October 13, 2008

The Anguish of Avoidance

Advertisement Avoidance ( aA ) refers to all actions or changing behaviours of consumers of various media towards advertisements that reduce their exposure to its contents. aA is a part of an individual's overall media style. It could partly be explained as an acquired trait consequent to constant exposure to advertisements in different media.

Behavorial research has suggested segregation of TV viewing into two types: Active and Passive. It is also well understood that passive watching will adversely impact ad recall; research indicates that people who were actively watching a particular advertisement were twice as likely to recall that ad when compared with those who were passively watching it.

In a similar manner, aA is manifested in the same two forms, Active and Passive. Viewers avoid ads intentionally or unintentionally by different behavioral and mechanical means. Active avoidance can include actions such as switching channels or leaving the room, while passive avoidance occurs when viewers do not dedicate all of their attention to watching the commercial but indulge in different activities like reading, eating, taking care of kids, cooking or talking.

aA is the highest for television and is increasing at an alarming rate, posing the biggest threat for advertisers. aA has always been intuitively recognized amongst users and planners of media campaigns. Measures such as spot rating or break ratings give a quantitative basis to this expectation, implicit being the acceptance of a spot rating which is different from that of the program of which it is a part.

Knowing more about aA

It is estimated that a consumer is exposed to more than 3000 commercial messages, in a typical week, through different traditional media. Only 7% of viewers give total attention to television commercials and 53% report divided attention.

If this be the case, are there characteristics of aA that can be generalized. Equally, are there differences amongst different kinds of viewers?

With latest audience measurement technologies that now enable capture of second by second viewership behaviour, data thus available makes it possible to undertake a comprehensive analysis of aA. For instance, it is possible to calculate the quotient at different levels; Ad position in the break and for different breaks.

Ad Avoidance Quotient (aAQ)

The idea of this document is to suggest at least one method to quantify avoidance and derive a quotient that can be applied across varies TGs, time-bands and genres.

People can remove a television commercial from their attention when they are watching it in a group with their spouse, kids, siblings, friends or parents. The degree of passive ad avoidance is highest while in a group due to a difference in their tastes and preferences and the limited control on the remote control.

Some Examples:

Shaded portion indicate Ad Break

The degree of avoidance across TGs

The degree of ad avoidance is also higher in high societies, younger age groups and males . Children and young generation males generally tend to zap commercial breaks to watch a cricket score or switch over to music or a cartoon channel. People with a stressful life-style and late working-hours look upon television as recreation time. Hence, a working couple is more inclined to avoid advertisements. Despite of conscious ad avoidance by these segments, they still remain the main target for majority brands due to a growth in service sector or the durable market.

Shaded portion indicate Ad Break

More ads…More avoidance (Clutter)

The overall level of fragmentation among viewers is very high due to an increase in number of satellite channels. This has negatively changed people's attitude towards advertising in recent decades. The increased propagation of ads has been quoted as one of the major reasons for the downward trend in consumers' view of advertising.

There is a decrease in the level of attention and recall as the number of commercials breaks increases; the increase in advertising tends to widen the gap between the ratings for the program and the ads.

Ad avoidance and expenditure on advertisements is growing simultaneously. Advertisers are now forced to invest more on television advertising. The need for advertisements to be enjoyable and very well branded is greater than ever. People may avoid commercials, but they generally don't dislike advertising.

Enjoyable ads…Less avoidance

Can creative curtail avoidance? Going a step further, can a creative transform avoidance into adoption? Thus, creative agencies should try to control ad avoidance by working on a simple emotional reaction towards their advertisement, which viewers can enjoy so much that they won't screen it out. These enjoyable ads will reach and refresh viewers' memories even when they are not actively watched.

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