How Viewer Tuning, Presence, and Attention Respond to Ad Content and Predict Brand Search Lift

Matthew McGranaghan (), Jura Liaukonyte () and Kenneth C. Wilbur ()
Additional contact information
Matthew McGranaghan: Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716
Jura Liaukonyte: SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
Kenneth C. Wilbur: Rady School of Management, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093

Marketing Science, 2022, vol. 41, issue 5, 873-895

Abstract: New technology measures TV viewer tuning, presence, and attention, enabling the first distinctions between TV ad viewability and actual ad viewing. We compare new and traditional viewing metrics to evaluate the new metrics’ utility to advertisers. We find that 30% of TV ads play to empty rooms. We then use broadcast networks’ verifiably quasi-random ordering of ads within commercial breaks to estimate causal effects of ads on new viewing metrics among four million advertising exposures. We measure ad metadata and machine-code content features for 6,650 frequent ad videos. We find that recreational product ads preserve audience tuning and presence. Prescription drug advertisements decrease tuning and presence, more so for drugs that treat more prevalent and severe conditions. We also investigate whether new viewing data can inform advertiser objectives, finding that attention helps predict brand search lift after ads.

Keywords: advertising; audience measurement; attention; ad content; ad avoidance; ad response (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2021.1344 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:41:y:2022:i:5:p:873-895

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Marketing Science from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().