How online can enhance your television advertising

Getting your online presence right can significantly boost the impact of your TV advertising – that’s the conclusion from research carried out ahead of the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

The report, Television’s Got Talent, has been produced by Deloitte and includes the results of a YouGov poll of the public carried out last month. It shows how closely related people’s TV and online habits are:

Television viewing is increasingly accompanied by simultaneous surfing – over half of respondents polled combined television and browsing at some time. When consumption of TV and the Internet was concurrent, the application most ‘likely to be used’ was e-mail, but for 37 percent of those multitasking, e-commerce was ‘likely to be used’.”

This isn’t (just) a case though of bored TV viewers doing something else whilst the TV babbles in the background. The online activity is often triggered by what is seen on TV:

Searching for a product of service does not happen in a vacuum: a trigger is required and that catalyst is often television. 44 percent of UK citizens polled noted that they had researched a company, product or service online in response to a TV advert. 21 percent of respondents had purchased online, and 31 percent had purchased in a store, in response to a TV commercial.

The lesson from this? Although it is traditional for TV advertising and online presences to be looked after by separate teams, the most value is got from both when there is an integrated approach.