Study: TV advertising still more effective than online advertising videos

This is shown by the international marketing and market research company Millward Brown in its study "Adreaction: Video Creative in a Digital World". The marketing experts analyzed the cross-screen video consumption behavior of more than 13,500 consumers in 42 countries. With the help of parallel copy tests on TV sets, desktops and mobile devices, the influence of the creative design of commercials was examined. The study provides insights into how and where advertising is perceived, when consumers react to advertising messages and which creative approaches work best on the different end devices.

Germans watch almost three hours of video content per day

According to the study, 55% of daily device usage in Germany is attributable to the consumption of video content. This means that German multiscreen users between the ages of 16 and 45 watch an average of 174 minutes of video per day across all screens. 58% of video content is watched on TV or on-demand TV, with the remainder being watched on mobile devices. At 19%, the smartphone is slightly below the global average (22%). In an international comparison, the proportion of digital video usage is higher among 16 to 24-year-olds (56%) than among 35 to 45-year-olds (43%). However, online advertising videos are less popular than the global average, especially in Germany. Consumers are much more open to TV commercials. One of the reasons for this is that they already expect to see advertising when watching videos on TV.

"Although video content can be used on different screens, the concept of a classic TV commercial cannot simply be transferred to digital devices. Consumers today expect much more from online advertising," explains Bernd Büchner, Managing Director of Millward Brown in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. "Based on the Adreaction study, we can support marketing managers in developing effective media strategies and creative ideas to address the right target group with the right messages at the right time."

From an international perspective, the majority of study participants are convinced that they have a greater influence on online advertising videos than on traditional TV commercials (63%). Accordingly, consumers react with irritation to online videos that cannot be clicked away or closed, for example.

Skippable pre-rolls (34%) and skippable mobile pre-rolls (31%) are preferred over pop-ups in apps (14%) and non-skippable pre-rolls (15%). The most popular format is the mobile app video that offers the viewer an incentive (49%), for example in the form of rewards in online games.

Millward Brown formulates Three practical tipsto drive the effectiveness and success of creative video spots:

- Consumers are open to targeting - but do not want to be monitored: Consumers are open to advertising videos that target personal interests or well-known brands (40 percent). The least effective videos are those created based on browsing history (25 percent). Even if search behavior on the Internet drives interest-based targeting, a sensitive approach is the most promising.

- Context counts: 49 percent of consumers reject advertising videos on smartphones. Marketers therefore have to work hard to gain the attention of users. 29% of consumers surveyed worldwide would not skip advertising videos if they offered an incentive to watch them in full. Consumers therefore prefer video solutions that can be skipped or that only start when clicked.

- Content is still king: digital formats should already be included in the creation phase so that the advertising videos can be used across all screens. Skippable ads represent a creative challenge - but the effort pays off.

About the study

More than 13,500 multiscreen users aged 16 to 45 in 42 countries were surveyed via smartphone or tablet for the study. Multiscreen users are people who own a TV set, smartphone and/or tablet or have access to these media. Parallel to the study, 20 TV commercials were examined on TV sets, desktops and mobile devices in eight countries using copy tests. The study has been conducted since 2001. It provides insights into consumer perception of advertising messages, especially in digital formats.