Top 10 Double-Secret Unknown Facts About Advertising

As all AdContras know, the marketing and advertising industries have been hijacked by web-addled digi-maniacs who don't know a fact from a fart.

Those of us who like to operate our businesses on the basis of facts, not "buzz"' and baloney, are in an ongoing state of war with web marketing hustlers and their endless feedback loop of misleading information.

So, as a service to my loyal, long-suffering AdContras, I have put together the Top 10 Double-Secret Unknown Facts About Advertising. It is a little crib-sheet to help you fight the forces of ignorance and trendiness wherever you may find them.

Top 10 Double-Secret Unknown Facts About Advertising

1) 99.9% of people who are served an online display ad do not click on it.

2) TV viewership is now at its highest point ever.

3) 96% of all retail activity is done in a store. 4% is done on line.

4) DVR owners watch live TV 95% of the time. 5% of the time they watch recorded material.

5) 99% percent of all video viewing is done on a television. 1% is done on line.

6) The difference in purchasing behavior between people who use DVRs and those who don’t: None.

7) Since the 1990s, click-through rates for banner ads have dropped 97.5%.

8) Since the introduction of TiVo, real time TV viewing has increased over 20%.

 9) Baby boomers dominate 94% of all consumer packaged goods categories. 5% of advertising is aimed at them.

 10) TV viewers are no more likely to leave the room during a commercial break than they are before or after the break.

If you would like to print a nice, clean copy of this list and pin it up on your boss's wall, you can find it here.

Here are my sources:
1. DoubleClick, Benchmark Report, 2009
2. Nielsen Three Screen Report, Q1 2010
3. U.S. Department of Commerce, Q2 2010; Nielsen Three Screen Report, Q1 2010
4. Duke University, Do DVRs Influence Sales?
5. Nielsen Three Screen Report, Q1 2010
6. Duke University, Do DVRs Influence Sales?
7. Li, Hairong; Leckenby, John D. (2004). "Internet Advertising Formats and Effectiveness". Center for Interactive Advertising. And DoubleClick, Benchmark Report, 2009
8. NielsenWire, Nov. 10, 2009
9. Marketing Daily,  July 22, 2010
10. Council for Research Excellence, May 10, 2010