Cooling viewing pleasure
Audience Research: The "summer of the century" caused TV ratings to drop—but not among all target groups.
Audience research The summer of the century caused TV ratings to fall - but not in all target groups. Swiss television was still a long way off when it was last as hot as this summer in 1947. There was even less audience research, and even media planning remained in an embryonic state. Advertisers were therefore faced with the question for the first time this year: Will my commercials still reach an audience - or will the TV remain switched off in the record heat? After all, bathing establishments reported record attendance, while Zurich cinemas counted half as many admissions in August as in the previous year. To answer this question, IP Multimedia compared the total reach of the years 2001 and 2002 with the year 2003 on an hourly basis for Advertising Week. The months January to May were summarized as the cool months and June to August (up to calendar week 32) as the hot months.
The two previous years already clearly demonstrate the existence of the summer slump. While usage during the day is at a uniformly low level in cool and hot months, the gap widens after work. In a normal summer, prime-time reach is 28%, while in the colder months of the year, over 35% of the population aged three and over switch on their television.
For this year's record summer, the analysis of Telecontrol data shows an even deeper summer slump (see chart). More devices were switched off between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. than in previous years, with coverage amounting to just 25%.
The heat is keeping a verifiable number of potential viewers away from television. However, the deviation from a normal summer is not spectacular. It is reasonable to assume that young people in particular prefer to use the beautiful summer evenings for outdoor activities rather than staying indoors. To test this hypothesis, the comparison between cold and warm months was also carried out for the target group of 15 to 34-year-olds.
The surprise: Despite the heat, the separately determined target group does not watch less television than in the "cooler" summer months! The curve for 2003 remains only slightly below that of the two previous years in prime time. The record temperatures even seem to have driven younger viewers in front of the screen: On the previous evening between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., the reach is around two percent higher. "The TV lounge as a refuge from the sweltering heat? It's possible ...", muses IP research manager Giordano Giordani. In any case, media planners can rest easy: TV as an advertising medium did not melt away even in the summer of the century.
In the summer of the century in 2003, only slightly more TV sets were switched off during prime time compared to 2002 and 2001.
The target group of 15 to 34-year-olds, which is particularly keenly observed by advertisers, watched no less television this summer.
Stefano Monachesi
The two previous years already clearly demonstrate the existence of the summer slump. While usage during the day is at a uniformly low level in cool and hot months, the gap widens after work. In a normal summer, prime-time reach is 28%, while in the colder months of the year, over 35% of the population aged three and over switch on their television.
For this year's record summer, the analysis of Telecontrol data shows an even deeper summer slump (see chart). More devices were switched off between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. than in previous years, with coverage amounting to just 25%.
The heat is keeping a verifiable number of potential viewers away from television. However, the deviation from a normal summer is not spectacular. It is reasonable to assume that young people in particular prefer to use the beautiful summer evenings for outdoor activities rather than staying indoors. To test this hypothesis, the comparison between cold and warm months was also carried out for the target group of 15 to 34-year-olds.
The surprise: Despite the heat, the separately determined target group does not watch less television than in the "cooler" summer months! The curve for 2003 remains only slightly below that of the two previous years in prime time. The record temperatures even seem to have driven younger viewers in front of the screen: On the previous evening between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., the reach is around two percent higher. "The TV lounge as a refuge from the sweltering heat? It's possible ...", muses IP research manager Giordano Giordani. In any case, media planners can rest easy: TV as an advertising medium did not melt away even in the summer of the century.
In the summer of the century in 2003, only slightly more TV sets were switched off during prime time compared to 2002 and 2001.
The target group of 15 to 34-year-olds, which is particularly keenly observed by advertisers, watched no less television this summer.
Stefano Monachesi
