New study reveals that personalised advertising and creativity can combat consumers’ lack of attention. The TV is still at the heart of the home, in the living room, but today viewers expect more than just passive entertainment from their big screens.
Paris/ Luxembourg/Hamburg, 3rd May 2022
Latest research conducted by RTL AdConnect, in partnership with smartclip, analysed consumers’ video viewing habits, their relationship with TV and advertising across platforms in 10 different European countries. This comprehensive study was conducted with both a qualitative and quantitative approach to develop well-rounded knowledge about the European consumer. 18 families were interviewed across the UK, Germany and France and a qualitative survey was conducted 8500 individuals across 10 countries (the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland).

Key Findings:
55% of Europeans have purchased a Smart TV in the last two years
Connected viewing is now an expectation rather than an alternative
People expect more personalisation in advertising
The report uncovers habits, expectations and viewing tastes from target groups across Europe to show how TV viewing has changed. Factors like the pandemic appear to have influenced buying habits as over half of Europeans have purchased a smart TV in the last two years. Although it may seem that alternative platforms for video viewing are taking over, in fact TV viewing remains the focal point of the living room. In the UK, 63% of viewers watch video content on a TV more than any other device. Connected TVs are also becoming a huge priority for Europeans: 55% of viewers connect their TVs using a stick or a dongle and 68% use a set top box.
“Knowing [the viewers] moods and mindsets means that advertisers can use our research to better target and design content that will cause less friction for viewers throughout the day”
© Jean-Baptiste Moggio, Head of Marketing at RTL AdConnect
One of the challenges for advertisers is that no matter what the viewing platform is, viewers find ads annoying if they are repetitive or irrelevant. Around half of European viewers are irritated by ads on linear, social media, broadcast VOD and ad supported VOD and this figure rises to nearly 60% of YouTube viewers. Advertisers need to understand the viewer to get through to them.
It’s unsurprising that this sense of annoyance comes from the disruption of the viewing experience. But this is only a minor challenge for creative advertisers who can up their game and design advertising that supports connected viewers who want to see valuable advertising. Creative and relevant ads are perceived more positively. Advertisers can take advantage of smart targeting simply make more creative ads to benefit from this positive outlook.
“Advertisers can leverage advanced targeting features such as frequency capping and ad sequencing, which gives advertisers complete control over the number of times a viewer sees an ad and the order in which different ad creatives are delivered”
©Shira Leffel, Executive Director Europe Marketing and Product Education, smartclip.
Through increasingly clever online advertising, consumers now expect personalised marketing. For ads they see on TV, 71% want personalisation and 66% would like messages to be tailored to their needs. This is all possible via a combination of real-time, behavioural, socio-demographic, and contextual data and with the increase in connected TV purchase and connection to smart features. The current environment is a real opportunity for brands to deliver relevant content and ads.
Watch the replay and access the full report at www.newlivingroom.tv
About RTL AdConnect
RTL AdConnect is the international Total Video sales house of RTL Group and beyond. It provides international advertisers with a simplified access to a global premium and brand-safe total video inventory ensuring that the right media decisions are made for pan-European campaigns. Thanks to its media partners from RTL Group and beyond, RTL AdConnect reaches around 165 million potential consumers in Europe every day. RTL AdConnect offers exclusive solutions around high quality content across an extensive portfolio of media partners consisting of more than 150 TV channels, 300 digital platforms and 40 radio stations in 12 countries. With 360-degree solutions, RTL AdConnect supports brands on every step of the way, offering full support from start to finish, ensuring high reach, deep market insights and cross-screen solutions.
For more information, please visit www.rtladconnect.com and follow us on Linkedin and Twitter.
About smartclip
At smartclip, we are shaping the future of video advertising—delivering advanced online video and TV advertising solutions. Our proprietary technology and services empower brands with true cross-screen storytelling on all devices and enable broadcasters and publishers to monetise their content in the most efficient and effective way possible. We are committed to delivering the most innovative video ad experiences—spanning in-stream, out-stream, connected TV, addressable TV, and gaming. As a subsidiary ofRTL Deutschland, smartclip is part of RTL Group—Europe’s leading free-to-air broadcaster group. Headquartered in Hamburg, smartclip has offices in Berlin, Munich, Düsseldorf, Gütersloh, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Milan, and Rome. For more information, please visit www.smartclip.tv and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.