Ad avoiders

Many of you (I hope) will be aware of the work done by Ivor Hussein and John Lowery in the 1990s analyzing BARB data to quantify ad avoidance.  It led to this quite brilliant chart that should be on the wall of every planner.
Well there's a new study just emerged in the US called Lifestyles of the Ad Averse by Microsoft, Starcom and Millward Brown.  While I feel the methodology is less robust - it's more claimed behavior than real behavior - and I disagree with some of the recommendations (I really get worried about this rush to personalization and customization) it's yet more proof of the need for us an industry to raise our game and start making more stuff that is more appealing to people.  (If anyone can get their hands on the full report I'd love to get hold of it). 

Comments

[Kevin R]

I wonder if some of this could be blaimed on better marketers shifting their dollars away from TV allowing the branding-by-repetition crowd to buy more time

[Paul]

Gareth, it strikes me that 10-15% of 17-35 year olds is not a huge, or even problematic, number. At least not in terms of some of the data I have seen over the years on ad avoidance. Back in the mid 90s, 75% of people claimed they channel surfed on the ad break - which is not that different from hitting the FF button on a DVR, at least in terms of the outcome.

The Hussein/Lowery chart is interesting, but something doesn't quite 'smell' right about it. Consumer attitude trends tend to follow patterns. The point of change is often a gradual realization. As a growing attitudinal trend reaches a peak, you'd expect the marginal increase to be slightly less year over year and as it falls, the marginal decrease to increase slightly year over year - resulting in more of a parabolic trend. That chart looks like that at some point a growing trend simply stopped and reversed due to... something. I really don't know much about the data so this could be wrong. Unless the quality of the advertising dropped like a stone in 1991, you'd expect SOME type of stable/flat trend before it started going south.

[Gareth]

Watch this space Paul. We're looking at some US data - MRI - to try and see what the experience is in the States.
You're right about the trend pattern looking a little odd but I think the point that people like ads less today than they used to is a truth we need to recognize.