yahoo!'s an ad is not just an ad research
DESCRIPTION
Yahoo! Canada's research into the facets of better online advertising - and how marketers can use ad size, richness and environment to increase the impact of their ad campaigns.TRANSCRIPT
advertising.yahoo.ca/insights
Nick Drew Research Manager
Yahoo! Canada
COMPARE PRODUCTS
TRUSTWORTHY RECOMMENDATIONS
Advertising Still Has a Role to Play
Consumer Needs
Product Information
Expert Views
Consumer Experiences
Buying Information
INFORMATION
RECOMMENDATIONS
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BRAND/ PRODUCT
Advertising 38%
Sales Assistant 41%
Brand Website 45%
Subject-specific forums
37%
FIRST AWARENESS
Advertising 43%
Store Promotion
36%
Mention on TV 38%
Mention in Print 35%
DISCOVERY
CONFIDENCE PRODUCT IS RIGHT FOR
ME
Despite the increasing focus on social tools and word of mouth, advertising is still a crucial
channel for consumers and brands. Yahoo!’s ‘Consumers Know Best’ study showed that
advertising remains the primary means for consumers to discover new products and brands.
...And It’s Everywhere
...And It’s Everywhere
The challenge for brands is to ensure that their messaging stands out, in a world in which
consumers are deluged with advertising from every medium and outlet.
The Fundamentals of (Offline) Advertising
Size matters.
The richness of an ad is important.
Environment plays a crucial role.
Offline, brands include three key considerations in their campaign planning to ensure that
their messaging is eye-catching, memorable and effective.
In Advertising, Size Matters
The Impact of Size Online
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Ad area
(000s pixels)
Full
page ad
Half page
(300x600)
LRec
(300x250)
L Rec
(336x280)
V Banner
Sm
Button
Source: Dynamic Logic normative data, N America, last 3 years, Q2 ‘11
WSky
Online, we can use Dynamic Logic’s normative ad effectiveness database to
compare the average impact of ads of different sizes. Here we’ve charted them by
total ad area in pixels.
The Impact of Size Online
-2%
-1%
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Ad area
(000s pixels)
Correlation= 0.92
Increase in brand
awareness from ad
exposure
Full
page ad
Half page
(300x600)
LRec
(300x250) WSky
L Rec
(336x280)
V Banner
Sm
Button
Source: Dynamic Logic normative data, N America, last 3 years, Q2 ‘11
There’s a very strong correlation between ad size and average lift in brand
awareness – the bigger an online ad is, the bigger impact it has, on average.
Size Matters
And we can appreciate, qualitatively, that there is a difference between a small
box...
Size Matters
...and a full-page ad.
Richness Offline
In recent years we’ve seen increasingly creative ad executions offline, as brands
strive to make formerly flat canvases more interactive engaging.
Richness Online
And online there are many options to do likewise, through use of flash, rich media
units and expandable and interactive ads.
Richness Online
Increase in brand awareness from exposure to ads
1.31% 1.52% 1.64% 1.83% 2.59%
Static image Simple flash Rich media Expandable In-stream video
Source: Dynamic Logic normative data, N America, last 3 years, Q2 ‘11
2x impact of
static ads
Returning to Dynamic Logic’s normative database, on average those ads that
utilise these technologies have a significantly greater impact than static units.
The Impact of Richer Ads
To understand this impact in more detail, we focused on two campaigns and inserted
three different ads from each into an otherwise identical test webpage. Participants
were asked to read the page and then asked a series of related questions.
The Impact of Richer Ads Unaided recall of advertised brand
30% 33% 43%
300x250 static 300x250 flash Rich media expandable
1.5x impact of
static ads
In our test environment, we found that the expandable versions of the ads were
significantly more memorable than their static or flash counterparts. (For each
campaign, the creative imagery and messaging was the same in each ad execution).
The Fundamentals
Size matters.
The richness of an ad is important.
Environment plays a crucial role.
Environment – What It Means
VS
VS
Offline, environment is hugely important; where an ad is placed has a massive impact
on whether it’s seen and noticed, and the expectations consumers have of the brand.
But Does It Matter Online?
Online Ad Awareness
Aided Brand Awareness
Brand Favorability
Purchase Intent
Ad Network
Portal
Lift in brand metrics from exposure to ads
Source: Dynamic Logic normative data, N America, last 3 years, Q2 ‘11
30% better
33% better
160% better
266% better
Online, Dynamic Logic’s normative data show that ads on portals do perform
significantly better on a range of metrics than those appearing on ad networks.
The Impact of Environment
Again we explored this in more detail by placing two ads (300x250 flash) into four
different test webpages, showing each page to a sample of consumers, and asking
them about the page and any advertising they recalled.
58%
36%
28%
28%
19%
71%
54%
45%
41%
28%
The text and images were easy to read
I liked the mix of text and images
I enjoyed it
My attention was captured and held by it
I wanted to visit this webpage again
Non-premium
Premium
The Promise of Premium
Two of the test pages were from premium news websites; two were from less popular
‘long-tail’ news sites. The premium sites had significantly better user scores on layout,
enjoyment and immersion.
58%
36%
28%
28%
19%
71%
54%
45%
41%
28%
The text and images were easy to read
I liked the mix of text and images
I enjoyed it
My attention was captured and held by it
I wanted to visit this webpage again
Non-premium
Premium
The Promise of Premium
Easier to read
Better layout
More enjoyable
More immersive
More repeat visits
58%
36%
28%
28%
19%
71%
54%
45%
41%
28%
The text and images were easy to read
I liked the mix of text and images
I enjoyed it
My attention was captured and held by it
I wanted to visit this webpage again
Non-premium
Premium
The Promise of Premium
17%
26%
Easier to read
Better layout
More enjoyable
More immersive
More repeat visits
More engaged users
And this results in a significantly larger number of visitors to the premium sites being
highly engaged with the content there.
+0.4 +3.9
Bigger Increase in Brand Choice
Non-Premium Sites Premium Sites
The Impact on Advertisers
35% 41%
Better Brand Recall
Non-Premium Sites Premium Sites
17% better than
non-premium
10x impact of
non-premium
The effect also stretches to the impact of ads on the pages. The same ad, when
placed in a premium online environment, performs significantly better than when seen
on a less-premium webpage.
The Fundamentals of (Online) Advertising
Size matters.
The richness of an ad is important.
Environment plays a crucial role.
What It All Means for Brands
What Do We Know?
• Bigger ads perform better
• Richer ads generate more engagement, greater impact
• Environment is key
These Ads Have One Thing in Common
Air New Zealand
2011 Webby Winner
Tippex
2011 Webby Winner
Burger King
2010 Cannes Lions Winner
Ultimately, the campaigns that stand out – to consumers, to marketers, (to awards
committees!) – are those that think outside the box, literally and figuratively, and use
size, technology and environment to build the best brand experience.
advertising.yahoo.ca/insights
Nick Drew Research Manager
Yahoo! Canada