Young Adults Are Watching TV Ads. Relevance Makes Them Stick.

TV is reaching more young adults than it did a year ago. According to Samba TV data published by EMARKETER, TV ad reach among US adults ages 25 to 34 grew year over year in all seven of the industries tracked. Every category now reaches more than 31 million viewers in this age group, compared with just two categories above 30 million a year ago. Reach also grew by 10% or more in categories like auto and insurance. 

With young adult reach climbing, the next test for advertisers is whether those viewers remember the ads they see. Research from Tenetic and CivicScience found that 59% of consumers rarely or never remember which brands advertised during a show they watched. Part of the challenge may come down to how campaigns define their audience in the first place. Close to 30% of US marketers prioritize demographic targeting for CTV ads, almost three times the share that put contextual approaches first, according to Gracenote. But at Advertising Week New York in October, a panel of streaming and ad tech executives argued that a viewer’s interests (such as sports or gaming) say more about intent than age alone.

Our Take
Advertisers don’t always have to choose between reaching an age group and reaching an interest. In many cases, the content a viewer picks already does much of that sorting. A recent MNTN Research analysis of health and wellness audiences points to combat sports as one example: nearly half of UFC viewers are between ages 18 and 34, and 70% are under 45, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. We think starting with what younger viewers love to watch can help advertisers reach them and give ads a better chance of sticking.

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