The exclusive study by media agency the7stars found that 74% of consumers believe 'flashy' TV ads to be inappropriate. It also showed that consumer attitudes and media consumption habits are shifting dramatically because of economic uncertainty. Not only are consumers reappraising their own media consumption habits, but they are also becoming more judgemental of brands' media activity.
While business leaders and economists have criticised the media for, in effect, talking consumers into a recession, with a focus on negative news, readers are also being turned off by the focus on the crunch.
The research stated a quarter of consumers are consciously avoiding bad news stories, meaning many of them are avoiding paid-for newspapers.Indeed, 40% of consumers said that they preferred free newspapers to their paid-for equivalents.
Moreover, although pay-TV brands have historically held up well during previous downturns, the news was no better for them. According to the research, 20% of 35- to 54-year-olds are considering cancelling their subscriptions to services such as Sky and Virgin Media.
However, the downturn is also providing opportunity. The number of brands advertising on TV has gone up 20% over the past three years.
Jenny Biggam, founding partner of the7stars, said: 'More brands than ever can now afford TV - the cost of both advertising and production has gone down rapidly and there are hundreds of brands on TV that would never have been able to afford it previously.'
Comments