Advertising via mobile DTV to viewers on the go could provide advertisers with a variety of benefits, including the ability to reach consumers with messages tailored to meet the needs of people in transit, according to a newly released study.
In partnership with the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), TVB and the Ad Council planned and executed a mobile ad campaign over the summer, based on the longstanding local TV “Project Roadblock” PSA campaign designed to raise awareness of the dangers of drunk driving and buzzed driving.
The campaign was included in the real-world Consumer Showcase of Mobile DTV in Washington, D.C. The three-week “Project Roadblock: Mobile” campaign, centered around the July 4 holiday, included three advertising elements: 30-second spots, interstitial billboards that appeared during channel changes, and interactive banner ads that appeared on the mobile DTV channel guide. Eight local broadcast stations participated in the campaign.
Harris Interactive conducted surveys pre- and post-campaign to provide information on awareness and recall of the PSAs for mobile TV viewers. Key findings include:
- Recall of anti-drunk driving advertising by mobile phone users in the showcase more than doubled, from 15 percent prior to the launch of the campaign to 34 percent post-campaign.
- The majority of users (69 percent) who recalled seeing the ads saw them while they were away from home.
- While the 30-second spots had the highest recall, fully one-third of mobile phone users who remembered seeing the ads also remembered seeing the interstitial billboards.
- A number of respondents were able to recall key elements of the campaign, including specific visuals that were unique to the billboard ads.
Managed by the OMVC and sponsored by LG Electronics and Samsung, the Mobile DTV Consumer Showcase provided nearly 375 participants with either a specially-modified mobile phone, netbook or mobile digital TV/portable DVD player. In exchange, showcase participants provided feedback on their experience. With 147 mobile phone users in the mobile-advertising case study, the test results should be considered directional rather than statistically projectable; nonetheless, the results are noteworthy and provide a good starting point for future Mobile DTV tests and the promise of Mobile DTV advertising, TVB said.
