• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 25, 2007

Cumulative Media Drive Purchase Intent

A new guide from Magazine Publishers of America announced by Ellen Oppenheim, Executive Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer, MPA, aggregates new findings from marketing research and consulting companies Marketing Evolution and Dynamic Logic, along with the latest research from other third-party sources, to offer a comprehensive view of the role of media in influencing consumer purchase decisions and online behavior

The report analyzes cross-media accountability data from 32 studies to determine each medium's effectiveness through the purchase funnel. The overall findings indicate that:

• Media synergy is important. Three media were better than two, and two media were better than one in generating results
• The combination of TV and magazines provided significantly more lift than did TV plus online
• TV and magazines produced the greatest lifts in ad awareness, with each medium contributing significantly more impact than online
• Magazines were by far the most effective in increasing purchase intent, with a significantly greater point increase compared to the next highest ranking medium in both studies
• Magazines were the most consistent performer in producing positive results in the most campaigns at all stages of the purchase funnel

Presented in MPA's accountability guide, Marketing Evolution's analysis of nine client-commissioned studies examines, among other things, how magazine ads contributed to building web traffic. Specifically, the study compares the number of online visits among consumers who saw magazine ads to those of consumers who read different issues of the same magazines without any exposure to the ads.

Key findings include:

• Magazine ads had a major impact on building web traffic, with a lift of more than 40% over the control group, on average
• Magazine ads generated web traffic at each stage of the purchase funnel, especially purchase intent
• Including a URL address in magazine ads significantly increased web visits. When the URL was included, the percent change in visits tripled
• For the Automotive category in particular, magazine ads had significant impact in driving traffic to the auto brands' websites-with an average increase of seven points, representing an 85% lift, over the control group

"Quantifying the significant impact print magazine ads have on driving on web usage confirms multiple surveys that document the vital role magazines can play in this digital age," said Ms. Oppenheim. "The study reinforces that marketers looking to boost their website traffic or prompt searches on their products would benefit from leveraging magazines as part of their media plans."

Additional web-related findings cited in the accountability guide include:

• Offline media perform well in driving web traffic and search, often better than online media
• Each medium influences online behavior differently and plays a distinctive role
• "Qualified" search offers quite different and informative results than "total" search results
• When looking at the role individual media play in driving web results, magazines most consistently drive web traffic and search

Ms. Oppenheim noted, "The latest findings from Dynamic Logic echo the range of conclusions from other independent researchers that magazines play a prominent role in influencing consumers' buying decisions, especially in the area of purchase intent... "

The Executive summary in the report concludes that the third-party findings, gathered in Accountability II: How Media Drive Results and Impact Online Success, offer insights on purchase funnel dynamics and consumer online behavior that can have profound ramifications for advertisers looking to maximize their return on marketing investment.

And, Bob Liodice, President, Association of National Advertisers, said in September, 2007  "In my mind, the primary objective of ‘marketing accountability' is to improve the productivity of the entire marketing supply chain to better discern what works and what doesn't work, so that we can build brand equity, drive short-term business results, enhance long-term performance potential, streamline and increase the productivity of the marketing process, (and) improve the marketing decision-making process across all platforms."

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