Are TV Ad Campaigns Failing to Reach their Target Audiences?

By emeadows
August 29, 2012

According to new figures from Nielsen and Kantar Media based on TV viewing data from ad targeting company Simulmedia, many U.S. TV advertising campaigns are failing to reach a “large portion of their target audiences,” reports the Financial Times.
The data shows that “in many cases as many as three-quarters of marketers’ TV ad impressions are viewed by just 20 percent of their target audiences,” notes the article.
Multi-million dollar campaigns for Axe body spray and Progressive insurance, for example, are falling far short of expectations.
Even as viewing habits are changing, “TV ad spending remains the bulk of many companies’ marketing budgets,” explains the article. In fact, U.S. advertisers are still expected to allocate 42.2 percent of their total spending to TV ads this year, a figure up from 39 percent five years ago.
While the allocations are still proving to be profitable, a change should be considered in light of those evolving viewing habits, says David Cohen, global chief media officer at Interpublic’s Universal McCann.
“When you are sitting fat and happy, there is not a lot of impetus to make a change,” he suggests. “But I am fairly certain that whether we like it or not, the horse is out of the stable.”

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