A new survey conducted by media consultancy outfit Simmons finds that U.S. consumers are 47 percent more “engaged” with advertisements that appear in online versions of television shows than they are with ads appearing in standard television. According to MediaPost, the study also finds consumers are 25 percent more engaged with the content of television shows they watch online than they are with shows they watch on television.
The Simmons survey was based on interviews wih a whopping 74,996 adults in the United States conducted between October 2006 and September 2007. The survey didn’t just ask about online viewing habits, but also asked consumers about magazines, television programs, and Web sites they read, watch, and visit.
But what does “engaged” mean? Simmons typically measures “engagement” by observing how respondents assign terms or phrases to the media they’re watching. Consumers might be asked whether a program or message was “trustworthy,” or might be something they’d talk about with friends, colleagues, or family. Respondents’ receptivity to advertising was measured by how relevant the respondents felt the ads were.
Simmons says the study suggests online video ads are more effective than standard television ads because users are more engaged with the Web or the particular site where the video is being watched than they typically are with a television. The “online factor” figured into things other than video: the study found that respondents were 18 more engaged with ads in online versions of magazines (as opposed to their print counterparts), and 15 percent more engaged in online magazine articles than with the same articles in print.
Overall, the study found women and younger consumers were somewhat more apt to be engaged by online media, and respondents between the ages of 35 and 54 were more likely to see the Internet as a trustworthy source of information.
