• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 28, 2011

A new study by KN Dimestore and SocialVibe shows that incentivized advertising works to drive active attention to a brand message and significantly increases brand perception and purchase intent. According to the study, more than 90% of people pay active attention to the brand message when interacting with incentivized engagements, and brand perception rises an average of 38% after completing the engagement.

The study was undertaken during June and July of 2011 and included more than 30,000 consumers, exposed to incentivized ads from top U.S. brands across the financial services, CPG, entertainment, e-commerce and technology categories.

Incentivized brand advertising model allows advertisers to offer consumers something they value in exchange for paying attention to an engagement ad. People have opportunities to interact with incentivized ads on Web properties as well as social games. As value-exchange brand advertising asks only for a consumer's attention, it differs from offer-based, cost-per-action advertising that typically requires an ancillary sign-up or purchase by the consumer.

Social Vibe defines "engagement" as an ad unit that:

• Is consumer initiated (100% opt-in)
• Must load in full (no X-outs or false loads)
• Is Interactive (polls, open-end, mini games, video contend)
• Provides a valuable benefit to consumer for active attention (virtual currency, free music access, exclusive content, charity donations, free Wi-Fi)
• Can be shared across social media 

Key findings from the study include:

• 91% of people look for or pay attention to the brand message when interacting with incentivized engagements, meaning that consumers aren't simply interacting with an ad just to reap the rewards of a value-exchange. Notably, 48% reported that while they may initially opt-in to a brand engagement for the incentive, they end up staying and paying attention to the brand message.
• The study revealed an average increase in brand perception of 38%, ranging from 18 to 77%, across the eight different brands participating in the study. For instance, positive brand perception of a packaged good product rose 22 points, or 77%, after consumers completed an incentivized engagement from the brand.
• The overall study showed that regardless of the vertical, financial services, CPG, entertainment or technology, consumers are likely to have a more positive perception of a brand as a result of interacting with a brand-delivered incentivized engagement.
• Respondents to the study revealed that after completing the engagement, purchase consideration against competitive brands increased. For example, when participants were asked, "Which of the six brands are you most likely to consider buying the next time you're at the store?" a category-leading CPG product saw a 23 point lift, or a 56% increase over the control group.
• Furthermore, when survey participants were asked about intent to purchase a brand, another CPG product in the study showed a lift of 32 points, or a 110% increase. A similar lift was seen in the entertainment category, in which the intent to view a specific television show increased 32 points.
• Consumers exposed to an incentivized engagement were 161% more likely to visit the brand's website and 36% more likely to shop for the brand at the store location after completing the engagement. For example, people exposed to a brand engagement from a leading snack brand were 42% more likely to look for the brand at the store after completing an engagement.

For the premiere of a recent blockbuster film, a major movie studio ran a value-exchange campaign that offered game players the opportunity to earn virtual currency in exchange for interacting with the movie's engagement ad. The consumers who had both interacted, as well as not interacted, with the ad, were asked if they had gone to see the movie in theaters. The study revealed that 32 out of every 100 people exposed to the engagement had bought tickets and seen the movie, a 22% lift over those who had not completed the brand engagement.

Benjamin Theriault, vice president of Sales at KN Dimestore, concludes that "... the study clearly shows that the value-exchange approach works to impact every stage of the purchase process... these ads delivered very strong results in brand lift and response rates... "

And, Jay Samit, CEO for SocialVibe, says  "... the way to capture a consumer's real attention is to respect their time commitment through the value-exchange approach... people go online with a purpose... "

For more information about the study methodology and to view the full results, please visit SocialVibe here.