Unless you're talking about Clio awards, commercials don't
seem to get enough love. But according to Viamedia's "2013 Television & Advertising Survey," advertisers and marketers
shouldn't worry so much, as a majority of TV viewers in the U.S. say
there is some likelihood that they will act on a commercial they watch on TV,
online or on a mobile device.
The survey found that 97% of U.S. adults say they watch TV
programming, with 59% saying a commercial could motivate them to make a
purchase.
Conducted by Harris Interactive from June 24-26 with 2,029
adults from across the country answering, the survey found that 72% say they
watch TV through cable boxes, 21% adding they watch broadcast TV without cable,
and 33% saying they watch TV on other devices—via computer, smartphone or
tablet.
Overall, 18% of polled viewers watch TV via a smartphone.
Millennials, ages 18-34, are more likely to watch TV on a smartphone than any
other age group: 28% of millennials watch TV via a smartphone, compared to 22%
of those ages 34-44, 17% ages 45-54 and 7% ages 55-plus.
Among those who say a commercial could motivate them to make
a purchase, 29% are influenced by ads they see on a computer, 24% by TV
commercials, 21% by ads on smartphones, 20% by ads on tablets and 4% by
commercials on smart TV.
Breaking it out by gender, 29% of men and 28% of women say a
commercial seen on a computer could motivate them to make a purchase; 25% of
men and 22% of women say TV commercials could; 22% of men and 18% of women say
ads on smartphones; and 22% of men and 19% of women say ads on tablets could do
the trick.
Among millennials, 35% say ads they see via computers
motivate them most to buy a product, followed by 28% who said smartphone, 26%
who said tablets and 24% who said TV.
In the 35-44 demo, 29% say tablet ads are most motivational,
followed by 25% who say computer ads, 22% who say TV and 21% who say ads on
smartphones.
Among the 35-54 demo, computer ads were listed as most
likely to motivate them to buy a product, followed by TV commercials with 26%,
smartphone ads with 17% and tablet ads with 14%.
In the 55-plus age group, 25% listed computer ads, 22% said
TV commercials and 11% said tablet ads, while just 7% said ads on smartphones.
Viewers living in the West are most likely to act on
commercials seen online (38%), followed by Midwest viewers (31%), Southern
viewers (27%) and viewers in the Northeast (26%).
Of the 64% of viewers who watch on-demand programming, 69%
are not opposed to seeing commercials in the content, with women (74%) more
likely than men (65%) to condone it.
Of the viewers who are accepting of commercials within
on-demand content, 50% say it's acceptable when the commercials make the
content totally free, while 15% say it's acceptable if the commercials lead to
a reduction in the cost of on-demand content.
Lexington, Ky.-based Viamedia is an independent ad rep firm
which sells DMA-based advertising to local, regional and national advertisers
on behalf of U.S. cable and telecommunications service providers, utility
companies and municipalities. It is also a provider of online ad services.
Becky Jones, Viamedia VP of marketing and research, said the
company conducted the study to be able to offer its clients insight into where
advertising can best reach their targeted audiences.
"We understand that the traditional TV household and viewing
habits are no longer the same," Jones said. "We want to be able to deliver
advertising where the viewers are watching."
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