Twitter Releases Research on TV Ads and Social Media

SAN FRANCISCO: Hashtags in TV ads drive positive brand conversation, according to Twitter, and a viewer who tweets while watching television is less likely to change the channel during the commercial breaks.

Twitter says it conducted a study of more than 500 TV commercials for consumer electronics, and analyzed over 63,000 comments for those ads over 100,000-plus airings. Ads with hashtags had 42 percent more tweets about the spots than those without hashtags. Working with Symphony Advanced Media, Twitter also found that audiences using Twitter while watching TV changed channels during the ad breaks 8 percent of the time; those not multitasking on a mobile device tuned out 17 percent of the time.

A separate study with Millward Brown Digital, meanwhile, found that Twitter made TV ads more effective. For audiences not engaging on a second screen, average TV ad recall was 40 percent; for Twitter users it was 53 percent. Tweeters were also 13 percent more likely to discuss TV shows and 3 percent more likely to recommend programs.

Anjali Midha, head of research, noted: "We are excited by this new round of research which complements earlier findings that TV ad targeting boosts key brand metrics, and that Twitter lowers cost-per-acquisition and increases television ROI. We look forward to learning even more about the ways Twitter makes TV more engaging for viewers as it grows value for brands and TV networks."