Who's watching? Nearly a third of TV ads play to empty rooms

Date:
February 11, 2022
Source:
Cornell University
Summary:
Paying thousands of dollars to advertise on television is a huge
proposition -- never more so than for the Super Bowl, for which
30-second TV spots this year will cost advertisers as much as
$6.5 million.

Contrary to Super Bowl s, which are some of the most high- profile
commercials, new research shows nearly a third of TV ads play to
empty rooms.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Paying thousands of dollars to advertise on television is a huge
proposition - - never more so than for the Super Bowl, for which 30-second
TV spots this year will cost advertisers as much as $6.5 million. Contrary
to Super Bowl s, which are some of the most high-profile commercials,
new Cornell University research shows nearly a third of TV ads play to
empty rooms.


========================================================================== Advertising pricing relies on measuring how many TVs are tuned in to a
specific channel, and not whether people are actually watching the TVs.

"We wanted to quantify whether the current industry standard is doing
a good job predicting what advertisers care about," said lead author
Jura Liaukonyte, associate professor in the Cornell SC Johnson College
of Business.

For this research, the co-authors worked with TVision Insights, a TV performance metrics company that developed innovative technology to
passively monitor who's in the room and whether they're actually looking
at what's on the TV screen, while respecting viewer privacy.The research analyzed 4 million ad exposures over the course of a year.

Their findings -- including the fact that nearly a third of TV ads play
to empty rooms, and that viewers are four times more likely to leave
the room than change the channel -- are detailed in "How Viewer Tuning, Presence and Attention Respond to Ad Content and Predict Brand Search
Lift," which published Feb. 9 in Marketing Science.

Among other results, the team found that ad viewing behaviors vary
depending on channel, time of day, program genre, age and gender. For
example, older viewers are more likely to avoid ads by changing channels; younger viewers are more likely to avoid ads by leaving the room or
diverting their visual attention - - likely due to multitasking with a
second screen.

Additionally, ads for recreational products -- beer and video games, for example -- do the best at retaining viewers, the researchers said. Among
the worst at keeping eyes on the screen are prescription drug ads,
particularly those for serious conditions.

The Super Bowl, of course, is a different animal from every other show
in the TV ad realm, the researchers said.

"It has become sort of like the Oscars for the advertising industry," Liaukonyte said.

Cornell Chronicle version of story:
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/02/
nearly-third-tv-ads-play-empty-rooms ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cornell_University. Original written
by Tom Fleischman, courtesy of the Cornell Chronicle. Note: Content may
be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Matthew McGranaghan, Jura Liaukonyte, Kenneth C. Wilbur. How Viewer
Tuning, Presence, and Attention Respond to Ad Content and
Predict Brand Search Lift. Marketing Science, 2022; DOI:
10.1287/mksc.2021.1344 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220211080612.htm

--- up 9 weeks, 6 days, 7 hours, 13 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)