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Part Five Developing the Integrated Marketing Communications Program
Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
11. Evaluation of Broadcast
Media
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
Clutter The problems of fleeting messages and shorter commercials are compounded
by the fact that the advertiser’s message is only one of many spots and other
nonprogramming material seen during a commercial break, so it may have trouble
being noticed. One of advertisers’ greatest concerns with TV advertising is the potential
decline in effectiveness because of such clutter.
The next time you watch TV, count the number of commercials, promotions for the
news or upcoming programs, or public service announcements that appear during a station
break and you will appreciate why clutter is a major concern. A recent study sponsored
by the advertising industry found that commercial clutter on television during
2001 reached an all-time high in three dayparts—early morning, daytime, and local
news. 9 Nonprogramming time was up to 18:02 minutes per hour in the early morning
daypart, 20:57 minutes in daytime, and 17:10 minutes during local news. Network
prime time was the least cluttered daypart as the four major networks averaged 16:08
minutes of nonprogram content per hour. With all of these messages competing for our
attention, it is easy to understand why the viewer comes away confused or even
annoyed and unable to remember or properly identify the product or service advertised.
One cause of clutter is the use of shorter commercials and split-30s, 30-second
spots in which the advertiser promotes two different products with separate messages.
Clutter also results when the networks and individual stations run promotional
announcements for their shows, make more time available for commercials, and redistribute
time to popular programs. For many years, the amount of time available for
commercials was restricted by the Code Authority of the National Association of
Broadcasters to 9.5 minutes per hour during prime time and 12 minutes during nonprime
time. The Justice Department suspended the code in 1982 on the grounds that it
violated antitrust law. At first the networks did not alter their time standards, but in
recent years they have increased the number of commercial minutes in their schedules.
The networks argue that they must increase commercial inventory or raise their
already steep rates. Advertisers and agencies have been pressuring the networks to cut
back on the commercials and other sources of clutter.
Limited Viewer Attention When advertisers buy time on a TV program,
they are not purchasing guaranteed exposure but rather the opportunity to communicate
a message to large numbers of consumers. But there is increasing evidence that
the size of the viewing audience shrinks during a commercial break. People leave the
room to go to the bathroom or to get something to eat or drink, or they are distracted in
some other way during commercials.
Getting consumers to pay attention to commercials has become an even greater challenge
in recent years. The increased presence of VCRs and remote controls has led to the
problems of zipping and zapping. Zipping occurs when customers fast-forward through
commercials as they play back a previously recorded program. A study by Nielsen
Media Research found that while 80 percent of recorded shows are actually played back,
viewers zip past more than half of the commercials. 10 Another study found that most
viewers fully or partially zipped commercials when watching a prerecorded program. 11
Zapping refers to changing channels to avoid commercials. Over three-quarters of
homes in the United States now have television sets with remote controls, which enable
viewers to switch channels easily. An observational study conducted by John Cronin
found as much as a third of program audiences may be lost to electronic zapping when
commercials appear. 12 A Nielsen study found that most commercial zapping occurs at the
beginning and, to a lesser extent, the end of a program. Zapping at these points is likely to
occur because commercial breaks are so long and predictable. Zapping has also been
fueled by the emergence of 24-hour continuous-format programming on cable channels
such as CNN, MTV, and ESPN. Viewers can switch over for a few news headlines, sports
scores, or a music video and then switch back to the program. Research shows that young
adults zap more than older adults and that men are more likely to zap than women. 13
How to inhibit zapping? The networks use certain tactics to hold viewers’ attention,
such as previews of the next week’s show or short closing scenes at the end of a program.
Some programs start with action sequences before the opening credits and commercials.
A few years ago, Anheuser-Busch began using the Bud Frame, in which the
ad frames live coverage of a sporting event. Some advertisers believe that producing