A report was launched today that reveals radio, newspapers and magazines perform significantly better than they are perceived to for brand building campaigns.
Re-evaluating Media is a study commissioned by commercial radio industry body Radiocentre and independently conducted by Ebiquity that makes an impartial and robust evaluation of the value of online and offline media in the UK.
The first report of its kind, Re-evaluating Media shows that TV and radio are by far the strongest advertising media for brand-building followed by newspapers, magazines and out-of-home in the UK. Yet it discovered that industry decision-makers undervalue traditional media and tend to overrate the value of online video and paid social.
The study is one of the most in-depth pieces of research on the relative value of media ever undertaken. We interviewed 116 senior decision-makers working for brands and agencies. We asked them to rank 12 attributes of media for brand building campaigns, and which media they perceived to be best performer for each attribute.
Our researchers then analysed 75 research reports and our proprietary data sets to find evidence about the actual performance of different media against these attributes. This allowed perceptions about media to be compared against the evidence. We found a significant mismatch between industry perceptions and what the evidence says.
Radio, which ranks second overall to TV on the evidence, was the most strikingly undervalued medium, coming only sixth in the ranking of advertiser and agency perceptions.
The report shows that the four most important attributes of an advertising medium are targeting, return on investment, triggering a positive emotional response and building brand salience.
At the launch event this morning at Soho’s Ham Yard Hotel, Managing Principal, Ebiquity|Intel, Morag Blazey spoke in detail about the report and shared some take-home messages. As well as encouraging the industry to re-evaluate the media mix, she suggested that it is important to recognise that conventional targeting is still effective, and to ensure that we as an industry push for research and a valid perspective on the effectiveness of online.
Of the report’s results, Morag Blazey said: “These findings reveal that it is time for the industry to re-balance their use of media to optimise advertising budgets.”
A short video summarising the report has also been produced; you can watch it below.
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