July 2000   

 

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 N E W S  Y O U  C A N  U S E

Frequency Plays a Significant Role in Lifting Awareness: Four or More Exposures Doubles Impact of Online Branding

Dynamic Logic has found that there is a direct correlation between the branding value of online advertising and the frequency of exposure: by increasing exposure levels from one to four or more, advertisers can virtually double the impact the advertising has on Brand Awareness. The range of lift in Awareness spans 5.6% - for only one exposure to 10.4% for four exposures or more. This finding is based on data collected through AdIndex, Dynamic Logic's proprietary online advertising research tool and is based on over 24,000 interviews and covers various product categories.

This finding is important because it contradicts a philosophy among online direct marketers who believe that in the interest of getting the highest possible click-through rate, they should employ a frequency cap of 1 (so that an online ad will be shown to the same browser only once). This is based on a diminishing-returns theory that additional impressions to the same person do not significantly increase the likelihood of generating click-through and are therefore not worthwhile. While this may be true for click-through, the opposite holds true for online branding. Dynamic Logic's AdIndex research demonstrates that there is value in showing consumers an ad multiple times in order to build the brand, as is commonly done by broadcast advertisers. Whether or not there is a "plateau" for frequency and its impact on online branding will be examined in future issues of Beyond The Click.

Tips for Online Advertisers:

  • Loosen frequency caps to at least 4
  • Develop creative that takes advantage of sequential ad serving and message building
  • Don't hesitate to keep creative constant, especially logo and tagline placement

* Sample for this report based on 24,794 respondents. The Control and Exposed groups are recruited simultaneously to remove any potential impact of alternate channel marketing efforts. Exposure data was recorded when the banners appeared on the web sites used in the actual campaign. Types of banners tested included airlines, packaged goods, travel services and retail.

 M I K E  A N D  M O L L Y

You Can't Click on Pedro

by Mike Carlon

Pedro. If you have ever driven on I-95 in the Carolinas and encountered one of the hundreds of billboards for South Of The Border, you know Pedro. This advertising campaign is memorable for two reasons: 1) the copywriting: "Pedro's weather forecast: Chili Today, Hot Tamale," "You Never Sausage Such a Place," and "You're Always a Wiener at Pedro's;" and 2) the frequency - these billboards are seen constantly for hundreds of miles and almost everyone who has driven that stretch of road remembers them.

According to a recent article in Business Week magazine, billboard advertising is making a comeback. Many in the industry have likened banner advertising to billboards, so let's look at their similarities and differences.

Banners and billboards are similar in that they hit people when people are going somewhere else and not necessarily in a position to react or buy at that specific moment. Also, the two forms are seen for mere seconds so they have to get to the point quickly. Lastly, while people claim they pay little attention to these two forms of advertising, both billboards and banners have been shown to have a branding effect.

Where banners have an edge is in their ability to target, the interactivity they allow, and the added ability to control variables like ad exposure levels (frequency).

So why is it that people see billboards as branding tools but not banners? They communicate in similar ways. In fact, the capabilities in the online world make it easier to measure branding. Imagine if South Of The Border evaluated their billboards by click-through? They would think it was an ineffective campaign even though they generate a lot of business. Just because you can measure banners ads by click-through doesn't mean it is the most appropriate way. After all, when was the last time you clicked on Pedro?

For four years, Mike has been conducting marketing research for advertisers including, Citibank, Delta Airlines and Unilever. You can write to Mike at mike@dynamiclogic.com


Wireless Ads - Can They Build Brands?

by Molly Hislop

As interest in advertising via wireless devices gains more speed, questions are rising about the versatility of the medium. Many believe that the wireless ad world is similar to Internet advertising circa 1994 - not very pretty, and very direct marketing focused. The small screen and slow download speeds certainly limit the use of rich media type advertising, but that does not mean wireless has no branding potential.

The barriers to rapid growth of wireless advertising come from opposite ends of the spectrum. First is consumer acceptance. People will have little patience for wireless ads if they make accessing information more cumbersome and provide no value. Many consumers do not understand that most of the free content on the Internet is only free because it is ad supported. If the trade off between paying for wireless content and viewing ads is truly understood, this acceptance issue may change.

The second limitation lies with the technology. The available colors and images are reminiscent of DOS. The space to articulate a value proposition is the size of a stamp. Fortunately for marketers, the wireless device manufacturers are introducing more advanced hardware quickly, and will ideally cater to the creative goals of the advertising business.

What value will wireless bring to the advertising table? The "notice-rate" will be higher since the ads will not appear on the outer periphery on the screen, and will thus be harder to tune out. The more people who view the ad - even if they see it while scrolling through content - the more likely it is to have a lasting impression.

So, can brands be built through wireless advertising? Yes. It will not be as easy as it has been in other media. The skill will lie in turning the limitations into assets. The space limitation may just be a blessing in disguise.

Molly Hislop has conducted online and traditional data analysis for such clients as AT&T and American Express. You can write to Molly at molly@dynamiclogic.com




 A B O U T   A D I N D E X

Dynamic Logic's AdIndex® is a research tool used by online advertisers to measure the effectiveness of their campaign beyond click-through. By providing real-time metrics on brand awareness, purchase intent, message association, and creative evaluation; AdIndex empowers online marketers to optimize their campaigns and get a true measure of the campaign's impact.

AdIndex was developed by Dynamic Logic and has multiple patents pending.
www.adindex.com

 A B O U T  C R O S S M E D I A   R E S E A R C H

Dynamic Logic's CrossMedia Research™ measures the value of integrated media packages and quantifies the success of a cross-media campaign that combines online with print, television or radio. CrossMedia Research allows advertisers, agencies and publishers to understand cost effectiveness of different media in the mix.

 A B O U T   M A R K E T N O R M S

Dynamic Logic's MarketNorms® is a leading source of normative data for online marketing effectiveness, with a database of over 1,000,000 completed surveys and more than 10,000 tested creatives. MarketNorms is a powerful, analytical tool that allows advertisers, agencies and publishers to compare effectiveness by vertical (automotive, CPG, pharmaceutical), ad format type (rich media, interstitials, email) and audience (gender, B2B, consumer).
www.marketnorms.com

 C O N T A C T   U S

www.dynamiclogic.com

909 Third Avenue, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10022

+1-800-245-2455
+1-212-844-3700
marketing@dynamiclogic.com


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