ANA: Half of marketers increased TV budgets since 2009

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A survey by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) shows that nearly half of marketers (47%) increased television ad budgets since 2009. 30% of respondents said that budgets remained the same, while 23% noted their budgets decreased. Television is still the top media platform for advertisers.  However, 60% of respondents indicated that television is facing stiff competition from other media.  Other threats to television advertising’s effectiveness include: Fractured attention, due to surfing the Internet and/or texting while watching television (57%); and commercial avoidance due to the use of DVRs (56%).


At the same time, respondents identified opportunities associated with TV advertising.  The top two are comparable metrics across all media, and video/commercials extending to the Internet, mobile devices, etc. The vast majority surveyed are interested in receiving individual commercial ratings (82%).  This finding supports a recent ANA initiative that found a growing desire for reporting brand specific commercial ratings. This survey was conducted online by the ANA during July and August.  In total, 135 client-side marketers responded. 

For television and marketing strategy, survey findings suggest there are differences between how business-to consumer marketers are leveraging TV for growth compared to business-to-business marketers.  Since B-to-C companies tend to have a broader consumer base and a larger advertising budget, television advertising may be a more effective media channel for them.  This is demonstrated by the fact that 64% of B-to-C marketers reported that their television budget has increased over the past two years, compared to 27% of B-to-B marketers.  On average, more B-to-C marketers surveyed (36%) said that television advertising has become increasingly important to their marketing strategy in the past two years. By comparison, just 13% of B-to-B marketers agreed with that statement.

RBR-TVBR observation: Of course, the economy had a lot to do with the increased spend, but nonetheless, the future is brighter for television ad creative than some may even imagine. While some see a threat of competition from other media platforms, many of the spots created for traditional TV are the same spots that roll into mobile and online TV programming. The money still gets spent on the traditional network and production company content holders, many of which are current networks that have migrated programming online.