• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, November 25, 2008

A new comScore Brand Metrix norms database, compiled from nearly 200 brand impact studies conducted across a range of industries and online ad campaigns, finds that the effectiveness of online advertising campaigns in meeting branding objectives such as heightened brand awareness, improved attitudes toward the brand, and increased purchase intent, results ultimately in incremental purchasing.

 Evan Neufeld, comScore vice president of advertising solutions, says though "With online display ads yielding click-thru rates of less than 0.1 percent, advertisers can no longer rely on click-throughs to gauge online ad performance. Doing so fails to capture the impact of... view-throughs... on attitude and future behavior... essential metrics in assessing the complete (ROI) in online advertising."

 comScore Brand Metrix relies on their panel to parse differences in behavior and attitudes among those consumers exposed to an online ad campaign compared to those who are not exposed, concluding that "... the deleterious impact of cookie deletion... can lead to an understatement of the actual view-thru impact of online ads by a factor of 20 percent or more... "

 The report says the data provides compelling empirical support for the belief that there is a quantifiable view-thru impact of online ad exposures on brand value and sales. For the studies in which both retailers' online and offline sales were analyzed, for periods ranging from two weeks to three months after the initial exposure to an online display ad, the incremental online sales lift was 27 percent and offline sales lift was 17 percent

Lift in Retailers' Online and Offline Sales among Internet Users Exposed to Display AdsTotal U.S., Home/Work/University Locations
	Monthly Sales ($) per Thousand Exposed Consumers
	Control	Test	Lift
Online Sales	$994	$1,263	27%
Offline Sales	$9,905	$11,550	17%
Source: comScore Brand Metrix, Norms Database, November 2008

The report also says that online ad exposures also yield a lift in various important online behaviors, such as brand site visitation and trademark searches. For example, a substantial lift in visitation to the advertiser's Web sites can be observed in the weeks following an exposure to a display ad, even though click rates are less than 0.1 percent. Specifically, there was a 65 percent increase in lift in the week following the first ad exposure and a 46-percent increase over the four weeks following the first exposure, underscoring the latent branding effect.

Lift in Advertiser Site Visitation Among Internet Users Exposed to Display Ads Total U.S., Home/Work/University Locations
	Advertiser Site Reach
	Control	Test	Lift
Week Following First Ad Exposure	2.1%	3.5%	65%
Weeks 1-2 After First Exposure	3.1%	4.8%	54%
Weeks 1-3 After First Exposure	3.9%	5.8%	49%
Weeks 1-4 After First Exposure	4.5%	6.6%	46%
Source: comScore Brand Metrix, Norms Database, November 2008

And, the comScore norms data show that online display ads can cause an increase in search queries that involve the advertiser's trademark brand name. Specifically, the average lift in branded trademark searches for the online advertisers studied was 52 percent in the week following the first ad exposure. The norms data also show a substantial continued impact, with a 38-percent lift in trademark searches in the four weeks following the first ad exposure.

Lift in Branded Trademark Search Among Internet Users Exposed to Display AdsTotal U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
	Making a Trademark Search
	Control	Test	Lift
Week Following First Ad Exposure	0.2%	0.3%	52%
Weeks 1-2 After First Exposure	0.4%	0.5%	46%
Weeks 1-3 After First Exposure	0.5%	0.7%	40%
Weeks 1-4 After First Exposure	0.6%	0.9%	38%
Source: comScore Brand Metrix, Norms Database, November 2008

Neufeld concluded that "Not only does online marketing have the benefits of more attractive advertising rates and a faster growing retail channel, but it's clear from the results of our studies that Internet marketing also generates incremental sales in retail stores."

The Brand Metrix norms database contains the results across ten vertical industries including top-of mind unaided awareness, total unaided awareness, aided awareness, total advertising awareness, online ad recall, favorability, likelihood to recommend, and likelihood to purchase. And, a subset including behavioral metrics, online and at retail stores, of advertiser trademark searches, site visitation and purchasing.

For more information on comScore Brand Metrix, please visit here