This is an interesting one and I can't believe I almost missed it.
Digital video recorders may indeed be the advertising bogeyman that media people have long feared. A study comparing DVR and non-DVR households released yesterday from Information Resources, a Chicago firm, suggests that ad-skipping may be cutting into new product purchases. The research found that households with DVRs purchase about 5% fewer new package-goods products than households without DVRs. Further, 20% of the more than two dozen brands surveyed had lower sales volume than in the non-DVR households. Interestingly, when brands diversified by spending at least 20% of their media budgets on non-TV media, there was no difference between DVR and non-DVR household purchasing.
So on one hand, the research is telling us that when people watch less 30-second spots, they buy less NEW packaged goods i.e. TV is good. The other conclusion is that when it comes to finding out about new purchases, TV plays a role in affecting purchases.
That said (and here's where I burst into spontaneous evil laughter), it's also saying that the incremental efficacy of TV is only equivalent to 5%. Anyone who has a DVR knows that the impact of TiVo and the like is not a marginal change in behavior, but a substantial and exponential one i.e difference between watching 30-second spots and essentially not is only 5%. I'll take "50% of my budget is wasted for millions of dollars, Trebek." Holy crap!
Additionally, there is the implication that it is imperative to embrace the "93 colors". When reallocating 20% of the budget elsewhere, the 5% lost spending is negated in non-DVR households. Again, this implies a degree of inefficiency i.e. 20% spending chasing 5% sales, however the net effect here is the "status quo" outcome i.e. normalcy especially amongst the more proactive, DVR-households.
One might also infer that several even newer approaches (conversational marketing, influencer outreach etc.) present additional potential conversion opportunities.
All in all, it's a few more nails in the coffin of inefficient and ineffective traditional advertising.
Via Medialife
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