TV Ads, WOM Best Tools To Promote Shows

tv watchersAlthough the digital age gets a lot of buzz over influencing TV program choices, a new survey about swaying viewers says old marketing ways still work best.

Television advertising is still tops for viewers when discovering and watching new programming -- this according to a Knowledge Networks report. Traditional TV promotion got a 46% score.

Second place went to word-of-mouth marketing (38%), coming from in-person or phone conversations. WOM marketing has gained increasing value in other studies as well. TV stories about TV programs and/or reviews came next, ringing up 32%.

But all this changes substantially when it comes to near-term viewing decisions. While TV promos are still important (37%), interactive program guides took a close second (32%) in terms of value to viewers. Word-of-mouth marketing was next (27%), followed by TV stories and/or reviews (24%).

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Looking at just online video, word-of-mouth marketing was the easy leader in terms of overall marketing value (41%). Search engines came in at second place (32%). Then came stories/reviews on the Internet (27%).

Hot marketing tool social media did not fare as well in either category -- earning a 14% number when it came to traditional TV shows, this when talking with friends or family. It did a bit better with online videos, at 20% -- but it came in sixth place in overall value.

TV Viewers chart

Online Viewers chart


1 comment about "TV Ads, WOM Best Tools To Promote Shows".
                        

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  1. Douglas Ferguson from College of Charleston,
                                    November 20, 2009 at 12:35 p.m.
                                
    No one can dispute that TV ads, combining sight, sound, and motion in a way that no other traditional mass medium can, are tremendously effective.  We know that.
    But it's getting harder and harder to force viewers to watch the ads, thanks to technology.  The DVR and the Internet have compressed the attention span to the point where people just want content and have little patience for mandated interruptions of any kind, especially when they can no longer be forced to view them.  
    As the DVR and Internet become increasingly intertwined with the TV sets themselves (witness the new model appearing on Best Buy shelves this Christmas), the problem will get worse and worse.  The tipping point is in plain sight.
    It's the behavior, stupid.  Not the functionality of the message.

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