A study seems to come out every week about another way to reach consumers with a digital message. The intense media focus on the big changes in advertising strategy and effectiveness is probably stressing out your clients. You can give them the straight story based on details from Horowitz Research's new study.

The company took an intense look at what consumers say about specific types of advertising. Specifically, consumers explained which ad formats are most effective. Researchers broke out their results by age group and media type. There’s no denying that people are using more social media on a daily basis.  But, that habit doesn’t mean they’re paying attention to ads on those sites.

In fact, ads on TV still rule for consumers who are ages 50 and up. And 54% of consumers who are between the ages of 35 and 49 say ads on TV remain the most effective way for brands to communicate with them. The percentage of consumers under age 35 who have similar feelings is about the same: 53 percent. However, having an active social media presence (63%) and putting product reviews/​unpacking videos online (56%) trump TV ads for the younger age group.

The workhouse of digital advertising, email, still has legs. Almost half, 48%, of 35 to 49-​year olds give the format a thumbs-​up. And brand marketers that want to connect with the age 50+ crowd should know that 42% of these folks pay attention to email messages that promote new products. Ads on websites are also an effective strategy, especially for the 54% of millennials who notice them.

For brands seeking to connect with 18 to 34-​year-​olds, there’s no substitute for social media. With the number of social channels growing, it’s worth looking into where brands should put their advertising dollars and efforts. For older millennials, Facebook rules with an 80% daily use rate. When researchers look at younger millennials, some of whom could be classified as Gen Z people, Instagram and Snapchat are nearly as popular as Facebook. Adriana Waterston, Horowitz’s SVP of Insights & Strategy, advises marketers to remember context, not just reach, when considering social media. “While Facebook has the most users overall, it is not necessarily where young people are going to have fun, engage socially, and connect with brands.”

The bottom line is that TV ads remain a hit with many consumers. Help your clients buy the right TV media space by studying the AudienceSCAN profiles available on AdMall from SalesFuel.