MAM
TV advertising most effective in building word of mouth for brands: Thinkbox
MUMBAI: Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV in the UK, has released a study that shows that TV advertising creates 51 per cent of additional Word of mouth for brands. PR/Events/Brand news creates 19 per cent.
Online search, display and affiliate site advertising creates 12 per cent. While changes to brand products or services creates nine per cent, print advertising accounts for four per cent. Outdoor advertising creates two per cent, Direct Mail 1.5 per cent and Cinema one per cent. Radio advertising is the least effective at 0.5 per cent.
This means that, in total, paid-for advertising is responsible for almost three quarters (72 per cent) of the total additional WoM about brands offline (e.g. in person or over the ‘phone) or online.
We already know that people’s conversations about brands directly affect sales and marketing effectiveness. But what makes people talk or tweet about a brand? What makes brands into shared topics of conversation? And where do those conversations take place? The answer has been revealed by new research examining what creates word of mouth (WoM).
The ‘POETIC’ research – ‘Paid, Owned, Earned: TV’s Influence Calculated’ – by Data2Decisions, the marketing effectiveness consultancy, and Thinkbox looked at the intricate relationship between ‘paid media’ (advertising), ‘owned media’ (primarily brand websites), and ‘earned media’ (WoM). It econometrically analysed what brand activities create new, ‘earned’ WoM in addition to the heritage, market and seasonal factors which make up the ongoing ‘base’ level of brand conversation, some of which will have been influenced by previous brand activity.
The ‘Poetic’ study analysed over half a million data points for 36 brands across three marketing categories – retail, finance, and drink – including data from word of mouth specialists Keller Fay, YouGov’s social media monitor Brandwatch, and data directly from brands. Other key findings include:
The vast majority of WoM takes place offline
- Data from Keller Fay suggests that an overwhelming majority of brand conversations (90 per cent) are conducted offline. Data2Decisions’ ‘Poetic’ study echoed this and found that over 95 per cent of brand conversations in its sample took place offline.
- YouGov’s Brandwatch data, which tracks social media comments, validates this finding and suggests that the number of online conversations is significantly smaller in comparison to offline.
TV advertising generates WoM for longer than other communication channels. TV advertising drives word of mouth for a number of weeks after initial activity: 85 per cent of week one activity in the second week, and 72 per cent in the third week.
This carry over effect suggests the impact of TV on WoM can last for several months. The study found that running TV advertising every 3-6 months will help maintain levels of brand discussion.
Paid media drive web traffic
- TV advertising is the most significant driver of additional brand website traffic: 47% of extra visits are generated by TV advertising.
- TV advertising’s significant effect on off- and online WoM also has an indirect effect on increasing website traffic, as does other advertising.
- Other key drivers of additional traffic to brand websites are: offline WoM (12 per cent); online advertising (9.5 per cent); PR (eight per cent); online WoM (six per cent); outdoor advertising (5.5 per cent); print advertising (three per cent); radio advertising (two per cent); Direct Mail (two per cent); brands’ owned Facebook pages (two per cent).
TV is the key driver of corporate reputation
- Of all the influences on corporate reputation (as measured by YouGov’s BrandIndex, which tracks public perception of brands), TV advertising is fundamental, driving 52 per cent of the positive impact on corporate reputation.
- PR / Brand news / Events are the second most powerful enhancer of corporate reputation, responsible for 24%.
- Direct Mail and online advertising (including search, display and affiliate comparison sites) have shorter lived effects on corporate reputation where marketing is used to communicate news or direct consumers to purchase.
Thinkbox research and planning director Neil Mortensen, “Word of mouth can be marketing magic, but paid advertising’s causal effect is often overlooked with too much emphasis put on what is easily counted or highly visible – where the conversation happens rather than what drove it. This research has revealed for the first time what actually stimulates people’s brand conversations and it is clear that investment in advertising – and especially TV – is key to getting people to talk about your brand positively.”
Data2Decisions director Katherine Munford said, “While conversations naturally occur as consumers use products and services, brand communications generate significant word of mouth. Owned and earned online platforms amplify the effects of paid media by providing hubs for conversation, but delivering a long term impact is best achieved via paid media – with the audio-visual power of TV being especially powerful.”
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
