Study: Advertisers Can’t Spend on TV Alone Anymore

By Adam Flomenbaum 

wywyCollective, a cross-platform advertising company, and Viggle, the social TV check-in and rewards company, have been trying to convince advertisers that they cannot rely solely on linear TV advertising to reach consumers. Now, a recent study released by wywy (another cross-platform advertising company) and TNS Infratet finds that while second screen usage generally erodes TV advertising effectiveness, cross-platform advertising solutions used in conjunction with a traditional linear spend can actually improve ad awareness among second screen users who are also watching TV.

According to the study (conducted bt TNS Infratest, commissioned by wywy), among viewers who used a second screen device while watching TV, the TV ad awareness dropped 58 percent compared to TV-only viewers participating in the study.

The study also found that when cross-media ad technology synching the delivery of TV and online ads onto the second screen was used, TV ad awareness increased by more than 40 percent, creating an uplift among the mobile and tablet users.

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“This study again confirms to advertisers that attention is turning away from the TV towards second screen devices, especially during commercial breaks,” said Dr. Andreas Schroeter, co-founder and COO of wywy. “Nearly half of the TV viewers use their tablet or smartphone to write emails, read news or surf on social networks while watching TV. New cross-media technologies synching TV and online ads are now proving to be an effective solution in recapturing the viewers’ attention as it diverts to the second screen.”

The study also found strong uplifts in key advertising performance indicators such as Brand Attitude (+38%) and Word of Mouth (+18%) when online ad synching technologies were used in tandem with TV advertising.

For more about the methodology of the study:

The study was conducted by TNS Infratest in October 2013. Target group were women, 25-55 years old, who regularly watch TV and own a second screen device. The participants watched a regular evening show on their TV at home. During the commercial break, an advertisement for a cosmetics product was shown. The participants were split into three groups: 1) TV only viewers, 2) TV viewers using their second screen device in parallel to surf the Internet and 3) TV viewers using their second screen device in parallel to surf the Internet which, in addition, displayed an accompanying online banner ad of the cosmetics product at the moment the TV ad aired (synchronized advertising in parallel on both TV and second screen). After the commercial break, study participants were questioned through an online survey on their second screen device.

 

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