Consumers reveal a preference for TV advertising over social media

Around a third of consumers say TV advertising is ‘entertaining’ (34%) and ‘informative’ (30%) – far more than the equivalent figures for social media advertising (17% and 19% respectively).

Why it matters

Despite growing levels of advertising investment, social media campaigns are most often called 'excessive' or 'intrusive' by audiences. The largest consumers of digital media are also most resistant towards targeted advertising, undermining one of the main benefits of digital campaigns.

The finding comes from an analysis of consumer attitudes to advertising, digital media, brand safety, and data-driven targeting in the UK and US, as measured by target audience company GWI in collaboration with WARC. 

The details 

• Younger audiences want to connect with advertising on an emotional level, while older audiences look for product information.
• More than half (53%) of consumers say an excessive number of ads negatively impacts their view of the brand.
• Younger audiences are easily distracted online – one in two (49%) say they regularly switch between multiple smartphone apps.