How Media Works:
Advertising and the Purchase Funnel
For the Financial Services Category
A Yankelovich Study for the Television Bureau of Advertising
1
Study Objectives
Determine the role that TV plays as part of a
multi-platform environment for advertising.
More specifically, the goals of the research
were to understand:
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The role of television advertising in driving consumer
actions throughout the purchase decision process
How television interacts with other media platforms,
including new media such as the Internet
How purchase decisions are made as a result of this
interaction, including the role of different media
platforms in the purchase cycle
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
2
Methodology
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Survey results were obtained via online interviews among 3,002
consumers who had seen a television ad in the past 2 months that
made an impression on them.
Interviews took place January 29 to February 10, 2009; Super Bowl
Sunday was excluded.
Respondents were first asked in which categories they have seen a
television ad in the past two months that made an impression on
them.
Each respondent then completed an ad survey for up to three of
these categories.
The survey measured the overall impression of each ad, actions
taken after seeing the ad, and whether ads for the same product or
service were encountered in other media, etc.
The respondents were asked questions on which media most
increased awareness and interest, or prompted action across the
range of categories studied.
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
3
Over One Third of Respondents are In the Market
“Are you currently considering a purchase in the
Financial Services Category?”
(Asked of those who recalled seeing a TV ad for
Financial Services* in the last 2 months)
No
63.0%
Yes
37.0%
*Note: this category includes ads for tax preparation services (55%), banks/credit
unions (16%), credit cards (16%), and investment companies (14%).
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
4
Customer Profile:
Financial Services Advertising
Saw a Financial
TV Ad that Made
an Impression
Currently
Considering a
Purchase in the
Financial Category
Made a Purchase
in this category
in the
past year
Made a Purchase
in this category
in the
past 4 weeks
Male
56.1%
59.5%
58.4%
56.2%
Female
43.9%
40.5%
41.6%
43.8%
A18-34
28.7%
35.4%
32.7%
29.2%
A18-49
56.3%
64.6%
59.0%
55.5%
A25-54
53.9%
61.9%
57.8%
57.7%
A55+
37.0%
30.4%
34.8%
36.5%
Urban
34.3%
33.9%
35.7%
34.3%
Suburban
43.5%
47.9%
47.2%
41.6%
Rural
22.2%
18.3%
17.1%
24.1%
HHI <$30K
18.0%
11.7%
9.4%
11.7%
HHI $30-$70K
43.2%
38.1%
43.7%
40.1%
HHI $70K+
32.3%
42.8%
42.8%
44.5%
HHI $100K+
14.6%
19.1%
18.9%
18.2%
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
5
One Third of All Consumers Have Seen a
Financial Services Ad That Got Their Attention
Saw an ad that got your attention:
80%
Any (NET)
55%
Restaurants
Vehicles or auto dealers
Telecommunications or electronic products
Entertainment activities
Automobile or life insurance
Department stores or discount stores
Food, convenience, or grocery stores / supermarkets
Furniture, mattress, or carpeting / flooring stores
Travel or travel websites
Financial services
Healthcare products or services
Home improvement stores or services
Services
Schools / colleges / learning centers / vocational schools
Commercial websites
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
46%
46%
46%
41%
40%
40%
36%
36%
34%
34%
33%
28%
27%
25%
6
While Half of Consumers Who Saw TV Ads for Financial
Services Made a Transaction in the Past Year, a Small
Percent are Active at Any Given Time
Last time made a financial services transaction:
13%
Within the last 2 weeks
3-4 weeks ago
1-2 months ago
3-4 months ago
5-6 months ago
7-11 months ago
6%
9%
6%
5%
9%
16%
1-2 years ago
3-5 years ago
6 or more years ago
49% of those who
recently saw a financial
services ad made a
category transaction in
the past year
6%
8%
I have never purchased in this category
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
21%
Financial Services
7
Most Say Financial Services TV Ads
Made Positive Impressions
Type of impression made by TV ad for financial services:
32%
Very positive
24%
38%
39%
Somewhat positive
63% of those who saw
these advertisements
rated them positively
26%
Neither positive nor negative
32%
Somewhat negative
3%
2%
Very negative
1%
2%
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
Total
Financial Services
8
Half of Respondents Find Financial Services Ads
Both Informative and Attention-Getting
Ratings of Financial Services Television Ads:
How much did it
get your attention?
10 Completely
19.6%
17.0%
15.4%
15.0%
9
18.9%
19.0%
8
15.6%
16.0%
7
12.2%
13.0%
6
9.0%
9.0%
5
4
3
3.6%
5.0%
2.8%
3.0%
How relevant
was it?
16.4%
14.0%
10 - Very
54%
total
50%
financial
services
11.7%
10.0%
9
14.1%
14.0%
8
11.9%
11.0%
7
9.7%
10.0%
6
9.9%
9.0%
5
4
3
2
1.3%
2.0%
2
1 - Not at all
1.5%
2.0%
1 - Not at all
5.3%
6.0%
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
38%
financial
services
49%
financial
services
21.2%
23.0%
18.1%
18.0%
7
12.3%
13.0%
6
8.8%
10.0%
5
1 - Not at
all
53%
total
15.0%
14.0%
8
2
12.3%
15.0%
12.0%
9
3
3.9%
4.0%
16.9%
42% 10 - Very
total
4
4.9%
7.0%
Total
How informative
was it?
3.1%
4.0%
2.1%
3.0%
1.0%
1.0%
1.5%
3.0%
Financial Services
9
Those Who View Ads are Likely to Consider and/or Research
a Purchase, or Talk to Others About the Ad
Actions Taken After Seeing TV Commercial for Financial Services
Financial
Services
Any (Net)
40%
Talked with others about the advertisement
14%
Considered purchasing the product or service
13%
Remembered you had seen the product or service advertised before
12%
Went online to learn more about the product or service advertised
11%
Purchased the product or service online
7%
Contacted the company in the advertisement
4%
Visited a store or location to learn more about the product or service
4%
Tried to find the advertisement on the Web
4%
Looked in a newspaper or magazine to learn more
about the product or service
3%
Purchased the product or service in a store
3%
Sent someone an Email about the product or service
2%
Sent someone a Web-site link about the product or service
2%
Other action
3%
Did nothing
60%
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
10
Younger Adults are Even More Likely to Take Action
Actions Taken After Seeing TV Commercial for Financial Services:
Age
Financial
Services
18-34
35-49
50+
Any (Net)
40%
54%
42%
29%
Talked with others about the advertisement
14%
19%
16%
9%
Considered purchasing the product or service
13%
21%
12%
10%
Remembered you had seen the product or service advertised
before (i.e., the newspaper, radio, or the Internet)
12%
18%
12%
10%
Went online to learn more about the product or service
11%
22%
7%
6%
Purchased the product or service online
7%
12%
6%
3%
Visited a store or location to learn more
4%
10%
3%
2%
Contacted the company in the advertisement
4%
9%
4%
2%
Tried to find the advertisement on the Web
4%
7%
4%
2%
Purchased the product or service in a store
3%
5%
5%
1%
Looked in a newspaper or magazine to learn
3%
6%
3%
1%
Sent someone an Email about the product or service
2%
5%
3%
1%
Sent someone a Web-site link about the product or service
2%
5%
1%
0%
Other action
3%
3%
2%
4%
Did nothing
60%
46%
58%
71%
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
11
Nearly Two-Thirds Say Financial Services
Television Ads are Seen 4+ Times
Number of times saw financial services TV commercial in past 2 months:
Just this one time
33%
2-3 times
26%
26%
32%
4-5 times
6-9 times
10 times or more
Total
Financial Services
14%
11%
14%
15%
64% of those who saw a
financial services ad on TV
have seen it 4+ times
(compared to 53% for
total)
13%
17%
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
12
Multiple Exposure to TV Ads Leads to
a Much Higher Likelihood of Action
Actions taken after seeing a Financial Services TV ad
Among those who recently saw a TV ad for Financial Services
# TV Ad Exposures
Financial
Services
Recall 1-3 ad
exposures
Recall 4+ ad
exposures
Any (Net)
40%
32%
44%
Talked with others about the advertisement
14%
9%
17%
Considered purchasing the product or service
13%
9%
16%
Remembered you had seen the product or service advertised before
(i.e., the newspaper, radio, or the Internet)
12%
10%
14%
Went online to learn more about the product or service
11%
7%
14%
Purchased the product or service online
7%
6%
7%
Visited a store or location to learn more
4%
2%
6%
Contacted the company in the advertisement
4%
2%
5%
Tried to find the advertisement on the Web
4%
3%
4%
Purchased the product or service in a store
3%
2%
3%
Looked in a newspaper or magazine to learn
3%
4%
2%
Sent someone an Email about the product or service
2%
2%
3%
Sent someone a Web-site link about the product or service
2%
0%
3%
Other action
3%
3%
4%
Did nothing
60%
68%
56%
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
13
Recall of Financial Services Ads in Other Media
is High, Compared to 15-Category Norms
Saw ad for same product or service in a media other than TV:
Total
Financial
Services
Index to
Total
46%
51%
111
On the Internet
20%
26%
130
In a newspaper
18%
19%
106
On the radio
12%
17%
142
In a magazine
11%
13%
118
In an Email offer
8%
9%
113
On a billboard or other outside sign
7%
9%
129
Other media
3%
3%
100
Did not see, hear, or read in any other media
35%
30%
86
Not sure
19%
20%
105
Any (Net)
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
14
Financial Services
Advertising Impact at Various Stages of
the Consumer Purchase Funnel
100%
90%
20%
22%
25%
36%
80%
33%
43%
39%
41%
52%
70%
52%
47%
54%
60%
50%
40%
80%
78%
75%
64%
30%
67%
57%
20%
61%
59%
48%
48%
53%
46%
10%
0%
Awareness
Interest
Consider
Purchase
Media Influence (Any)-All Cat.
Media Influence (Any)-Financial Services
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
Want to
Purchase
Visit
Store/Website
Make
Purchase
No Media Influence-All Cat.
No Media Influence-Financial Services
15
Financial Services
Media Impact at Various Stages of the
Consumer Purchase Funnel
100%
90%
22%
80%
3%
36%
43%
4%
70%
4%
60%
5%
5%
50%
13%
40%
Awareness
Television
Internet
13%
12%
11%
11%
12%
24%
24%
22%
Want to Purchase
Visit Store/Website
Make Purchase
10%
5%
5%
34%
Interest
Email
5%
9%
12%
4%
30%
10%
0%
54%
4%
4%
30%
45%
52%
3%
9%
20%
52%
Consider Purchase
Magazine
Radio
Newspaper
Other
No Media Influence
Media cited by less than 3% of respondents were incorporated into the total for “other.”
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
16
Conclusions

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Over one-third of consumers recall Financial
Services television ads, and 37% of those
consumers are in the market.
TV Ads for this category are considered informative
and attention-getting.

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TV Ads lead to purchase consideration and
conversation, as well as research on advertised
products.
Younger adults, who may be new consumers of
financial products, are much more responsive to
advertising and are more likely to take action after
viewing ads.
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
17
Conclusions
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Repetition works: consumers who are exposed to a
Financial Services ad 4+ times are much more likely
to act upon the message.
Advertising has its greatest impact at the top of the
purchase funnel, raising awareness of Financial
products and services.
Television advertising is the dominant ad medium at
the crucial Awareness stage, and at every
subsequent stage in the purchase funnel.
Source: TVB/Yankelovich “How Media Works,” April 2009
18