• by Mike Bloxham , Op-Ed Contributor, February 7, 2007

Ever tried watching TV without a remote? Recently, I mean?

Those of us who are in that stage of life where we are less forthcoming about our age than we once were can probably remember such behavior, but for the vast majority it is unlikely to be part of any recent viewing experience.

You should try it -- it's a fascinating experience. It happened to me without any planning on my part a few years ago when staying in a small holiday home that we'd rented for the week. For some reason the TV was minus its remote control, so when we sat at the end of a day -- pleasantly relaxed/exhausted by long walks in coastal winds -- to recover our energies in front of something suitably undemanding, we experienced a totally different viewing experience. We found that channel surfing was totally absent, switching between programs and following more than one narrative was banished -- and we saw a phenomenal number of ads!

Though only 10 feet or so lay between us and the TV, it was amazing how much stuff we would sit through rather than change the channel. It makes sense for the ads, as any ad break only lasts so long before the program is back again. But it even applied to our patience with the programming. We would leave programs on the screen that we weren't remotely interested in and just focus our attention elsewhere until something else "worth watching" happened along.

I felt like some sort of lab rat in a deprivation study (one that I must get around to running at some point), constantly reminded just what impact the remote has as the consumers' very own WMD, blowing holes in broadcast schedules and campaign plans at the twitch of a thumb.

Since then I've been involved in a good deal of research about media consumption, including one piece recently that looked at how people behave when watching prime-time TV. A pilot project that we intend to expand in the near future, it looked at screen-based behavior as well as environmental behavior such as using other media, leaving the room, etc. For those interested in more detail on the project, we produced an article for January's Admap. One of the areas of interest was ad avoidance.

Ad avoidance is, of course, an emotionally charged subject, but one which is often looked at too simplistically. After all, an ad unseen is not necessarily an ad avoided. There are many reasons for not seeing an ad on TV. One of these is an outright desire not see a load of ads when you'd rather be watching a program you like, which leads to channel-hopping and fast-forwarding for the DVR-enabled. But there are many other reasons too, ranging from use of the on-screen program guide to inform later viewing, conversation, leaving the room to do something else (which is often less about explicitly avoiding ads and more about seeking something else, like refreshment), use of other media, etc.

As a result of our research, we've begun to categorize these as "scene shifting" -- that which makes the ads unavailable through things like switching channel or leaving the room -- and "attention shifting" -- where the ads are still on screen, but the viewer's attention is focused elsewhere, as when in conversation or using another medium (where attention is at least compromised by cognitive demand). We would argue that these behavioral categories at least go some way toward providing a path away from the blunt instrument of "ad avoidance," which pays no heed to behavioral motivation or overall receptiveness to advertising.

While the end result of an un-viewed ad is the same regardless of motivation, it is important to work toward an understanding of behavior and how to influence it. In this regard, the question of the incidence of either attention shifting or scene shifting in ad breaks versus programming is an interesting one. We believe one cannot properly address this question with numbers alone. We also need to understand any perceived opportunity cost involved in behaviors such as leaving the room during the program relative to doing so during the ad break. If a viewer is not in a DVR home and the program is a favorite, it makes sense that anything that can be put off will be until either the end of the program or until a break. Once again, this is in no way indicative of attitudes towards advertising.

The sooner we are able to deepen our understanding of these less obvious aspects of viewing behavior, the sooner we will be able to expand our understanding of how best to deal with the challenges and opportunities presented by changing media formats and capabilities. The sooner, too, we will be able to move beyond our all-too-simplistic definition of "ad avoidance."