Survey: TV viewers don’t skip ads
July 28, 2016
Eighty-eight per cent of viewers across the UK do watch the adverts on live TV, according to research conducted by Censuswide.
The survey, commissioned by live ad insertion specialist Yospace, measuring the appetite and attitudes towards TV advertising in the online world, revealed that rather than avoiding ad breaks audiences actually want to see adverts that are personally relevant to them.
The study questioned 2001 consumers from 17 major cities around the UK and showed that 78 per cent would be more likely to take notice of adverts during live television if they were personally targeted. Sending a clear message to broadcasters and providers, one in five viewers want adverts that are relevant to where they live and exactly one fifth said they would be more interested if the ad was relevant to their age group.
The survey provides an interesting insight into consumer views and behaviours surrounding live television and the power of personalised advertising, enabled by the advent of online streaming, revealing that personally relevant ads are more likely to prompt action from audiences. 55 per cent of consumers said they would either be likely or very likely to look online for the product if an ad was targeted towards them personally, more than three quarters (78 per cent) said they would be likely to some degree to look in store for the product, or ask friends (64 per cent) about the product advertised.
In fact, the majority of consumers (62 per cent) said they had already taken follow up action after seeing an advert while watching live TV and more than one third had done so on several occasions. Viewers in the 16-24 age range scored the highest when it came to taking follow up action – with 73 per cent saying that they would look online for the product. This figure is significant because it points to future habits.
Despite the positive responses, the research also highlights that viewers have a low patience threshold for poorly operating advertising. For instance, one quarter (25 per cent) stated they would consider switching channel if there were technical problems with adverts on live TV and nearly one fifth (19 per cent) said they would think less of the broadcaster.
Tim Sewell, from Yospace, says: “Opinions were very strong in the survey, particularly among the younger audiences who will have a significant influence on advertising trends in the future. Live advertising needs to be fast forwarded into the future generation – the interest in watching ads is evident. However, replacement advertisements need to be selected according to the demographic of the viewer, in real-time and delivered seamlessly to make today’s audiences sit up and take notice.”
Key findings from study include:
– 88 per cent of people do watch the adverts during live TV at least some of the time
– 78 per cent would be more likely to take notice of adverts during live television if they were personally targeted
– Viewers showed a keen interest in ads that were relevant to their geographical location, age and interests
– Viewers in the 16-24 age range are most likely to take notice of personalised ads
– Almost three quarters of the 16-24 age range are likely, to some degree, to click on an advert they like online (74 per cent)