According to new Nielsen research, how and when a brand is presented makes a clear difference in how audiences react to it. Streaming audiences respond more favorably to ads that seamlessly integrate into what they’re watching versus traditional pre-roll or mid-roll advertising, which interrupt the experience. 

In the Nielsen studies spanning from October 2020 to June 2021, viewers were shown pairs of identical ads — a control group saw them in the traditional mid- or pre-roll slot, while the other half saw them using Transmit’s picture-in-picture technology.

Viewers exhibited better recall, higher purchase intent, and increased affinity with branded content shown in the PIP ads that allow for uninterrupted viewing, compared to pre- or mid-roll ad slots that take them away from the action.

Better Viewer Recall

Viewers are more likely to remember brand attributes and overall product messaging after viewing Transmit-style assets.

Across the studies, an average of 89% of audience members viewing PIP ads were able to remember the brand, compared to 83% of the overall norm.

The group of viewers exposed to PIP ads also expressed significantly stronger agreement with brand statements included in the ads compared to the control group. Key brand messages resonate better with audiences who are seamlessly served up ads simultaneously with the content they’re already engrossed in. Across the board, the PIP groups were better able to repeat back certain brand attributes the ads highlighted than the control groups.

PIP viewers even remembered specific brand messaging -- like taglines or offers -- an average of 4.5 times more than the control group viewing traditional ads.

Better Purchase and Recommendation Intent

Being memorable is important, but it doesn’t translate to the bottom line unless viewers are moved to either convert or recommend a brand to their friends or social networks. PIP ads had a significant impact on viewers’ intentions to do both those things.

Across all three studies, Nielsen found respondents’ purchase intent increased an average of 8% when shown the same ad in PIP format compared to traditional ad breaks. 

Recommendation intent saw even bigger swings between the groups surveyed. Nielsen found survey respondents viewing PIP ad content were on average at least 10% more likely to recommend the brand to somebody else than those in the control group.

Increased Brand Affinity

Brands seen as likable and trustworthy win and retain more customers. The Nielsen research demonstrates streaming audiences think more favorably of brands that don’t interrupt their programming than the ones that do.

Brands saw big improvements in this area among viewers served the Transmit assets -- viewers expressed 11.5% higher average brand affinity versus the control group. This is probably as easy to explain as understanding the universal distaste of having a show or movie interrupted by an ad break at a critical moment. Brands garner higher affinity scores when integrating spots within content with surgical precision, in a way that minimizes disruption and annoyance. 

If you’d like a demo of our PIP ad experience, click here.