Many marketers have become reliant on digital advertising, using mobile video ads and short-term messaging. Upper funnel awareness is fundamental to brand awareness and targeting customers, especially for new brands breaking into their industries. Guided by this notion, Effectv partnered with MediaScience to study the difference in effects between digital-only and TV campaigns.
The study consisted of 147 adults being shown 30-second ads on either YouTube or Facebook or a combination of the digital sites and TV. Viewers’ reactions to the mix of recognizable and fictitious brands were measured with biometrics, facial coding, eye tracking, and survey questions.
The results showed that viewers paid 2.7 times more attention to ads aired on TV compared to the digital ads on their own. This was accompanied by a doubling in brand recall and an increase in purchase intent by 15%. This finding suggests to brands that the combination of advertising on TV and digital captures more attention and lifts purchase intent when compared to digital advertising on its own.
Another key finding from the study was the observable halo effect, provided by TV for digital ads.
Participants experienced a 12% increase in brand attitude, and were considered less annoying, in response to digital ads preceded by a TV ad. Unknown brands experienced significant lifts in recall, brand recognition, brand attitude, and purchase intent, implying that new brands should turn to TV advertising because of the halo effect it provides.
The results from this report indicate that brands, especially the new and unknown, can benefit from a TV combined with digital strategy. This approach proved to improve total campaign performance, as a result of the halo and memory effects provided by TV. Brands appeared more appealing, trustworthy, and captured more attention from viewers, with unknown brands especially benefiting from these effects. For advertisers unsure of where to place their campaigns, they should take into account the familiarity of the brand and be made aware of the benefits of a combined TV and digital strategy.
