• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, July 14, 2023

Repetitive advertising can damage a brand’s reputation and decrease purchase intent, according to a study from IPG’s Magna unit, and ad tech firm Nexxen, which specializes in video and connected television (CTV).

Kara Manatt, executive vice president of intelligence solutions at Magna, believes running a spot repeatedly during the same show might improve recall, but she questions the cost. Consumers participating in the study were clearly frustrated with brands serving the same ad repeatedly.

Overexposure to the same ad campaigns is “annoying” and “disruptive," according to the findings. Some 87% of participants said they repeatedly see too many of the same ads on streaming platforms.

As the ad views increase, their purchase intent declines. In fact, the intent-to-purchase declined 16% with higher frequencies of repeated ad exposures among those who saw the same ad six times.

One programmatic vendor covered regularly by "Inside Performance" used to run the same spot three to four times in a row on CTV, though management said it was unintentional. With more search advertisers delving into CTV, ad frequency capping should become a consideration.

The study, "It’s All in the Delivery: How Repeating Ads Affect CTV Viewers, Brands and Platforms," leveraged controlled ad effectiveness testing among 1,246 streaming viewers to learn how they felt about repetitive advertising. The ads were provided by athletic wear marketer New Balance, and restaurant chain, Applebee’s.

Recall peaked at 92% for participants who saw the same ad six times, but negative associations spiked, too. Some 48% of viewers said the ad was “annoying,” and 33% said “disruptive to their overall experience.”

Some 83% of viewers believed that repeating ads was done intentionally, 68% believed it was the brand’s intention to repeat the ad.

Streaming platforms also were implicated, with 44% of viewers believing that the platform intended to repeat the ad. True or not, these assumptions lend to negative feelings and actions about the brand.

Positive brand perceptions also were hampered by ad frequency. The findings show that brands saw a decline from 25% on one ad exposure to 17% on six ad exposures.

Some 43% of viewers said they are willing to check into another streaming service, and 19% said they are willing to terminate the subscription if they see too many of the same ad. Fifty-one percent said they will take action in response to repeating ads.