NEW YORK: Nearly half of marketers--47 percent--increased television advertising budgets since 2009, according to a survey by the Association of National Advertisers. About 30 percent of respondents said that budgets remained the same, while 23 percent noted their budgets decreased.
The survey was conducted online by the ANA during July and August of 2011. In total, 135 client-side marketers responded. On average, respondents had 15 years of marketing experience.
They said television is still the top media platform for advertisers. However, 60 percent of respondents indicated that television is facing stiff competition from other media. Other threats to television advertising's effectiveness include:
~ Fractured attention, due to surfing the Internet and / or texting while watching television--57 percent.
~ Commercial avoidance due to the use of DVRs--56 percent)
At the same time, respondents identified opportunities associated with TV advertising. The top two are comparable metrics across all media, and video/commercials extending to the Internet, mobile devices and so forth.
The vast majority surveyed were interested in receiving individual commercial ratings--82 percent. This finding supported a recent ANA initiative that found a growing desire for reporting brand specific commercial ratings.
“There was much chatter in the past about the television medium and 30-second spot being dead, but this survey has shown that TV advertising is very much alive--perhaps even more so than in the past,” said Bill Duggan, group executive vice president at ANA. “Even with the risk of competition from other media platforms and the use of DVRs, there are still many opportunities for marketers to optimize TV into their marketing mix.”
In regard to television and marketing strategy, survey findings suggested there are differences between how business-to-consumer marketers are leveraging TV for growth compared to business-to-business marketers. Since B-to-C companies tend to have a broader consumer base and a larger advertising budget, television advertising may be a more effective media channel for them. This is demonstrated by the fact that 64 percent of B-to-C marketers reported that their television budget has increased over the past two years, compared to 27 percent of B-to-B marketers. On average, more B-to-C marketers surveyed--36 percent--said that television advertising has become increasingly important to their marketing strategy in the past two years. By comparison, just 13 percent of B-to-B marketers agreed with that statement.
