New Research Study Confirms Effectiveness of Targeted TV Ads

A new 16-month research study by Comcast and Starcom Media Vest found that TV viewers who are shown advertising tailored to their interests and needs (study targeted households identified by Experian data as pet owners) are 30% less likely to switch channels.

Wall Stree Journal (subscription required):

"The idea of trying to reach people with ads that are more relevant isn't new to direct-mail and Web marketers. But TV advertising, at least in this respect, is behind the curve. The TV business is only slowly starting to roll out technology that allows advertisers to target narrow slices of the audience. With marketers clamoring for more sophistication and accountability in the $70 billion U.S. television-ad market, ad executives say such technology is key to preventing more of an exodus of advertising money from television to the Web.

The outcry from marketers is prompting companies such as Comcast and Starcom to experiment more with ways to deliver specific TV ads to consumers. The backers of the study, which was conducted from December 2006 to March 2008, used thousands of targeted ads on eight cable networks in 8,000 Comcast households in Huntsville, Ala.