• by Masha Geller , August 13, 2001

Streaming ads -- Do they brand online effectively? Should advertisers care yet? "Yes," and "almost."

Lightningcast and Diameter, the research division of DoubleClick, today released a study, which showed that Web users exposed to a major cellular carrier's 60-second streaming audio ad were 10% more likely to be aware of the advertiser, 59% more likely to recall its slogan, and 14% more likely to choose the cellular carrier when considering a wireless service provider. Also, advertising awareness and advertising tagline showed striking effects with increases of +64% and +60% respectively.

Researchers found that Web users who heard the ad retained a greater brand awareness of the advertiser for up to a month. The ad's impact was greatest, at 11%, among people who had heard the ad within a week of being surveyed. But even among listeners who had last heard the ad 15-30 days before being surveyed, awareness of the cellular carrier was 9% higher than among users in the control group.

Predictably, frequency of exposure increased impact on all brand metrics measured. The greatest increases were noted for advertising awareness (+118% after 21 or more exposures to the audio ad) and ad element recall (+195% after 21 or more exposures).

Of course, there is one more very important point to consider before launching a streaming campaign - high-speed web access; or "if you stream it, who will see it?"

The answer is, according to the latest numbers from the Federal Communications Commission, about 7 million people. The number may not seem like much considering that the Current Internet Universe is made up of about 171 million people at home and 173 million at work, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. But, the 7.1 million homes and businesses with high-speed Internet represent a 63% increase in six months.

Moral of the story? Broadband penetration is increasing rapidly, so if you're thinking of trying your luck with streaming ads, now would be a good time to start testing.