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ANA Alliance for Family Entertainment Research Finds Ad Effectiveness Rises by 30 Percent in Family-Friendly Content

ANA Alliance for Family Entertainment Research Finds Ad Effectiveness Rises by 30 Percent in Family-Friendly Content
Study show gains in purchase intent and brand equity. Results from group's first proprietary research: Insight from leading advertisers to be featured at 2009 ANA Annual Conference

New York, NY - Ad effectiveness is a family affair, according to the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) Alliance for Family Entertainment's first proprietary research project. Ads for family products are more effective, demonstrate stronger purchase intent, and enhance brand equity when seen in family-friendly shows-but consumers will punish a brand if they view the same ads in what they consider inappropriate programming.

Results from the study and leading advertisers' insight on how to activate findings will be featured in a panel discussion at the 2009 ANA Annual Conference at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix later this week.  The research found that ad effectiveness soars by 30 percent in family-friendly content, particularly for family products. Purchase intent and brand equity also increase. Conversely, the study found that family brands advertising in adult content suffer decreases in the same areas.

Consumers identified adult content as containing gratuitous sex and violence and drug abuse.  Consumers want family friendly shows to include positive messages and realistic situations that show consequences.

The ANA Alliance commissioned noted research supplier PSB to conduct an online study among 2,400 consumers to determine the impact of show content on their views on brands and their responses to advertisements.   The test included six TV ads from companies in different industries whose collective advertising spending exceeds $10 billion.

Key findings include:

  • Ad effectiveness scores on each ad-even low-scoring commercials-jumped an average of 30% when they were seen on a family-oriented show.
  • 10.7 percent of the audience was more likely to purchase the brand when the ad was placed in a family-oriented show versus a program with adult-themed content.

ANA Alliance research at ANA Annual Conference

  • Brand equity-overall brand perception, reputation, caring and trust-were negative when ads for family products were viewed in the adult show. But airing ads for family-oriented brands in family content has significant positive impact on brand equity attributes.
  • When ads with children and families depicted in them were placed in adult-oriented content, the results were more polarizing than for spots which were primarily product or individual-focused.
  • Genres of content which were broadly seen as inappropriate are "sexual encounters" (39%), "graphic violence" (30%) and "drug use" (25%).
  • Consumers say that controversial shows are acceptable as long as the show is on at a later time.

"We've always known intuitively that programming context directly impacts consumers' perceptions of advertising," said Barbara Bacci Mirque, ANA executive vice president, who oversees ANA Alliance activities. "Now we finally have quantitative, actionable evidence. Our members still tell us that they cannot purchase enough family-oriented target rating points to meet their media objectives.  We need more family programming across multiple distribution platforms and will continue to research the media ecosystem to discover insights into the changing consumer that will help our members reach their goals." 

"As a group we can use our collective power to influence our programming partners and provide consumers with more family entertainment options, a goal that benefits both consumers and our members' ad dollars," added Mirque.

About the ANA Alliance for Family Entertainment
The Association of National Advertisers' Alliance for Family Entertainment includes nearly 40 of the largest national advertisers in America.  Its mission is to find, nurture, develop and support high-quality family content on broadcast/cable networks, internet, mobile devices and gaming platforms, or wherever consumers look for family entertainment. In 2008 the group expanded its mission and rebranded as the ANA Alliance for Family Entertainment (the coalition was formerly known as the Family Friendly Programming Forum) to reflect the transforming media industry and changing American family. 

The 2009 ANA Alliance member roster includes:  Allstate Insurance Company, AT&T Inc., Campbell Soup Company, ConAgra Foods , Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company, FedEx Services, General Mills, Inc., H&R Block, Inc., Hallmark Cards Inc., IBM Corporation, Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods, Inc., Mars US, McCormick & Company, Inc., McDonald's Corporation, Merck & Co., Inc., Nestle USA, PepsiCo, Inc., Pfizer Inc, Schering-Plough Corporation, State Farm Insurance, The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, Inc., The J.M. Smucker Company, The Procter & Gamble Company, Tyson Foods, Inc., Unilever United States, Inc., Verizon Communications, Walmart Stores, Inc., Walgreen Company and Wendy's International, Inc.

For more information about the ANA Alliance, visit http://www.anaafe.com/.

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.

For research summary or more information contact: Patty Kerr, 310.344.4487

For attendees at the 2009 ANA Annual Conference, the panel discussion will take place on:
Saturday, November 7, 2009 
Grand Sonoran E-G
Breakfast at 7:00 am, followed by Panel discussion at 7:30