• Ad Age, Tuesday, June 1, 2010 12:02 AM

Demographics have almost no effect on whether TV ads produce sales. Consumers' purchase history is the most reliable predictor of success, according to research from TRA, which has been pairing data from set-top TV boxes with retail loyalty-card purchase data since 2008.

The gender and age of viewers has little correlation with the way those viewers respond to ads, TRA President Bill Harvey said at the Advertising Research Foundation conference: "TV's major sales effect tends to be among people who are heavy purchasers in your categories and occasional purchasers of your brand." TRA has found that trade promotion executed in concert with TV advertising produces better sales lift than either element on its own. And that prime time may be pricey, but it general trumps other day parts in bang for buck.

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