• by Tameka Kee , May 20, 2008

CAPTIVA ISLAND, Fla. -- Marketers trying to ride out the weakening economy should turn to data and analytics that go beyond the click, according to comScore Chairman and Co-founder Gian Fulgoni.

Fulgoni kicked off the MediaPost Search Insider Summit with a data-rich presentation featuring statistics on consumer purchase history, media consumption patterns, and even sentiments toward the economy. He used the stats to illustrate how online advertisers can craft campaigns that drive conversions and increase factors like brand affinity and purchase intent--even in the midst of consumers' ever-tightening wallets.

First, a look at the down side: Growth in consumer spending in the online retail sector (not including travel) for the first quarter of 2008 was down to 11%, according to comScore. That's lower than the 17% growth in the first quarter of 2007, and more than 10% lower than the 25% in the first quarter of 2006. "And we see the same thing across categories," Fulgoni said. "Shopping cart values are trending downward--and the magnitude of the shift is problematic."

Meanwhile, consumer sentiment about the economy--and the rising cost of goods and services in particular--is largely negative. Some 65% of Americans with annual income levels ranging from below $30,000 to over $100,000 said that inflation and rising prices were their primary economic concern, according to a recent poll that Fulgoni cited. In contrast, just 15% overall were concerned about job security, and just 10% were concerned about the state of the financial markets.

When consumers are forced to spend more on necessities like groceries and gas, they decrease spending in other areas--particularly when it comes to online purchases, Fulgoni said. These shifts spur poor conversions and click-throughs, and can make even the most carefully plotted campaign seem ineffective.

So turning to data like view-throughs and attributing value to the entire campaign is a way to pump up the value of your online efforts, including search, display and social media. "We need to use the right metrics to measure sales impact," Fulgoni said. "By measuring the last click, we're leaving 80% of the ROI unmeasured."

A recent "beyond the last click" study by search and online marketing firm Enquiro found that appearance of a brand in the top spots for both paid and organic search results drove a 16% increase in brand association, and lifted brand recall by a little over two times.

Fulgoni said that if the study had focused on whether the consumer actually clicked the ad, the insights and value of the "non-click activity" (or view-throughs) would have been missed. "You can't look at online ad impressions in terms of the ability to only cause an action there and then," Fulgoni said.

And there are even more non-click statistics to show that online advertising is the way to go. For example, a recent joint study by comScore and Nielsen found that the Web has actually eclipsed TV in terms of reach during specific dayparts--including the 7 to 8 p.m. pre-prime-time spot, and from 7 to 11 a.m.

"There are six million fewer prime-time TV viewers today than in May of 2007," Fulgoni said. "And TV's biggest advertisers like quick-service restaurants and CPG brands can't be happy about that. You can show them that online is the new prime time."