ZenithOptimedia discovered that advertisers cannot assume a link between TV ratings and people who buy their products, after asking people on a TV ratings panel in Shenyang, one of the 10 biggest ad markets in China, to record purchases of FMCG goods, which it could then link to the programmes they watched. The study contained especially sobering findings for cosmetic firms, which are almost completely missing their target audience in the morning, with TV adspend for this category peaking towards 9am, more than two hours after the majority of cosmetics buyers are watching, at around 7am.
Furthermore, programme analysis revealed that cosmetics firms are spending more than half of their TV ad budget around drama shows, which account for just 21 per cent of viewing among of the people who buy the products. The results of this study, so far a one-off because of the cost involved, have far reaching implications for all advertisers but especially those in the healthcare and cosmetic categories who are among the biggest spenders on TV, said the agency's former VP of strategic resources, Zoe Tan, who left Zenith last month to start her own consultancy. "If I was an advertiser and I saw the results, I would be very worried about how my money is being spent," said Tan.
In general, healthcare and cosmetic brands were only reaching 10 per cent of the people who bought their products with their ads, a significantly lower strike-rate than any other of the 17 categories measured by the agency. These two categories, aiming for a niche and fragmented target audience, need smarter planning backed by more indepth information, Tan said. "Information like this will help clients apply some pressure on agencies and other suppliers to change their agenda," she said. "This needs to be a long term effort for the benefit of everybody."
TV audience measurement firms however are reluctant to overburden the panellists whose viewing habits form the basis of TV ratings, fearing this may skew the final result.
Agencies currently have access to two surveys --CMMS from Sinomonitor and CNRS from CTR -- which ask people what they buy and the media they use, but Tan argued that both only offer a limited contribution to effective planning.