TV remains FMCG’s reach engine, but digital mix lifts penetration

Mumbai: Television continues to do most of the heavy lifting for FMCG brands looking to reach households, with digital advertising adding limited incremental reach. However, combining the two is proving more effective at driving penetration, according to findings from Worldpanel by Numerator’s new media panel in partnership with Sync Media.

Across soap, dishwash and detergent brands studied, digital-only advertising reached just 0.6-4.1% of households, while television accounted for a vast majority of reach, either on its own or alongside digital. Yet combining TV and digital increased penetration for nearly 75% of the brands studied.

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According to the panel, the way brands split their exposure between the two channels also matters. Among households that saw advertising on both TV and digital, a more balanced mix drove higher penetration for 80% of brands than exposure that was heavily tilted towards one channel.

“What's striking in the data is how much nuance sits beneath the headline numbers, the way channel balance matters more than raw reach,” said Manoj Menon, director-commercial, South Asia, Worldpanel by Numerator.

The data also shows that media effectiveness varies significantly by category. Personal care brands such as soap and shampoo reached higher penetration at lower exposure frequencies than home-care categories such as dishwash and detergent.

According to Menon, this data shows “how brands can have different optimum frequencies to maximize penetration.”

The findings extend beyond the TV-digital split. On YouTube, non-skippable ad formats outperformed bumper ads on penetration for 75% of the brands studied.