Longform TV and Streaming Spots Pack More Punch Than Mobile Ads: Comcast Study

Viewers pay more attention while watching ads on a TV screen, a Comcast Advertising study found. (Image credit: Getty Images)

When it comes to advertising, bigger screens mean bigger impact.

That’s a shorthand way of looking at a new report from Comcast Advertising titled TV Makes Memories.

The study, conducted with MediaScience, found that the outcomes advertisers seek — attention, connection and repetition — are better achieved via premium long-form TV advertising on a big screen than through mobile digital advertising.

The result was true for commercials appearing on both traditional broadcast and cable TV as well as streaming.

The data shows that unaided recall was 2.2 times higher for the same ad viewed in a big-screen TV environment compared to being seen on a smaller device. Purchase intent was 1.3 times higher.

Comcast Ad Chart — (Image credit: Comcast Advertising)

The study also found that when viewers saw a TV ad before seeing a digital ad, recall and purchase intent were higher than when the viewers saw two digital ads.

“Many of us know instinctually that TV ads are memorable. The jingle that gets stuck in your head, the commercials that make you laugh — all of this is the result of TV’s ability to imprint on your memory in a unique way,” Comcast Advertising president James Rooke said.

“This research validates TV’s memorability, proving ads viewed in the long-form, lean-back TV environment have greater unaided recall and purchase intent versus the same ads shown in a short-form, small-screen digital mobile feed. Engagement is a metric that increasingly matters to our clients, and with this research, we’re showing how powerful TV and streaming are when it comes to building that engagement," Rooke said.

The study also found that ads viewed in the TV environment generated more visual attention as participants watched 71% of the ad, compared to just 30% of digital mobile ads — likely a result of the full-screen viewing experience versus the distractions inherent with the digital experience.

Participants rated the creative message better when an ad seen in the TV environment preceded an ad in the digital mobile environment.

“Once again we see the power of cross-platform synergy,” MediaScience CEO Duane Varan said. “Here, social media and digital video work best when they activate memory structures built through the kind of brand equity that TV delivers. It’s a powerful combination.” ■

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.