Balancing TV Reach with Performance

TV remains the best option for advertisers seeking the widest possible reach, but reach does not equate to performance: new research highlights the various buy elements that make the difference between low- and high-performing ads.

Using data from its own platform, TVSquared, a TV attribution specialist, analysed £49.2m in UK TV ad spend across more than 300,000 spots from January to September 2019; cost, response and audience data were evaluated across the finance, beauty, travel and food delivery sectors.

While evening primetime delivers the biggest audiences, it’s not actually the most effective time of day: the response rate was 18% below average and the cost-per-response (CPR) was expensive, being 49% above average.

Early morning was, overwhelmingly, the strongest performing daypart, with a response rate of 380% above average and a CPR 37% below average.

Weekday daytime delivered a response rate 54% above average and CPR 38% below average, while the equivalent figures for weekend daytime were a response rate of 103% above average and an average CPR.

Weekends generally delivered the most effective response rates, with Saturday 66% above average and Sunday 56% above average.

The analysis further found that shorter spots of 10 and 20 seconds drove the most response with audiences – at 4x and 19x respectively; they were also the most efficient, with CPR rates of 35% and 30% below average, respectively.

In terms of genre, TVSquared reported that Foreign Language performed best, with a response rate of 377% above average. Music and Fine Arts and Children’s programming were also strong performers.

“It’s no longer enough for advertisers to assume the biggest audience reach will also deliver the greatest performance,” said Mark Hudson, Head of Business Intelligence, TVSquared.

“TV’s position within the modern media mix means it is essential that marketers can quantify how ad spend is driving business outcomes. It’s only through continuous campaign performance measurement and optimisation that brands can find the TV buy elements that work best for them.”