Creativity, not over-selling, is key for TV advertising engagement


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Editor

| 22 March 2016




A neuro-scientific study has revealed the creative factors that make TV advertising more memorable, with some factors, including the ethnicity and gender of characters, making no difference to engagement.



The study, by Neuro-Insight, commissioned by Thinkbox, the trade association for the UK’s commercial broadcasters, explored the link between TV advertising creative and memory, analysing over 150 ads, coding each of them against over 50 different creative factors to identify which are most strongly correlated with long-term memory encoding (LTME) at key branding moments. LTME correlates strongly with decision-making and future behaviour. Without LTME, an ad is just entertainment, said the study.

The outcome from the correlation analysis was that neither the ethnicity of characters in TV ads nor the portrayal of women in ‘traditional’ or ‘non-traditional’ female roles makes a difference to memory encoding response. The viewing audience’s subconscious was found to be enlightened. This finding, said Thinkbox, proves that there is no reason for creative agencies to be cautious or conservative when casting and scripting ads.

Significantly, the study also revealed that overt selling of products in TV ads was a less effective way to be remembered. Ads emphasising hard facts and scientific information were found on average in the lowest performing quarter of all the ads tested for LTME. Ads featuring live filming of real people, emotion and humour performed far better, with memory encoding levels on average around 15% higher. The research also found that it was better for long-term memory to showcase a product rather than to overtly sell it. Ads where a product was intertwined within the narrative of the ad elicited a 17% higher memory encoding response than ads that went for the hard product sell.

Making branding intrinsic to the story of an ad, for example by having branding cues interspersed through the ad’s narrative, gave a 9% higher memory encoding response at the final branding, compared to ads where the brand was only weakly present throughout the story. Also, the study found that using contrast, breaks and pauses in an ad – eg changes in pace or sound – created a 20% higher response than other ads.

“The UK ad industry has an exceptional tradition of creativity in TV advertising,” explained Heather Andrew, UK CEO of Neuro-Insight. “These insights should complement that expertise not by prescribing a to-do list for advertisers, but by giving an understanding of how specific ad elements can heighten creative effectiveness and lead to improved ROI for brand advertisers.”

Added Thinkbox research and planning director Matt Hill: “There is no recipe for success in TV advertising. But what this fascinating study by Neuro-Insight shows is that there are lessons to be learned from how the brain reacts to different creative approaches. It provides some good rules of thumb to bear in mind for increasing the likelihood of ads being remembered for the long-term.”