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Survey Finds TV Advertising To Be Less Effective Than Two Years Ago

TV Industry Evolving to Meet Changing Needs of Marketers

NEW YORK (Feb. 20, 2008) - A majority of marketers believe that television advertising has become less effective in the past two years, but marketers are interested in exploring new ad formats and new forms of video commercials, according to the fourth TV & Technology survey conducted by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) every two years in association with Forrester Research, Inc., an independent research firm. The full survey findings will be revealed by Forrester Research vice president and principal analyst James McQuivey at the ANA's TV & Everything Video Forum on February 28 at the New York Marriott Marquis, Times Square.

Major findings of the survey include the following:

  • Sixty-two percent of marketers believe television advertising has become less effective in the past two years, but close to half of the advertisers surveyed have already started to experiment with new ad types to work with DVRs and VOD programs. Eighty-seven percent of advertisers believe branded entertainment will play a stronger role in TV advertising in the coming year.
  • Advertisers are eager to try new ad formats, including ads in online TV shows (65 percent), ads embedded in VOD (55 percent), interactive television ads (43 percent), and ads within the set top box menu (32 percent)
  • Over 50 percent of marketers reported that when half of all TV households use DVRs, they will cut spending on TV advertising by 12 percent.
  • Eighty-seven percent of respondents said they intend to spend more on Web advertising this year.
  • Seventy-two percent of marketers are very interested in having individual commercial ratings rather than average commercial ratings.

"As marketers embrace the richness of new advertising avenues outside of the traditional TV format, the TV industry is working to address marketer's issues related to ratings and the changing TV landscape," said Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the ANA. "Marketers, in collaboration with the TV industry, will continue to find the most effective and innovative ways to reach their customers through the TV medium, utilizing the emerging technologies available to them."

Additional insights from the survey include these:

  • Two-thirds of respondents indicate that C-level executives are watching the changes in TV advertising more closely, up from 54 percent two years ago.
  • Media agencies have vastly improved their ability to help their clients deal with the changes. Only 28 percent of respondents reported that their media agency is ill-equipped to address the changes in TV advertising, compared to 47 percent two years ago.
  • Creative agencies did not fare as well, with 47 percent of marketers indicating that their creative agency was still ill-equipped to help deal with changes, a slight improvement from 55 percent of marketers two years ago.

The TV & Technology study was conducted by the ANA through an online survey of its members in January 2008. Forrester Research advised in questionnaire development and conducted the analysis of the data received from respondents, which included 78 leading advertisers across all major industries and categories. The goal of the study was to measure the attitudes of national advertisers' toward television and the impact of technology on the television landscape. Findings of the survey will be shared with ANA members following the presentation at the ANA TV & Everything Video Forum.

To learn more about the upcoming ANA TV & Everything Video Forum, please visit: /events/conferencemtg/TAF-FEB08. To register as press for the event, please contact Lesley Weiner at lweiner@cooperkatz.com or 212.455.8079.


About the ANA

The mission of the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) is to drive growth for marketing professionals, brands and businesses, the industry, and humanity. The ANA serves the marketing needs of 20,000 brands by leveraging the 12-point ANA Growth Agenda, which has been endorsed by the Global CMO Growth Council. The ANA’s membership consists of U.S. and international companies, including client-side marketers, nonprofits, fundraisers, and marketing solutions providers (data science and technology companies, ad agencies, publishers, media companies, suppliers, and vendors). The ANA creates Marketing Growth Champions by serving, educating, and advocating for more than 50,000 industry members that collectively invest more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually.