Branding Value Of Online Sponsored Text Advertising.

IAB and Nielsen//NetRatings presented research that demonstrated the effectiveness of sponsored text advertising in moving brand marketing metrics within the online advertising environment. The IAB Search Engine Effectiveness Committee commissioned Nielsen//NetRatings’ “Internet Search Brand Effectiveness Research,” project, which studied brand impact of text and search advertising for leading brands from the Health, Auto, Beverage, Electronics, Retail and Finance industries. The research was presented at the first IAB Search Road Show stop in Los Angeles.

The study demonstrated that sponsored text advertising in the search environment works for an array of branding objectives. Sponsored text ads, much like the standard image based ad, had their biggest impact on “unaided brand awareness,” especially where a brand held the top position on search results pages. On average, when respondents were asked to name a specific leading brand within a tested industry, they were 27 percent more likely to name the brand displayed in the top spot compared to a control group not exposed to the ad. For the articles pages (pages containing contextually targeted text
advertising), the text ad caused a 23 percent lift among respondents that saw the ads.

The research findings, as analyzed by Nielsen//NetRatings, reported that there is a significant difference on core brand metrics movement depending on the placement of the text ad. Ads appearing in the top position on a search engine increased an aggregate of all the brand metrics by an average of 14 percent across the six industries, in stark comparison to results from ads in the fifth position, which only showed a minor directional lift on brand measures. Search articles pages generated an aggregate lift of all brand metrics by 15 percent.

“Brand advertisers, who are not yet placing search advertising, may be missing out on a share of voice opportunity for keywords relevant to their categories,” said Marc Ryan, Senior Director, Analysis, Nielsen//NetRatings. “This research suggests that the optimal media mix includes search and display ads, a combination which allows advertisers to take advantage of the push/pull dynamics of the web while still delivering on core branding metrics.”

“This latest IAB study provides more evidence that sponsored search is an integral part of a successful online marketing campaign. Additionally, the research highlights the effectiveness of integrating sponsored search, contextual ads and banners for marketers to achieve their brand awareness objectives,” said Eric Rasmussen, Chair, IAB Search Engine Marketing Subcommittee.

For more information at http://www.nielsen-netratings.com