• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 5, 2012

According to new research from Nielsen, promotion does drive TV viewership. Evaluating the impact of promotion on tune-in for over 60 different programs, promotion didn’t work in only one instance where the issue was scheduling against the NBA Finals.

Analysis of TV promotional campaigns by Nielsen discovered significant takeaways for marketers:

• To maximize the number of potential new viewers, promote off your own air, concludes the report. The average promotional campaigns for a series of fall 2011 network premieres reached 47% of Adults 18-49.The incremental reach from off-channel promotion averaged 4.4 reach points, including both cross-channel (free on sister networks) and paid ads on other networks. Among lighter network viewers, off-channel accounts for 7 incremental reach points of the 27% average reach.
• For new shows, off-channel promos are key. Viewers to a new show that were only exposed to on-channel promotion make up below 40% of the premiere’s audience.
• For returning shows, promos on your own air may be enough, concludes the report. The largest share of viewers tuning in to the premiere is those who only saw on-channel ads, making up over 75% of the premiere’s audience.
• Typically, around one-third of the total audience of a premiere was only exposed to a promo that day.
• Those exposed both long before, and day-of premiere, typically account for nearly half of the premiere’s audience.

And, Nielsen conducted an in-depth custom research study of advertising effectiveness of ads before, during and after the “Great Recession” to find out how advertisers reach and resonate with an increasingly diverse, demanding and connected audience.

The findings of the study to determine to what extent, if any, has the tumultuous economic climate and subsequent attitude shifts impacted consumer responsiveness to various creative tactics are summarized in the report as:

• Humorous ads have consistently resonated best with viewers, regardless of the economy or year
• During the recession, there was a notable lift in effectiveness of sentimental and value-oriented ads
• Ads focused on product features and promotion/price do not resonate with viewers even during  tough economic times
• The performance of narrative and sentimental ads has improved since 2006

The report concludes that economic cycles can now help predict ad effectiveness and consumer responsiveness to various creative strategies. The author recommends that marketers “...look for the rise of the global middle class, urbanization, the new female economy and a notable shift in advertising spending to all be engines for change and the future growth of consumer spending...”

To read more from the Nielsen blogs, please visit here and here.