- Home
- Thinkbox app for iPad
- Getting Started on TV
- TV Effectiveness
- TV at a Glance
- TV Technology
- TV Planning
- TV Toolbox
- TV Ad Galleries
- Research
- The Thinkboxes
- Case Studies
- Nickable Stuff
- Events and Training
- Hot Topics
- About Us
We’re watching more TV than ever before
-
People in the UK watched an average of 2 hours 41 minutes of commercial TV a day during February
-
Total broadcast TV viewing (including BBC) was 4 hours 10 minutes a day
-
Commercial TV’s share of viewing in February 2013 was 67%
-
Total commercial impacts were down slightly at -2.7% year on year
-
The top five most watched TV advertisers in February were Morrisons, Dfs, Direct line, Confused.com and Aldi.
TV in Depth
-
2012 was TV's year. From incredible content like the Olympics bringing people together to emerging trends like multi-screening making TV advertising even more effective, TV is in a very good place. Tess Alps, Executive Chair of Thinkbox gives an overview of the year’s big themes -
TV in the UK became 100% digital in 2012 when the analogue signal was switched off. Whatever screen you watch your TV on now it is digital TV you are watching. From linear TV to broadcaster VOD; here are the numbers -
TV advertising revenue in 2012 totalled a record £4.48bn, up 1.4% on the equivalent figure in 2011. This platform-neutral figure represents all the money invested by advertisers in commercial TV: linear spot and sponsorship, TVOD, and product placement. Here you can also have a look at the top spending categories for commercial TV; which holding companies and brands where most active and which showed the biggest increases in spend. -
It’s not just how we watch TV that is constantly innovating, so is TV advertising. There is an expanding palette of commercial opportunities for brands. Some of these innovations are driven by changes to regulation (e.g. product placement) and many more by technology. But perhaps the biggest driver of innovation is a cultural change within broadcaster commercial teams. All are now promoting collaborative partnerships to bring advertisers’ ambitions to life. Here are some of the broad trends. -
TV – whether watching, finding, controlling, recording, or sharing it – is always one of the most exciting things in technology and much of the recent excitement has focused on TV and its viewers becoming connected and the benefits for advertisers. -
Every year there is a mountain of media and marketing research; too much to read it all and, sadly, too much which doesn’t bear scrutiny. But if there was ever a piece of research the industry could trust and that demanded attention, it was published in 2012 by the IPA. -
People take TV for granted. They expect to turn on the TV and find something to watch – if they don’t already know what they want. TV is both part of the fabric of daily life and a crucial part of the creative economy which contributes 8% to UK GDP. Commercial broadcasters continued to show the very best content in every genre and to maintain the unrivalled environment that TV provides for advertisers. Here are some 2012 award winners from the BAFTAs, the Royal Television Society Awards and the National Television Awards. -
Thinkbox’s annual review unsurprisingly focuses on the commercial side of TV. But there’s another side of TV that isn’t celebrated as much: how TV and TV advertising make the world a better place. Alongside the indubitable power of televisual entertainment to bring joy to people, TV also has the ability to encourage us to lead healthier, better, more socially-minded lives. Here’s an overview of how TV does good. -
We know advertising pays back for individual advertisers, but to what extent does it actually boost the economy? ‘Advertising Pays’, a Deloitte report commissioned by the Advertising Association, sets out to quantify and qualify the economic effects of the £16bn spent on advertising in the UK every year. It finds that for every £1 spent on advertising, the economy grows by £6. This amounts to a £100bn effect on total GDP. Here you can find out how and why advertising will play a key role in revitalising our economy, along with insight and reaction from Cilla Snowball CBE, Nicola Mendelsohn, Gavin Patterson and The Rt. Hon. Maria Miller MP: essential reading. -
2012 was the fifth year that Thinkbox has held the TVPlanning Awards. They celebrate and recognise inspiredand effective uses of TV advertising, from spots andsponsorship to the latest emerging interactive and TVODopportunities. A TV planner’s palette has never been socolourful. This year’s Grand Prix winner, adam&eve’s ‘Bornto Shine’ campaign for Save the Children, was emblematic of the smart, innovative thinking that underpins the best TV advertising. From here you can watch some short films about this and the other brilliant and effective campaigns, read the entry summaries, take a peek at the ceremony and find out what the judges thought. -
2012 was another great year for TV creativity and this was reflected in the winners of The Thinkboxes, the bi-monthly creative awards scheme which celebrates the best of TV advertising in all its forms. Here you can browse the very best of 2012 and find out about the people behind the work. -
John Lewis has captured the nation’s hearts with its highly emotive and much talked about TV advertising which began during Christmas 2009 and has continued ever since. In just over two years, the campaign has generated £1,074m of incremental sales and £261m of incremental profits, making it a worthy winner of advertising’s top accolade. Abbott Mead Vickers/BBDO was named Effectiveness Company of the Year for the second year running and it was good to see that 33 of the 36 winning campaigns had TV at the heart of their campaigns. Here you can browse case study summaries, find out who won what and watch their TV ads too. Many congratulations to everyone involved.
TV at a Glance
TV today has more to offer advertisers than ever before, not least because this growing medium remains at the heart of popular culture and advertising effectiveness. This part of our website is designed to give you a snapshot of what’s been going on in commercial television. You can catch up with our latest monthly TV report, and review all the key facts and figures for commercial TV in 2012 - TV viewing, TV advertising investment, TV technologies, broadcaster highlights and programme awards – or follow some quick links to some of the most creative and effective campaigns of 2012.
Associated content
-
Inform. Inspire. Involve. That’s exactly what Thinkbox seeks to do and our research is no exception. Here you can delve into a fascinating body of work, both past and present, to help you get to grips with how TV works, why it works, and how it will develop in the future. -
Thinkbox hosts a rolling programme of inspirational events, all designed to help people understand how to get the best of TV. Here you can find out what’s coming up next and also view presentations and films from our previous events. -
Here you can download a PDF of ‘A year in TV 2012’, Thinkbox’s review of what was an incredible year for TV. From ‘TV in numbers’ to ‘trends and innovation’, it’s full of facts, figures and opinion on the past year, all of which we hope you find interesting and informative. Please feel free to pass it on, if you do.
