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Issues with Nielsen and TV numbers distractions

More importantly, how many viewers actually watch and retain commercials. Although I have a media room with big screen and surround sound the majority of my TV watching is done on my desktop with a 24" monitor. It is possible to have the TV signal playing on top of whatever I am doing, or not, on the PC. Most of the time this means I will watch the "show" but distract away as soon as a commercial appears. Less frequently I will listen to the "show" but not watch it - or, at best, watch only sporadically. My wife insists on watching only those shows I can download without commercials so she see's virtually none. The 20-something daughter watches very few TV programs and most of those on her phone where observation indicates she is also talking or texting while the show is in progress.

In my house all this means practically no commercial information is getting through, much less retained. I think the three of us would break the hearts of the Nielsen people.
 
Nothing new. In the days before time-shifting and multiple screens, people went to the kitchen or the bathroom during commercial breaks and Nielsen still counted them.
 
Oscar Madison said:
Nothing new. In the days before time-shifting and multiple screens, people went to the kitchen or the bathroom during commercial breaks and Nielsen still counted them.
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And you think that advertisers are so naive that they do not understand that?

What advertisers know is the range of conversion rates between gross impressions and actual sales. All things, ranging from "no interest in the product" to "not paying attention" are taken into account.

Next time you see an ad for Victoria's Secret, consider what percentage of Americans are looking for that specific kind of lingerie. You will realize that a huge percentage of viewers have zero interest, yet that brand continues to use TV extensively. Now do the same for pick-up trucks... again a smallish portion of the car market and an even smaller part of the TV audience.
 
Yes, I do think advertisers are naive. I've dealt with enough of them and they, as a group, seem to believe "It's important to me, so it has to be important - period." They want "yes." They can handle no. What they can't accept is "I don't care."

So, what you are saying is a "huge percentage" of ad money is inherently being flushed down the john.

And an inherently large percentage of the rest is likewise wasted because people don't trust advertising. For decades, advertisers equated sales effectiveness with day after recall. That shows they are in denial about advertising's ability to sell.

Now advertisers are trying to use technology to force people to not skip or fast forward through advertising. They still don't get it. Attention and persuasion can not be forced, at least not without the kind of control of all means of communication enjoyed by Joseph Goebbels.
 
Oscar Madison said:
Yes, I do think advertisers are naive. I've dealt with enough of them and they, as a group, seem to believe "It's important to me, so it has to be important - period." They want "yes." They can handle no. What they can't accept is "I don't care."
Click to expand...

I spent more than half my career calling on clients and managing sales departments. And I essentially never saw what you are describing. With the exception of a few folks who thought they could create sales with a 10-spot buy (and then said, "radio doesn't work") advertisers and agency staff knew that there was only a certain percentage of any audience... whether it be via print, radio, tv, mailers or billboards, who would pay attention to each ad. And only a portion of them would be interested in the goods being advertised. And of them, even fewer would go an buy.

Retailers know "Cost of Goods Sold" and they know when advertising is bought how to calculate return on investment. Ad agencies know how to apply metrics to campaigns, looking at ad costs and sales increases and margins.

So, what you are saying is a "huge percentage" of ad money is inherently being flushed down the john.
Click to expand...

It has always been that way since they started passing out handbills in Times Square a century and a half ago... or when Shakespeare used bills to promote his entertainments at the Globe.

When well done, advertising produces considerable sales and thus a low percentage of each sale is the cost of promoting the transaction.

And an inherently large percentage of the rest is likewise wasted because people don't trust advertising. For decades, advertisers equated sales effectiveness with day after recall. That shows they are in denial about advertising's ability to sell.
Click to expand...

Radio has long been favored as a frequency medium that can both support multimedia campaigns as well as being the last step of point of purchase until the consumer see the end-aisle displays and shelf talkers.

Now advertisers are trying to use technology to force people to not skip or fast forward through advertising. They still don't get it. Attention and persuasion can not be forced, at least not without the kind of control of all means of communication enjoyed by Joseph Goebbels.
Click to expand...

Now you are talking about TV. It does, though, seem fair for advertisers, who pay for the programs, to try to get those enjoying them to hear their ads.
 
I stayed in a motel this week with no ability to skip them, so I watched a lot more commercials than I would at home. Having the ability to skip commercials makes me enjoy them more when I do see them. Until I've seen them three or four times in the same night. Or if they're on The Disney Channel.

And I was too tired to get up and move most of the time.
 
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