• by Masha Geller , April 16, 2002

At the ARF Annual Convention last week, IRI and DoubleClick presented research that showed how online advertising can positively influence consumer perceptions of brands and increase offline sales by an average of 6.6% for major consumer packaged goods (CPG).

At the same event, comScore Networks released the results of a similar study, which also confirmed that online marketing can increase purchase intent, brand awareness and advertising awareness among CPG consumers.

Performed in conjunction with Nestle Purina PetCare Company, comScore's research was based on a study of integrated online and offline behavioral data for a large sample of opt-in consumers. The study measured the relationship between offline buying history and future purchase intent versus usage of Nestle Purina websites and exposure to Nestle Purina's online marketing of various Purina brands.

According to the findings, Purina banner ads raised consumer awareness of the Purina brand. People who were exposed to these ads were almost 50% more likely to volunteer "Purina" as the first dog food brand that came to mind.

Also, exposure to Purina banner ads increased dog owners' likelihood of buying Purina ONE brand dog food: 36% of dog owners who were exposed to such ads reported that they would "definitely or probably buy the brand" versus just 24% of those who did not see the advertising.

Finally, certain websites were more attractive than others for advertising designed to reach certain buyer groups, comScore found. The study rated over 10,000 Web domains for likelihood of reaching offline brand buyers, and results varied significantly -- Purina buyers, for example, were 18 to 22% more likely than the average Web user to visit about.com in a given month.