We analyzed GWI data across multiple industries, age groups, and consumer segments to answer a critical question:
Does spending time on a channel increase ad recall and brand discovery?
The short answer is no—media effectiveness depends on mental state and trust rather than just exposure time.
Trust over time: why some media channels outperform others
Despite spending just 31 minutes with print media, 21.9% of health-conscious consumers discover brands there. Meanwhile, social media requires 1 hour and 24 minutes for a 29% discovery rate.
Why? Trust. These channels provide the credibility and certainty that health decisions demand.
The power of context
Music event fans have a 150.8 podcast receptivity index, making them 50.8% more likely to recall brands via podcast ads—despite moderate listening time (47 minutes).
The short explanation? Mental context – entertainment-focused audiences might show higher discovery rates on entertainment-adjacent channels.
Efficiency over volume
Looking at business leaders:
- Social media: 85 minutes per day → 17.1% discovery (4.97 minutes per discovery point).
- Print media: 2.8 minutes per discovery point – nearly twice as efficient.
Takeaway: Receptivity, not just raw exposure, determines ad impact.
We've been optimizing only for attention when we should be optimizing for receptivity too.
The Age Factor
Age creates the most dramatic differences in how media channels perform, with a highlight for Print:
- For 55-64 year-olds, spending 22 minutes with print delivers 27.6% brand discovery
- For 16-24 year-olds, spending 36 minutes with print (more time!) brings just 9.8% discovery
Radio also shows a cliff—31.7% discovery for 55+ versus 7.9% for Gen Z – even when this generation daily listens to about 40 minutes of radio. Same exact medium, opposite outcomes.
The 25-34 balanced profile: This demographic uniquely shows proportional discovery across channels, with social media reaching peak effectiveness (24.1% discovery, index: 120.6). They’re the only group where digital discovery matches digital consumption patterns.
Industry-Specific media effectiveness
Cosmetics is the only industry where social media (38.6%) outperforms TV (38.5%) despite less time investment. The visual nature of both the medium and the industry creates unique synergy.
Beer brands, on the other hand, have a commanding 43.7% discovery rate on TV – highest across all industries. Cosmetics brands invest nearly identical TV time (1:46 vs 1:54) but achieve 5.2% less discovery, suggesting category-specific media effectiveness.
The same happens with print media for Pharmaceuticals (0:28 hours, 21.6% discovery) versus Print media for Car industry (0:40 hours, 15.3% discovery). Despite the Car industry spending 43% more time with print media, their discovery rate is 29% lower – showing print is dramatically more effective for pharmaceutical marketing than for automotive.
Travel buyers spend just 27 minutes with print but get 16.8% discovery – making print 2.3x more efficient per minute than social media for travel brands. It seems the tangibility of print creates a stronger connection for high-consideration purchases.
What does this mean for your brand?
Understanding these nuanced differences can dramatically impact your marketing effectiveness:
- Optimize budget allocation based on actual discovery patterns.
- Match media strategy to mindset, ensuring high-receptivity environments.
- Bridge the gap between consumption and discovery to increase ROI.
- Create more impactful touchpoints where your audience is most receptive.
Questions to consider:
- Do you know where your target audience actually discovers new brands?
- Are your current channels aligned with their discovery preferences?
- Could there be untapped opportunities in channels you haven’t considered?
Tips for your next campaign
- The attention economy is a trap. Time spent is a vanity metric. What matters is whether those minutes lead to actual brand discovery.
- Context creates receptivity. The state of mind matters more than time spent. Pharmaceutical ads work in print because readers are in information-gathering mode.
- Target by mindset, not just demographics. Our data shows mindset influences discovery patterns more than traditional targeting factors.
- Trust the data, not your habits. Never assume your own media consumption reflects typical patterns. “I would never watch TV” or “I personally don’t use this platform, so why should my target group?” are the most dangerous phrases in marketing (TABOO). Your media habits and preferences are irrelevant when it comes to reaching your target audience
Take the next step
Every audience has unique media habits and brand discovery patterns.At GLADTOBE, we use GWI alongside proprietary discovery pathway mapping to uncover exactly where your specific audience switches from passive consumption to active discovery.
- Analyze media consumption habits
- Map brand discovery pathways
- Understand target group behaviors
- Evaluate channel effectiveness
