Advertising in everyday life - How does it work and why?

The ZMG Zeitungs Marketing Gesellschaft has presented its new intermedia study "Advertising Reception". The subject of the investigation is, on the one hand, the primary usage habits for the daily media of newspapers, radio, the Internet and television, and on the other hand, the changing moods and constitutions of the recipients in the course of the day, which were researched with the help of an in-depth psychological study by rheingold. According to the core statement of the study, the interaction of these two parameters is also of decisive importance for the perception and effect of advertising.

"What's new about advertising reception is that the emotional states of the users are also recorded along with the usual activities during the day. And: The constitution is decisive," says Dr. Stefan Dahlem, Head of Key Account at ZMG. The potential impact of advertising depends on when and in what state it reaches consumers: in an active or passive mood, in phases of daily planning or relaxation.

The strong focus of media planning on the contact price should - as the study shows - be revised. In contrast, the degree of activation of consumers is becoming an essential criterion for evaluating media performance. "This is what our new findings suggest for increasing advertising effectiveness. Because the goal of advertising is to prepare for and activate the purchase decision," says Dahlem.

Media use during the day

Advertising has now become a natural and widely accepted part of citizens' daily lives. However, the individual advertising media encounter different basic moods: In the morning, the daily routine is structured and decisions are prepared - for 98% of German citizens, this phase is completed by 12 noon. This is followed by the transition to the relaxation phase, in which half of the citizens are already in from 7 p.m. Distraction and entertainment have priority.

This corresponds to a certain usage curve of daily media. Newspapers are primarily read in the morning; by 12 noon, more than half of citizens have already read the newspaper. This means that the newspaper is mainly received in the active mood of the morning. Radio is the most used medium in the afternoon. In the evening, television dominates media consumption as the central entertainment medium for consumers who are now in a more passive mood.

Concentration and activation are crucial

What is decisive for the effectiveness of advertising is, on the one hand, the concentration when using the medium and, on the other hand, the underlying mood of the recipients. The "Advertising Reception" study proves that newspaper advertising reaches the most active and concentrated users.

In terms of content, "Advertising Reception" follows on from the ZMG study "Success Factor Newspaper Advertising" by the rheingold Institute, which provides a qualitative intermedia comparison of advertising environments based on an in-depth psychological study. The new quantitative study now makes further statements on the advertising effectiveness of daily media depending on the time of day and the emotional state of consumers.

You can also find further information on the ZMG homepage

Further publications can also be found at https://www.rheingold-salon.de/news-publikationen/