Digital media platforms may be the hottest on the market, but some consumer research indicates they still have a long way to go before persuading customers of their advertising effectiveness.

In order to evaluate the efficacy of using a wide range of communications platforms to reach consumers, the 2007 release of Compose, a collaboration of WPP Group's Kantar Media Research unit and Netherlands-based Pointlogic, shows that among 33 channels – from traditional media like TV, radio and print, to new media and marketing channels like sampling or direct marketing – most consumers still find mainstream media to have the greatest influence.

According to the study, TV was recognised as the top medium for building awareness, with 43 percent rating it as excellent or very good. Magazines (31 percent), newspapers (29 percent) and radio (24 percent) followed.

When asked which media helped them decide whether "they can trust a brand," 26 percent of the respondent chose TV, 21 percent voted for newspapers, and 19 percent picked magazines.

However, the new media tracked in the study, such as video games, video-on-demand, interactive TV or online video streaming, are still considered as niche communication channels by most consumers. Their scores on these measures were all less than 5 percent.

According to Peter Kloprogge, a co-founder and managing director of Pointlogic's U.S. media division, said that “when we ask consumers about how they perceive different forms of advertising, we get a higher score for the traditional media and the emerging media are scoring quite low - lower than I expected. The conclusion is that the traditional media should still be the cornerstone for brand advertising and that the new media still have a long way to go before they can replace the traditional media."

Kloprogge added that the overall trend line predicts prosperity for new media platforms in the long run, but for the current communications goals, they “just can't yet deliver.”