Are TV ads best for Product Intros?

‘As Seen on TV’ still has some heft to it.

TV ads are the best way to reach and engage online consumers with new product information, according to the American Marketing Association’s “Mplanet” survey, conducted with Opinion Research Corporation prior to the 2006 holiday season.

However, respondents said other traditional media like newspapers, magazines and radio all trailed the Internet, e-mail and online newsletters as good ways to reach them with new product information. Only 1% of respondents said social networking sites were the best place for retailers to reach them.

Younger respondents were more likely to name the Internet as the best source of new product information. Nearly a quarter of respondents ages 18 to 34 placed it on top, compared with 12% of those ages 35 and older.

Mike Gatti of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association noted in March 2007, “While search engine marketing continues to be a popular strategy, retailers should not lose sight of traditional advertising channels to promote products and services.”

Accenture’s 2007 “Retail and CGS Innovation Survey” of adult Internet users confirmed the central role of TV in creating new product awareness. Respondents also rated word-of-mouth highly. The combined effect of Internet sources — search engines, manufacturer Web sites, Internet advertising and retail Web sites — was significant as well.

While more women than men learned about new products from TV and word-of-mouth, more men than women learned about products using online search engines.

eMarketer Senior Analyst Jeffrey Grau said, “The mass media and TV, in particular, still play a powerful role in stimulating consumer interest in new products. Afterward, consumers turn to the Internet to search for product alternatives and evaluate the leading contenders.

Courtesy of http://www.emarketer.com

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