Consumers Say Top Holiday Ads Include Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy

WASHINGTON - Retailers are spending millions of dollars on holiday advertisements this year, and consumers say that it's working. According to a survey conducted for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA) by BIGresearch, the top three holiday television advertisements this year come from Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy.

Retailers rounding out consumers' top 10 favorite holiday TV ads include Macy's, JCPenney, Big Lots, Kmart, Old Navy, Kohl's, and Gap.

Though the results were consistent among most demographics, Best Buy overtook Wal-Mart for the number two spot in the lucrative 18-24 year-old category, among men, and among Midwesterners.

"Retailers work year-round to ensure success with holiday advertising campaigns because they know that successful holiday ads influence sales," said Mike Gatti, executive director of RAMA. "With only a handful of days until Christmas, retailers will be advertising everywhere they can to attract the attention of millions of last-minute shoppers."

In addition to providing some entertainment, consumers say holiday-themed television ads serve another purpose: motivating them to shop with certain retailers. According to the survey, 16.9 percent of consumers said that their favorite holiday advertisement persuaded them to shop with a specific retailer. An additional 34.8 percent of consumers said they already planned to shop there.

Young adults 18-24 were more likely to have a specific preference for holiday TV ads (34.2 percent of them could name a favorite ad, compared to 26.2 percent of all adults). Additionally, young adults were much more likely than other shoppers to say that holiday television ads sent them to specific stores (26.2 percent vs. 16.9 percent).

Though shoppers remember their favorite television commercials, they admit that other advertising can be more effective in helping them determine where they will shop for holiday gifts. More than one-third of shoppers said that coupons (38.7 percent) and newspaper inserts (34.9 percent) influenced their decision about where to shop. Consumers also said they are persuaded by word of mouth (29.0 percent) and direct mail (19.4 percent).

The survey, conducted for RAMA by BIGresearch, polled 7,828 consumers from December 5-13, 2006. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.
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