For several years, industry analysts have suggested that marketers eschewing ads in HD are missing an opportunity, since more programming is carried in the format. The gap between the amount of HD
programming and HD advertising may be closing, but the cost is high: Per new research that employes set-top box data, it is negatively taking some $8 billion in ad value out of the market.
An
estimated 74% of U.S. homes watched HDTV last year, but only 16% of ads ran in HD. That is up from 61% of homes and 8% of ads in 2010, according to Kantar and Digital Generation.
With millions
watching shows such as “NCIS” and “Modern Family,” the researchers said this effectively means loads of viewers “enjoyed visually compelling, clear, crisp, bright
television … only to have that high-quality experience interrupted with advertising, which, no matter how potentially persuasive the content, lacked the captivating visual acuity and excitement
high-definition provides.”
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Researchers probed whether HD ads keep viewer attention longer than ads running in standard definition. It found that SD spots brought so much tuneaway --
channel switching, etc. -- that $8.2 billion worth of ad spending may be lost due to a lack of HD spots.
“The benefit of airing a commercial in high-definition is that it yields
substantial audience lifts, which translates into billions of dollars in potential commercial value,” Kantar and Digital Generation wrote.
The STB data culled from DirecTV homes
Kantar collects was used in the research with DG, providing access to second-by-second data from 100,000 DirecTV homes. The research looked at behavior during 2.4 million national commercials in March
2011.
The research found HD spots brought 18% higher audience retrention than SD ads overall. Broken down, viewing retention was 28% higher when an HD ad aired in the first pod position. It
was also higher across multiple ad categories from 9% higher for autos to 33% for beverages and quick-service restaurants.
The same applied across dayparts with retention higher for HD versus
SD ads by 20% in the daytime 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. block and by 12% in prime time.