• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 22, 2006

As advertisers seek greater viewer engagement, the Television Bureau of Advertising is urging them to embrace geographic targeting--a pitch based on the logical concept that certain markets offer more opportunity for certain products.

Trade group TVB released a study by IAG Research yesterday revealing that so-called "topic-engaged" consumers--people interested in a particular brand message, in part because they may be in the market for a type of product--respond far more passionately to ads than their disinterested counterparts. Among the study's findings are individuals "in market" for an SUV liked SUV ads 73 percent more than "non-topic-engaged" consumers, and high cholesterol sufferers are twice as likely to talk to their doctor after viewing an ad for a treatment than non-sufferers.

TVB wants to use the common-sense conclusions to drive more spot ad dollars, particularly in the pharmaceutical/direct-to-consumer category. TVB President Chris Rohrs said only about 4 percent of television dollars in the category are spent on local buys--which he termed as a missed opportunity, since the incidence of conditions such as allergies, high blood pressure, and diabetes varies so much by region.

"You get a real boost in your response by picking the right markets," he said.

The point was emphasized in another section of the research that found that with high cholesterol, viewers in high CDI markets were 50 percent more likely to call their doctor based on an ad than in low CDI areas.

By focusing on high-CDI market Detroit, marketers could boost sales of cholesterol drugs by an estimated $75 million a year, Rohrs said.

Rohrs attributed the DTC category's heavy reliance on national broadcast to marketers' entrenched comfort levels. He said that when the category took off following the FDA's policy change in 1997, marketers launched with large national television and print efforts, and have largely stuck with them. "Nobody has evolved the marketing plan since then," he said.

Other results from the research show consumers in the market for a pickup truck liked ads for the trucks 42 percent more than "non-topic-engaged" consumers, while in the fast-food category there was a 26 percent jump in likeability.

"Talking to people who have an interest in what you're telling them is a heck of a lot more effective than when you're talking to people who don't," said Barbara Zack, managing director and chief strategic officer at IAG Research.

Results, which were unveiled at a breakfast presentation yesterday, were based on online responses by thousands of individuals.

One attendee, Kathy Crawford, president of local broadcast at MindShare, said she was receptive to the data, but would reserve judgment until she reviewed it. She said the fact that online surveys were used might impact her conclusions.

Zack, however, said that online responses would not have impacted the results.