Google has conducted a study looking at how paid search affects TV viewing habits. The results are pretty interesting.
Adam Stewart, Google’s Industry Director for Media & Entertainment tells Murdok that the research confirms that paid search is an effective way to build traffic for a network’s website and, as a result, increase viewership for content like online video.
“But we also found that paid search can support the core business of TV by driving tune-in. That’s the key point: paid search can influence online and offline behavior.”
“In this changing media landscape, we see an enormous opportunity for TV marketers to use paid search to bolster their core business model and drive TV tune-in,” Stewart says. “We also think paid search can support an emerging business model for TV networks by driving traffic to branded websites. Search advertising, as part of an integrated marketing campaign, is an effective way for entertainment marketers to increase viewership and stretch their dollars in a downturn.”
Stewart could not tell me all of the shows and networks that were tested in the study, but he says they worked with leading networks and shows for each category.
The study was conducted over the course of a month at the end of 2008. Respondents were asked to query a keyword with the intention of finding out more info about a show or a network. They were then driven to different SERPs based on their queries, and were only exposed to one show-specific search term and SERP.
Some highlights from the study include:
– Search advertising resulted in a 5% lift in clicks to branded sites for new shows and 12% for exising shows.
– Search Advertising resulted in a 285% lift in awareness of new shows, and a 63% lift for existing shows.
– Search advertising resulted in a 57% lift in awareness of the advertiser’s show, and a 45% decline in awareness of the time slot competition
– Search advertising resulted in a 25% lift in likelihood to tune in to new shows and a 30% lift in likelihood to tune in to existing shows.
The following chart sums up what marketers should get out of the study:
I would guess Google hopes to spark greater interest in its TV advertising platform as well as search ads by illustrating how the two could compliment each other. Marketers going after specific television timeslots will surely find the information of value.
I’d like to thank Adam Stewart for answering my questions and providing Murdok with some useful information. What do you think about the study? Let us know.
