Are Family-Friendly Shows a Better Environment for Ads?
This question was reviewed in a November 4, 2009 article in Advertising Age based on recently released study results from the Association of National Advertisers. If you visit the website (http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=140308), you can read the article and a few reactions to it. Some think companies are already considering the context of where their ads are placed and avoiding controversial areas (“Marketing 101”), others don’t think it’s new, while others applaud it as helping to provide support for being selective in advertising placement.
While there are many sophisticated models for media placement, it is my belief that most companies to not evaluate the content of the programs where there ads are placed, other than in a general sense. The placement is driven almost, if not entirely, by the demographics reached and cost. The question is, can companies gain from being even more selective and looking more specifically at the content? In previous posts, I’ve shared some quantitative numbers showing that advertisers can gain by avoiding shows with certain content (e.g., those containing sex and violence). This study provides additional support this position.
The ANA conducted research with 2,400 consumers and tested six different ads by watching them in various program segments. According to the study, nearly 11% of the audience changed their opinion about purchasing a product based on the content in which they viewed the ad that promoted it.
While some may argue that this is a relatively small change and that the study doesn’t reflect what happens in the real world, my question is, why take a chance? If you have evidence to show that there’s a risk of decreased advertising effectiveness that could result in wasteful spending, isn’t it worth factoring it into the media selection decision? In the end, the decision will be based on dollars and cents, but if a company wants to be supportive of families, this is another source showing that there is a benefit to doing so. That’s part of what Family-Supportive Marketing does.
