The 'Simultaneous Media Study' from BIGresearch contains some good bits of data to torture your media planners with next time they try to flog the client a TV heavy media plan:
(The difference between the two columns is a six month period: July 2007 and Dec 2007)
TV's influence on consumers to purchase products is declining, whereas new media options such as web radio, satellite radio, instant messaging and blogging are all increasing their influence both over purchase and the perceptions of a brand. TV, which has traditionally been viewed as a brand building medium, just isn't providing the requisite information.
The study also provides upto date information about what most of us are upto during the commercial break (if not fast-forwarding at 32x with SkyPlus). Channel surfing is still the number one regular activity during the ad break (41.2%). Here are some other stats:
33.5% talk with others in the room or by phone 30.2% mentally tune out 5.5% regularly fully attend to commercials
Or, to put the final point another way, 94.5% of those surveyed don't often fully engage with TV commercials. For any brand foolhardy enough to be ignoring the other channels, that should be an extremely sobering thought.
