WebProNews

Consumers are 44 percent more engaged in advertisements featured in television programs they watch online than they are with the ads they see on a TV set according to Simmons, an Experian company.

The study identifies engagement according to six factors that respondents associates with media. They are "inspirational," "trustworthy," "life enhancing," "social interaction," "personal timeout," and ad receptivity.

John Fetto, product manager for Experian Research Services, said that the data suggests that TV ads online are especially effective at engaging consumers. "Web sites that are extensions of properties that exist in other media channels have a great potential to funnel audiences that are highly engaged in the first place," he said.

Women and younger consumers have higher levels of engagement online than men and older users. The differences were small. On a 100 to 500 point scoring system, women on average were a bit more receptive to online ads than men on average, at 236 to 228, respectively.

People between the ages of 35 and 54 rated the Internet as being about as trustworthy a source of information as did 18 to 34-year-olds. The study also found that people are more receptive to ads on sites they visit frequently. Those who visited sites two to six times per week are more likely to be responsive to ads than those who visit less often.

The study was based on 74,996 interviews with U.S. adults and was conducted online and over the telephone between October 2006 and September 2007.