Lowe extends advertising channel trial

Lowe is to extend trials of its dedicated advertising television channel for several months, after its own research showed that consumers actively want to watch well-made ads.

Working with video-on-demand company HomeChoice, Lowe launched a four-week trial of the channel in May. Viewers were given the opportunity to see ads and vote on which they liked best.

Results show that 31 per cent of HomeChoice customers accessed the ads, with an average time of nine minutes spent watching by each household over the four weeks. Focus groups said the channel was entertaining for five minutes and that it was better than programmes such as Tarrant on TV, because of the absence of an “irritating” host.

Lowe claims its research shows that the level of recall for the advertising was high, as people had actively decided to watch the ads.

Lowe planner Guy Lambert says: “The idea was to get people to watch the ads for five minutes occasionally. We are pleased by the number of people who did. If you can promise them good ads, they will watch them when they have a few minutes to spare.”

The channel will be relaunched in a few months with better testing facilities. Lambert adds that the results should be a wake-up call to the advertising industry. “There is no reason for so many ads to be so bad. Technology is allowing people to avoid ads they don’t want to watch – and to find those they do – so the brands with the most creative ads will be the ones that get watched.”