Dive Brief:
- ESPN is encouraging advertisers to combine TV and digital ads to increase results after its own research found success with the tactic.
- Data from ESPN Lab showed that combining TV commercials with digital video ads created an 160% increase in purchase intent over running just TV ads.
- The combination of TV and digital also showed a 36% increase in awareness and 67% increase in word of mouth.
Dive Insight:
ESPN Lab's research supports an overall trend of the shift from TV to digital. The traditional TV medium is still important, but viewers today are looking at multiple screens. The digital element is critical to reaching sports fans across devices.
Advertising during the most recent Super Bowls—the biggest TV ad day of the year—showed that 75% of brands that purchased a commercial paired it with a digital campaign. ESPN is jumping onto that idea by showing more advertisers that the combination works.