NEW YORK: Brands need to take a "cross-media" approach in order to generate the best returns from their advertising in the digital age, according to a study by The Nielsen Company.
In its report, the research firm argued the advent of Wi-fi and a wide range of mobile devices has given birth to a generation of "anytime, anywhere media mavens."
Reaching this audience requires evaluating media plans from the customers' perspective, and adopting a highly targeted approach.
"The key to efficient planning is aligning media inventory with precisely defined consumer segments that go beyond demographics to encompass client-specific profiles," Nielsen said.
While TV remains the medium of choice for many people – with average monthly viewing times having increased by more than an hour to 158 hours in the last decade – a more sophisticated model is needed.
For example, nearly 40% of adults in homes with web connections engage in simultaneous media use at least once a week, logging on to Facebook, tweeting or instant messaging while watching broadcast content.
"Advertisers can respond to this dynamically- changing market by adopting a highly integrated approach to media planning. Despite television's stranglehold on eyeballs, change is in the airwaves," Nielsen said.
Research into direct-to-consumer drug advertising found that twin exposure via TV and PC was more than twice as likely to prompt patients to ask their doctor about a specific product than television alone.
Premium, in-stream video ads shown during full-length TV shows played back online also generated significantly higher levels of ad recall and brand recognition than other web ads or TV spots.
However, while the net is accounting for an increasing share of overall media consumption, this channel only took 3% of DTC adspend last year.
In contrast, TV – including network, cable, syndicated and spot commercials – held a 66% share of all revenues, with magazines on 25% and newspapers on 4%.
Such an approach failed to take advantage of the unique advantages of the contemporary media environment, which potentially "fuses the best of all worlds into a single, cross-platform view."
As such, just as traditional media planning and buying methods based on age and gender have been replaced by factors such as family profile and lifestyle, a more diverse model is now required.
This also applies to retailers and brand owners, given that members of their target audience are now placing the web at the heart of the purchase process.
In order to gain an insight into this activity, Nielsen conducted a survey of 27,000 web users in 55 markets across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America.
It found that some 57% of respondents read reviews on the net before buying consumer electronics goods, with 45% saying the same about cars.
When software is on the shopping list, 37% of those polled said electronic word of mouth was one of their three top reasons for choosing one brand over another.
Negative remarks posted on the web are also playing an increasingly important role, although not all participants to the survey were were willing to voice their displeasure in this way.
Overall, 59% of contributors said they would not share a negative product experience on Twitter or by writing an online review.
In its report, the research firm argued the advent of Wi-fi and a wide range of mobile devices has given birth to a generation of "anytime, anywhere media mavens."
Reaching this audience requires evaluating media plans from the customers' perspective, and adopting a highly targeted approach.
"The key to efficient planning is aligning media inventory with precisely defined consumer segments that go beyond demographics to encompass client-specific profiles," Nielsen said.
While TV remains the medium of choice for many people – with average monthly viewing times having increased by more than an hour to 158 hours in the last decade – a more sophisticated model is needed.
For example, nearly 40% of adults in homes with web connections engage in simultaneous media use at least once a week, logging on to Facebook, tweeting or instant messaging while watching broadcast content.
"Advertisers can respond to this dynamically- changing market by adopting a highly integrated approach to media planning. Despite television's stranglehold on eyeballs, change is in the airwaves," Nielsen said.
Research into direct-to-consumer drug advertising found that twin exposure via TV and PC was more than twice as likely to prompt patients to ask their doctor about a specific product than television alone.
Premium, in-stream video ads shown during full-length TV shows played back online also generated significantly higher levels of ad recall and brand recognition than other web ads or TV spots.
However, while the net is accounting for an increasing share of overall media consumption, this channel only took 3% of DTC adspend last year.
In contrast, TV – including network, cable, syndicated and spot commercials – held a 66% share of all revenues, with magazines on 25% and newspapers on 4%.
Such an approach failed to take advantage of the unique advantages of the contemporary media environment, which potentially "fuses the best of all worlds into a single, cross-platform view."
As such, just as traditional media planning and buying methods based on age and gender have been replaced by factors such as family profile and lifestyle, a more diverse model is now required.
This also applies to retailers and brand owners, given that members of their target audience are now placing the web at the heart of the purchase process.
In order to gain an insight into this activity, Nielsen conducted a survey of 27,000 web users in 55 markets across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America.
It found that some 57% of respondents read reviews on the net before buying consumer electronics goods, with 45% saying the same about cars.
When software is on the shopping list, 37% of those polled said electronic word of mouth was one of their three top reasons for choosing one brand over another.
Negative remarks posted on the web are also playing an increasingly important role, although not all participants to the survey were were willing to voice their displeasure in this way.
Overall, 59% of contributors said they would not share a negative product experience on Twitter or by writing an online review.
Data sourced from Nielsen; additional content by Warc staff
