Report: TV Advertising Remains Most Impactful

LONDON: Television advertising still has the greatest impact on consumer behavior, according to a new Deloitte report out of the U.K., which cited that TV ad’s appeal is strongest among young respondents.

The Deloitte survey of 4,000 U.K. citizens, with fieldwork by GfK, on behalf of the Edinburgh International Television Festival, found that 58 percent of respondents rank TV among the top three most influential advertising formats. TV has consistently rated as the most impactful advertising type since 2009. Newspapers were found to be the second most influential, with 15 percent of respondents; magazines tied for third place at 14 percent with solicited emails.

Respondents aged 18 to 24 rate TV’s advertising impact the highest at 69 percent. This is a 6-percent gain from 2010. Of those over 55, one-third (38 percent) say that no form of advertising has an impact on them, compared to only 9 percent among the 18-to-24 set.

James Bates, Deloitte media partner, 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 factors including high production values for many television adverts and the fact that the U.K. public spends a quarter of its waking hours watching television.”

The survey also looked at PVR (personal video recorders) and advertising. Of viewers with access to a PVR, 51 percent say they always fast-forward through advertisements at maximum speed. Almost half of all PVR owners "always" or "frequently" stop fast-forwarding when the program’s sponsorship appears. With those 25 to 34, 80 percent stop fast-forwarding through ads at some point if they see an advertisement or trailer that interest 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.”