The news: 43% percent of US adults across generations say that TV is the most acceptable place for advertising, per a Tenetic and CivicScience study, proving the format’s enduring effectiveness even as audience attention shifts.

TV still works: Despite the shift to other channels, traditional television is still critical for achieving key brand metrics.

• Linear TV still maintains an 86% share of overall ad impressions, amounting to nearly 17 billion impressions daily, per iSpot. Ad impressions on linear are around six times higher than they are on connected TV (CTV), and linear offers more ad inventory than streaming.
• Linear is much more effective than CTV and digital in several ways: Linear boosts message association by 5.6%, compared with 0.9% on CTV and 2% on digital. Brand favorability also rises 9%, above CTV and digital.
• The channel also leaves a stronger impression on consumers: Ad awareness on linear rises 10.2% compared with 2.2% on CTV and 3.9% on digital, while purchase intent also climbs 9.6%.

Yes, but: Ads may be more accepted and effective on TV, but audiences habits are shifting, necessitating that brands follow suit.

• Key audiences like Gen Z, the primary driver of digital buyer growth, are more influenced by social media ads than TV ads, per the study. TV ads are most influential for older audiences like Gen X and Baby Boomers.
• Younger audiences are shifting to social. A significant portion of Gen Z (56%) and millennials (43%) find social media content more relevant than traditional TV shows and movies, and feel a deeper connection to social media creators compared with TV personalities.
• Gen Z spends approximately 54% more time on social platforms and watching user-generated content than the average consumer. Conversely, they spend 26% less time watching TV and movies.

How brands can find a balance: TV’s effectiveness hasn’t disappeared, but key demographics are increasingly embracing social and digital advertising, and CTV is usurping TV. The shift indicates that advertisers must find a delicate balance between channels when allocating spending.

• For TV advertising, brands must embrace a hybrid strategy that leverages the reach of linear and the targeting capabilities of CTV to reach audiences without sacrificing scale. Linear delivers results at the top and mid-funnel, and CTV is important to reinforce and personalize messages downstream.
• Linear ads are accepted, but not all are effective. Tenetic and Civic Science noted that 37% of consumers don’t believe that TV advertisers know anything about them, and 59% say they rarely or never remember advertisers of shows they watch. Advertisers can better convert audiences into buyers by prioritizing narrative, storytelling-driven ads that better capture fragmented attention.