• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 21, 2011

Editorial content and other earned ad messages, packaged with paid or narrative video marketing, can resonate with consumers way beyond the influence of traditional brand creative pieces alone. That's because earned media, or editorial content, helps to raise awareness, according to joint research from Synaptic Digital and WPP's Kantar Video.

The research, released Tuesday, aims to understand the effectiveness of packaging brand messages in "earned" brand advertising, also known as news reports and media coverage, and "paid," or narrative marketing, typically a 30- to 60-second spot.

Focused on a major American automotive brand, the research garnered results from more than 1,800 respondents, exposing each to combinations of formats with a specific message. Responses from consumers measured the effectiveness of creative formats against unaided brand awareness, brand favorability, and persuasion.

Women are able to piece together messages delivered via brand advertising and newsy formats. Those score significantly higher on brand metrics than any one format, while men are influenced by earned media, or public relations, and little else, according to the study findings.

Andrew Latzman, senior vice president of research at Kantar Video, said combining earned and paid narrative video had significantly higher impact, compared with brand marketing. When consumers get deeper into the decision-making process, brand marketing has a more pronounced influence.

When it comes to persuasion and performance metrics, about 45% of consumers participating in the study understood the brand message from controlled media during the purchase consideration process; followed by 50% from earned; 50%, paid; 52%, branding; and 55%, earned and paid.

While earned and paid advertising seem to have a better combined influence, brand advertising alone still greatly increases purchase consideration in the broader market. As consumers move through the sales funnel and behavior changes from gathering facts to making an informed purchase decision, the research suggests augmenting brand ads with earned and paid content.

Bottom line: the more relevant the audience, the more effective earned and paid executions.

When it comes to behavioral targeting and addressable video, the potential for earned and paid media increases. The study shows even better movement in the brand metrics when respondents ready to purchase within one year were exposed to media dubbed earned or paid, compared with branded.

The study finds that behavioral targeting reaches more relevant consumers closer to the point of purchase, but the ads must communicate in a productive and informative way. The use of newsy formats provide messaging that stays with consumers further along the purchase funnel.

Brand executions set a base for messaging that is relevant to all parties, but not necessarily persuasive enough to take the most relevant audiences through the purchase funnel, according to the research.