• by Newswire Report , June 30, 2003

The Online Publishers Association announced the results of the second phase of its audience affinity study. The study was designed to determine how the affinity that visitors feel toward a Web site impacts the performance of advertising on that site. Four Digital Edge clients participated in this phase of the research, including Colgate, AT&T, a mobile phone manufacturer and a spirits manufacturer.

Prior OPA research, conducted using the comScore Networks consumer panel in conjunction with Millward Brown IntelliQuest's interactive and marketing sciences groups, established that three attitudinal measures of a Web site have the greatest influence on a visitor's predisposition to respond favorably toward advertising on the site. These attitudinal measure are: likelihood to recommend the site to a friend, satisfaction with site content, and whether or not the site is considered to be a "favorite" within its category. These three measures have been used to establish an Affinity Index, which characterizes the strength of the bond between a visitor and the site.

This new study, conducted by comScore Networks, found that site affinity is a greater driver of key brand metrics than frequency of ad exposure. In addition, the study concluded that in most cases, a high frequency of exposure against a high affinity visitor was the best combination for advertising effectiveness.

The latest findings revealed that site affinity drives purchase intent. Thirty-eight percent of High Affinity visitors indicated that they were very or somewhat likely to buy the advertised brand in the next three months, as opposed to only 32% of Low/Medium affinity users. These results are significant at the 95% confidence level.

The findings also revealed that site affinity positively impacts aided advertising recall, with 12% of High Affinity visitors recalling online ads for the test brands versus only 7% of Low/Medium Affinity visitors. High Affinity visitors are even more likely to recall online advertising for the test brands when supported by increased ad frequency. At a high frequency (5+), 15% of High Affinity visitors recalled seeing online ads for the test brands vs. only 4% of Low/Medium Affinity visitors.

High frequency of exposure to High Affinity users was also the best combination for increasing aided recall of the specific ads tested.

"This research proves that the sites on which advertising appears significantly impact how that advertising performs," said Michael Zimbalist, executive director of the Online Publishers Association.

"The existence of a media 'halo effect' has been presumed by advertisers in traditional media for decades. This research shows that the media halo effect works with online advertising, as well, and that advertisers who target sites that attract loyal, high affinity audiences will, indeed, see superior results."

Alan Schanzer, managing partner at The Digital Edge, added: "This research demonstrates the need to balance frequency with affinity in order to optimize results."

The survey results were based on the responses of approximately 1,300 members of comScore's panel of more than one million U.S. Internet users between October 2002 and January 2003. Four different advertising campaigns and media plans were tested. Three different test cells were established for each advertiser based on the number of ad exposures respondents received - Low Frequency (1-4 ad exposures), High Frequency (5-8 ad exposures) and the Control Cell (no ad exposures).