It's official: TV is still the most effective ad medium there is. At least, that's the conclusion of Payback 3, a report compiled by Thinkbox and launched in London last week. According to work undertaken for the study by researchers at Ebiquity, TV ROI is 22% higher than it was in 2006, despite the economic downturn and the growing effects of the digital revolution and media fragmentation. The sales impact of using TV in your campaign also far outstrips other paid-for media channels.
Taken as a whole, the report, topline findings from which were reported by Warc News on the day of release, provides a pretty comprehensive defence of the mass communications model. It also serves as a warning for marketers about over-segmenting their audience. After all, it is the huge reach of TV that ultimately boosts its effectiveness: no other channel can provide the "watercooler moments" advertisers crave; and, despite the rise of new media over recent years, it seems that no other channel is likely to.
At the launch event, I asked Neil Mortensen of Thinkbox what he thought were the standout results from the study.
The Ebiquity econometrics research also offered insights into the "halo effect" of TV campaigns, how to budget for TV within the media mix, and best practice for using TV to advertise different product categories, including financial services and FMCG.
Fuller findings of Payback 3, including key ad creative and results of a neuroscience project undertaken for the Thinkbox study by Neuro Insight, can be found in the full Warc report of the launch event.
