At a time when digital ad spending is growing while spending on traditional TV is flat at best, Comcast's Effectv ad sales unit has released a study showing that marketing strategies that employ both forms of media perform best for brands.
The study, conducted with Mediascience, notes that TV now uses data to reach target consumers. At the same time, TV has a unique ability to legitimize new brands. The study found that consumers were 35% more likely to make a purchase of an unknown brand’s product after seeing the ad on TV, compared to those exposed on digital alone.
Brand recall more than doubled when a digital ad is accompanied by a TV ad for the same brands and there was a lift in purchase intent of 15% when ads aired on TV plus digital compared to digital alone.
“This study demonstrates TV advertising’s impact on consumer awareness of and attitude toward both established and lesser-known brands,” said John Brauer, executive director of data, insights and innovation at Effectv. “TV is a trusted source of information, and pairing TV with digital video more effectively builds brand strength than digital alone.”
Other findings of the study were that adding TV improves total campaign performance, that TV provides a halo effect for digital ads, causing the digital ad to be more appealing and that viewers spend three times more time with digital ads when they’re preceded by a TV ad.
Digital ads were perceived to be less intrusive and less “annoying” after TV exposure, the study said.
“Brands, no matter what their stage of maturity or size, stand to benefit from a combined TV plus digital strategy,” the report concludes. “One without the other could erode brand strength and purchase consideration over time. This study proves the memory effects of digital video are enhanced with the brand building power of TV, and that’s why digital loves TV.”
