New research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Nielsen//NetRatings finds that sponsored search, along with contextual and behaviorally targeted text ads effectively improve unaided brand
awareness. The research, presented on Wednesday during the IAB's Search Road Show in Los Angeles, measured the response of 10,500 participants across six categories: Health, Auto, Beverage,
Electronics, Retail, and Finance.
The research claims that holding the top spot is the key to raising overall brand awareness, as Marc Ryan, Nielsen//NetRatings senior director of analysis
noted, "People have been trained by search to consider results in a rank order." The IAB//NetRatings study shows that text ads occupying the top spot on a search engine increased overall awareness
by 14 percent across the six industries in search, and 15 percent in contextual.
The most compelling response boost came in unaided brand awareness. The new research revealed that respondents
asked to name specific brands within a tested vertical were 27 percent more likely to name the brand displayed in the top spot compared to non-exposed control group. For contextual listings, text
ads caused a 23 percent lift. The report only tested the number one and number five sponsored slots; ads in the fifth position only showed a minor directional shift on brand measures.
The new
research comes only two days after aQuantive's Atlas DMT reported that the actual sales value of the top three sponsored listings positions might be overrated. Acknowledging the Atlas DMT findings,
Nielsen//NetRatings' Ryan said, "[Placement] might not lead to [direct] online sales, but if you want to build your brand name, being at the top is key."
In light of the findings, Ryan noted
that brands might want to place even more emphasis on winning keyword bids for their own trademarks. Search giant Google, for example, does not prohibit advertisers from bidding on other company's
trademarks. However, Yahoo! subsidiary Overture, does not.
Ryan also remarked that Google, which now has the ability to sell graphical adds through its contextual ad platform, AdSense, might
consider the possibility of merging its display capabilities with its existing sponsored listings technology. This would combine "the best of both worlds," for advertisers, publishers, and Google,
he said.
Denise Garcia, media and Internet analyst, GartnerG2, said text ads that utilize graphical capabilities to display brand logos present "as strong a possibility for branding as any other
display ad in the same position." While vibrant, graphical text ads in content margins might annoy users, Garcia said, "it depends on how publishers use it." Currently, Google does not sell
graphical ads on its website, but it does sell them through its contextual ad product.