This morning, our Commercial Director Jemma Ralton, attended Thinkbox’s Trends in TV breakfast session at the Ham Yard Hotel. Always a fantastic event, with top-tier insights (and a top-tier breakfast).
But the real highlight was the brilliant line-up of speakers breaking down the latest trends in TV advertising.
The Economic Landscape & Advertising’s Role
It’s no secret that the economic climate is challenging – with GDP, consumer confidence, and business confidence all under pressure. This makes it even more critical for advertisers to prove that their investment is profitable and effective.
Thinkbox’s Profitability Study reinforced the case for TV, showing that TV advertising generates a profitable return across all sectors. Crucially, despite all the post-pandemic shifts, TV’s effectiveness remains strong.
The Growth of Digital – But What’s Really Driving It?
Advertising investment typically follows GDP, but since 2020, there’s been a huge increase in ad spend, largely driven by digital. While this might make it seem like TV is losing ground, the reality is different. A deeper dive into the data shows that much of this digital growth is coming from SMEs, and specifically, search advertising which some might argue is more of a business essential or a “cost of sale” rather than a discretionary marketing spend. When filtering out SME-driven digital spend, TV’s share of spend actually looks much stronger, with big brands and agencies still investing significantly.
Cutting TV = Cutting Profit
EssenceMediacom presented their study on the impact of cutting TV from media plans, using Thinkbox’s Media Mix Navigator tool to run over 52,000 budget scenarios.
The results? Cutting TV leads to significant profit loss, both in the short term and, even more critically, in the long term. This highlights why, despite budget pressures, TV remains a cornerstone of effective advertising strategies.
The Future of TV Advertising
Thinkbox’s Zoe Harkness wrapped up with a look ahead. She emphasized that:
- Research remains essential – consumers consistently underclaim their live TV viewing, so proper studies are crucial (music to our ears!)
- Brands still matter – a fascinating study showed how brand association changes perception, proving TV’s role in building strong, memorable brands.
- TV’s context is its superpower – a good call back to our Context Effects study from last year
- TV works best in the mix – while it’s the gold standard for brand-building, TV is most powerful when combined with other media.
As TV advertising celebrates 70 years, it’s clear that its ability to drive brand impact, memorability, and long-term profitability remains as strong as ever.
Lots of food for thought, as we’re continuing on some currently-very-top-secret work on all things advertising and memorability, so stay tuned for more insights! And do give us a shout if you’d like to chat research, structural equation modelling, or just have a natter about your favourite TV ad.
