Consumers said that commercials they see on connected TV are more relevant than those on traditional TV, according to a new survey from Engine.
Engine’s June Media Pulse report said that 49% of consumers say that ads on CTV do a much more efficient job of providing users with relevant ad content, compared to 33% for traditional and cable TV.
“Consumers are saying CTV ads are relevant,” David Albert, general manager, Engine Insights, told Broadcasting+Cable. “With the increase in AVOD viewership, advertisers should really be looking for ways to integrate CTV into their media plans. The data continue to support CTV as a component of a successful media campaign.”
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The connection with streaming commercials is stronger among younger viewers, with 62% of millennials and 56% of Gen Z viewers finding more relevance on Hulu, YouTube TV, Peacock, Pluto and other platforms, compared to 44% for Gen X and 29% among boomers.
When it comes to advertising on traditional TV, 61% of millennials and 52% of Gen Z viewers said it was relevant, but just 35% of Gen X viewers and 19% of boomers agreed.
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The findings contradict the notion that TV is TV as far as viewers are concerned. “There’s actually a difference in how people react to what they see depending on where they see it,” Albert said.
Albert said that Engine was careful to make sure that consumers understood what’s meant by industry terms like “connected TV, linear TV and streaming. All TV is not the same, and consumers understand that now,” he said.
Engine also found that interactive ads were on the rise. The survey also found that nearly half of the viewers surveyed had seen an interactive ad. Younger consumers were more likely to recall these types of ads than older viewers.
“We expect those to continue to increase in prevalence over the course of this year and into 2022,” he said.
Engine is already seeing clients increasingly include both CTV and interactive ads in their media plans, he added.
Albert said Engine has been ramping up its research effort to help clients understand changes in media consumption since the pandemic, particularly focusing on TV and CTV, in order to make smarter choices about where they place their advertising and how to think about frequency.
“We’ve actually built out a more robust media tracker survey and we’re going to continue to track these trends and dig into them further,” he said. “Our goal is to be able to provide the most up-to-date media consumption intelligence for our clients so that they can take action in close to real time and optimize their campaigns for effectiveness.”
Overall the study found that different generations tend to watch TV differently.
Gen Z viewers were least likely to watch a full TV episode in its entirety in one viewing session, at 59%, compared to 73% for all viewers.
Millennials and Gen Xers were most likely to watch a full TV episode in its entirety in one session at 77%.
Boomers were average when it comes to watching a full TV episode in its entirety in one viewing session at 72%. They were also the most likely to watch more than one episode during a typical viewing session.
Consumers with children 17 and under typically complete a full episode in their single viewing session. They are also more likely to watch multiple episodes in a single session than those who don’t have kids.
This Online Caravan omnibus survey was conducted on June 7-9, 2021. Approximately 1,000 adults selected from opt-in panels were surveyed. The results are also weighted to U.S. Census data to be demographically representative.
