A new survey from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Forrester Research found that 78% of advertisers feel that over the last two years television advertising has lost effectiveness, and — as a direct result — marketers are exploring emerging technologies to help bolster their television advertising spend.

The world of advertising will never be the same.

"As DVRs look to climb above 30 million households in the next three years, advertisers are finding themselves forced to reconsider their media mix," said Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research. "Television networks continue to publish research that traditional TV advertising is potent as ever, but national advertisers aren’t buying it and are seeking alternatives to enhance their budgets and move them beyond the customary 30-second spot."

The ANA predicts that 80% of advertisers will spend more of their advertising budget on Web advertising and 68% of advertisers will look to search engine marketing.

The shift has already begun. According to Nielsen Media Research for 2005 US online advertising spending was up 23% compared to a 1.5% drop in network TV spending — though cable, Spanish-language and spot TV spending were all up, too.

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Almost 70% of advertisers think that DVRs and video-on-demand will reduce or destroy the effectiveness of traditional 30-second commercials. So it is not surprising that with DVRs forecast to soon reach 30 million homes, close to 60% of advertisers say that they will spend less on conventional TV advertising, and 24% will cut their TV budgets by at least 25%.

Nevertheless, TV ads should be around for a long time to come.

"The television industry as we have known it may be challenged on a number of fronts, but it continues to attract significant media investment," said Bob Liodice, CEO of the ANA. "As new and traditional media alternatives compete more aggressively for a share of the media pie, and marketers look to improve consumer targeting, reduce costs and enhance accountability, television is aggressively responding. With technology-based advances in addressability, enhanced television options, Internet convergence (IPTV) and branded entertainment opportunities, television is likely to continue as the dominant part of the marketing mix."

Advertisers are actively considering a number of alternatives to traditional TV advertising, though, beyond online.

 

More here.