ITV will replace some ads with promotional trails for programmes inside shorter peak-time breaks, following research that found that viewers "tune out" as soon as they know a programme is ending and stop remembering ads if they see too many.
The research, to be presented at a conference being held by the UK TV channel tomorrow, found that viewers resort to ad avoidance, flicking channels with their remote, and return to the programme after the break in order to avoid "being dictated or sold to".
Pollsters BRMB and media agency Carat contacted viewers 30 minutes after different ad breaks and asked how many ads they recalled. They found that when the number of ads was cut from nine to seven, viewer recall increased from 55% to 75%, and awareness was increased among much-sought-after demographics -- viewers aged between 16 and 34 and females.
The research concluded: "The viewer doesn't really trust the channels and the advertisers. This is the moment when the advertisers and the channels can get their foot in the door and so the viewer takes pre-emptive action."
The study recommends reducing the number of ads from the standard nine to seven.
ITV will experiment with shorter programme breaks in which an ad is followed by a programme trail, another ad then back to a programme. Credits will increasingly be "squeezed" into half of the screen because they were found to be irritating to viewers, while the next programme is trailed in the other half.
UK TV has also responded by cutting two minutes from each commercial break.
Steve Hobbs, media director at Carat, who will be talking about the agency's research on promotional airtime or clutter at tomorrow's conference, said: "Instead of taking the blame for taking the viewer away from advertising, programme promotions are regarded by consumers as relevant and useful. The real culprits are poorly placed or executed ads and long breaks of predictable duration."
BRMB and media agency Carat based their research on a poll of 1,000 viewers.
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