, and 4 percent for housewives with children.
"[This project] underlines that we are in the middle of a broad general shift in viewing habits. Video-based campaigns need to be mindful of the fact that a mix of video platforms is increasingly essential for brands that want to ensure they cost-effectively reach as much of their target group as possible."
