Advertising Effectiveness is up on original content sites despite Economic Downturn.

A new report released by the Online Publishing Association, OPA, found that after analyzing independent Dynamic Logic MarketNorms data, advertising effectiveness scores on quality, original content sites, as represented by OPA members, were numerically higher than on the web in general, on portals or on ad networks. The strong showing for these sites swept across nearly all measurements outscored industry norms for the Internet in 47 out of 47 advertising metrics.

The new report, “Improving Ad Performance Online” is the second in a series of OPA reports leveraging Dynamic Logic’s MarketNorms database, the largest of its kind, and an industry standard for measuring online advertising’s effectiveness and branding impact. The first wave of the study was conducted in July, 2008. Both reports look at ad effectiveness scores for high quality, original content sites, compared with those for overall MarketNorms, portals and ad networks.

“The research has shown that a quality advertising environment delivers better results,” said OPA President Pam Horan. “Quality is proving to be a key point of differentiation during challenging economic times, increasing advertising performance relative to ad networks, portals, and overall MarketNorms.”

FINDINGS:

* Since the first report in July, aided brand awareness scores on OPA member sites have increased 38%, while scores on ad networks have declined 19%.

* Similarly, brand favorability scores for OPA member sites have risen 27%, while ad networks, portals and MarketNorms have dropped 29%, 17% and 6% respectively.

* The new data also shows that younger audiences (18-34 year olds) are estimated to be about twice as likely (106% better, on average) to form favorable opinions about advertised brands on OPA member sites than on portals and MarketNorms (83% better).

And the same trend holds true for affluent audiences, where OPA member sites are estimated to be 94% more effective at impacting brand favorability than MarketNorms, and 118% more effective at impacting brand awareness. Horan continued, “This data is particularly important because the current recession is the first since online advertising has become a mainstream reality. At a time when every advertiser is looking for the best

return on their investment, a quality environment matters more than ever.

While advertisers with tight budgets may consider the cheap alternative provided by ad networks, the adage ‘you get what you pay for’ is as true today as it was a hundred years ago.”

To view report CLICK on link below:
http://www.online-publishers.org/media/image/Improving%20Ad%20Effectiveness%20Online_OPA_01%202009.pdf>