Mass Media Solutions | Intelligent Horizons, Inc.

[July 4, 2005] According to the Newspaper Association of America, U.S. advertising expenditures for all media in 2003 were $245.5 billion, up 3.6 % over 2002. Direct mail led the way with $48.9 billion, newspapers with $44.9 billion, and broadcast television with $41.9 billion.

At one extreme, in 2004, advertisers spent on average $2.3 million for a 30-second TV spot during the Super Bowl. According to Nielsen Media Research, about 50 minutes were sold, representing about $230 million in spending. That was for a football game watched by an average of 89.8 million viewers, raising the inevitable questions:

What's the deal ?
How many viewers saw each commercial? Who was watching?
What were the appealing and unappealing features?
What was the core message? Was it believable?
What were the positive and negative thoughts, feelings and emotions?
How much interest was generated?
Which commercials were the best ones? Define "best". Why?
What was the overall strategy behind this promotion ? Did it work?
Can the companies deliver? Why? Why not?
Was advertising research performed before the Super Bowl?

Considering that U.S. marketing research spending was $6.66 billion in 2003, what type of return are research buyers getting for the monies spent?