Online Advertising Effectiveness in the U.K. Analyzing the Impact of Ad Format and Frequency of Exposure Hernan Lopez, President,.Fox Networks Gian Fulgoni, Chairman, comscore
Study Background Objective: Partnering with.fox Networks, comscore examined the effectiveness of the type of online ad format consumers were exposed to (display vs. video) as well as the frequency of exposure to the campaign ads Methodology: Four campaigns were examined from different sectors (Travel, Finance, Government and Utilities) comprising over 300 million impressions served to U.K. Internet users across various ad formats in 2009. comscore used its panel of over 85,000 U.K. consumers to passively track online behaviour and thus understand the impact of advertising on specific activities linked to campaign effectiveness over time, namely: -- Advertiser Site Visitation -- Trademark Search Queries 2
Campaign Overviews Sector Finance Travel Public Sector Utilities Campaign Objectives Branding campaign to raise awareness of the brand and also drive consideration of one of their leading products Price-led promotional campaign to both raise brand awareness and increase passenger bookings Public service campaign aimed at making the population aware of a key upcoming voting event, supported by the launch of a new site, and to encourage registration Awareness-building campaign for a leading utility firm focusing on the environment and sustainability 3
Reach & Frequency Information by Campaign Campaign Overall Campaign Reach Average Frequency of Exposure Online Gross Rating Points (GRPs) Formats Used Finance 8.2MM (23%) 3.5 82 Only Video Travel 26.4MM (72%) 5.6 405 Display Public Sector 22.8MM (62%) 6.5 403 Display + Video Utilities 16.9MM (46%) 6.0 276 Display 4
Demographic Profile of Exposed Audience 16% 15% 16% 13% Utilities 55.5% 44.5% 25% 20% 18% 21% Public Sector 53.7% 46.3% 18% 24% 25% 23% 21% 23% 21% 22% Persons: 55+ Persons: 45-54 Persons: 35-44 Travel 48.6% 51.4% Persons: 25-34 20% 19% 20% 21% Persons: 15-24 Finance 43.2% 56.8% Finance Travel Public Sector Utilities Females (15+) Males (15+) 5
Agenda Measuring Online Advertising Effectiveness U.K. Analysis: Format of Exposure U.K. Analysis: Frequency of Exposure Public Sector Campaign Analysis 6
Why the Click-Through Rate is a Misleading Metric Only a small percentage of Internet users are clicking on online ads and their numbers are declining Optimizing for clicks ignores the 84% of Internet users who don t click on ads comscore research has shown that display ads have a latent impact on consumer behaviour even with minimal or no clicks: They increase the likelihood of visiting brand sites They increase the likelihood of conducting trademark search queries 7
Click Rates on Individual Campaigns are Even Lower: U.K. Shows the Lowest Click Rates Amongst Leading Markets 0.25% Worldwide Click-Through Rates 0.20% Click-Through Rate 0.15% 0.10% 0.05% 0.18% 0.12% 0.13% 0.20% 0.12% 0.16% 0.14% 0.14% 0.08% 0.10% 0.00% China France Germany India Italy Netherlands Spain Turkey United Kingdom Country United States Source: DoubleClick Overall Performance Norms, 2008 8
Half as Many Clickers in 2009 v 2007 Only 16% of internet users clicked on at least one display ad in March 2009, down from 32% two years earlier July 2007 March 2009 Clickers 32% Clickers 16% Non- Clickers 68% Non- Clickers 84% Source: comscore, Inc. custom analysis Total US Online Population July 2007 and March 2009 data periods 9
Ad Clickers Follow the 80/20 Rule 84% of Internet users don t click on ANY ads Despite comprising only 8% of the total online population, moderate and heavy clickers account for 85% of all click-thrus 4% 4% 8% 22% 26% 67% 84% 52% 18% 15% % Internet Pop % of Clickers % of Clicks Heavy Moderate Light Non Source: comscore, Natural Born Clickers (US), March 2009 10
Understanding Behavioural Impact Of Ad Exposure: comscore s Methodology EXPOSED GROUP LIFT METRICS Test and control groups matched on demographic and behavioural variables Site Visitation Site Engagement Search Behaviour UNEXPOSED GROUP 11
Sophisticated Control Group Selection Process Initial Process select exposed group and matched non-exposed (control) group EXPOSED GROUP ID Minutes Age BB*? 1 90 50 1 2 80 30 0 3 20 25 1 NON EXPOSED GROUP ID Minutes Age BB*? 1 20 25 1 2 80 30 0 3 5 45 0 This panelist is not paired because he/she is not matched to any exposed panelist 4 90 50 1 *BB = Broadband Connection comscore generates control group members utilising a sophisticated pair-wise matching process along a number of important demographic and behavioural variables: By ensuring that exposed and control panelists visited similar web sites By pairing exposed panelists with relevant control subjects based on demos, Internet usage, connection speed and other relevant factors 12
comscore Whither the Click in Europe? Display Ads Lift Visitation to Advertiser Site Even With Minimal Clicks Time-Aligned Analysis CONTROL TEST Campaign/Post-Campaign Analysis CONTROL TEST 7.71% 7.26% 6.02% 6.05% 3.99% 3.43% 4.45% 4.03% 3.53% 2.01% % Lift: 99% % Lift: 75% % Lift: 73% % Lift: 80% % Lift: 71% Wk 1 Wks 1-2 Wks 1-3 Time from first exposure Campaign Period Analysis Period Post-Campaign Period Source: comscore Whither the Click in Europe, Feb 2010 13
comscore Whither the Click in Europe? Display Ads Increase No. of Trademark Search Queries Even With Minimal Clicks Time-Aligned Analysis CONTROL TEST 2.56% 3.27% Campaign/Post-Campaign Analysis 2.72% CONTROL TEST 1.95% 0.81% 1.54% 1.36% 1.80% 1.15% 0.91% % Lift: 91% % Lift: 89% % Lift: 81% % Lift: 136% % Lift: 114% Wk 1 Wks 1-2 Wks 1-3 Time from first exposure Campaign Period Analysis Period Post-Campaign Period 14 Source: comscore Whither the Click in Europe, Feb 2010
European Audiences Show a Greater Response to Display Ad Campaigns Than U.S. Audiences Over a 3 week period following display ad exposure, European audiences show a higher lift in advertiser site visitation and trademark search than their U.S. counterparts Lift in Advertiser Site Reach 72% Lift in Search Term Reach 94% 49% 40% Europe U.S. Europe U.S. 15 Source: comscore Whither the Click in Europe, Feb 2010 (time-aligned and campaign period/post-period studies included)
Agenda Measuring Online Advertising Effectiveness U.K. Analysis: Format of Exposure U.K. Analysis: Frequency of Exposure Public Sector Campaign Analysis 16
Overall Campaign Summary Advertiser site reach within 4 weeks of first exposure to display ad Sector Unexposed Group Exposed Group Absolute Percentage Point Lift % Lift Finance 1.98% 5.47% 3.49 176% Travel 0.33% 4.88% 4.55 1,379% Public Sector 0.19% 1.05% 0.86 453% Utilities 0.05% 0.55% 0.50 1,000% Reach of advertiser search queries within 4 weeks of first exposure to display ad Sector Unexposed Group Exposed Group Absolute Percentage Point Lift % Lift Finance 3.97% 7.43% 3.46 87% Travel 0.20% 2.40% 2.20 1,100% Public Sector 1.97% 3.50% 1.53 78% Utilities 1.07% 2.55% 1.48 138% 17
Video and Display Advertising Each Successfully Increased the Number of Visitors to the Advertisers Sites Absolute Percentage Point Lift in Site Visitation Exposed Group vs. Control 1.9% Video only 2.5% 2.9% 3.3% Display only 1.1% 1.4% 1.6% 0.7% Wk 1 Wks 1-2 Wks 1-3 Wks 1-4 Wk 1 Wks 1-2 Wks 1-3 Wks 1-4 Campaign Breakout: Video Only: Financial Display Only: Travel, Utilities & Public Sector 18
Video and Display Advertising Each Successfully Increased the Number of Campaign Search Queries Absolute Percentage Point Lift in Campaign Search Term Reach Exposed Group vs Control Group Video only Display only 2.1% 1.6% 1.2% 1.5% 1.0% 1.3% 0.9% 0.6% Wk 1 Wks 1-2 Wks 1-3 Wks 1-4 Wk 1 Wks 1-2 Wks 1-3 Wks 1-4 Campaign Breakout: Video Only: Financial Display Only: Travel, Utilities & Public Sector 19
Agenda Measuring Online Advertising Effectiveness UK Analysis: Format of Exposure UK Analysis: Frequency of Exposure Public Sector Campaign Analysis 20
Site Visitation Climbs Steadily With Increased Display Exposures, While Video Has a More Immediate Impact With Fewer Exposures Absolute Percentage Point Lift in Site Visitation Exposed Group vs. Control Video only 4.3% Display only 3.8% 3.3% 2.9% 2.4% 1.2% 1-5 exposures 6-9 exposures 10+ exposures 1-5 exposures 6-9 exposures 10+ exposures Campaign Breakout: Video Only: Financial Display Only: Travel, Utilities & Public Sector 21
Campaign Search Queries Climb Steadily With Increased Display Exposures While Video Has a More Immediate Impact with Fewer Exposures Absolute Percentage Point Lift in Campaign Search Term Reach Exposed Group vs Control Group Video only Display only 2.1% 2.0% 2.2% 2.4% 3.0% 1.2% 1-5 Exposures 6-9 Exposures 10+ Exposures 1-5 exposures 6-9 exposures 10+ exposures Campaign Breakout: Video Only: Financial Display Only: Travel, Utilities & Public Sector 22
Agenda Measuring Online Advertising Effectiveness UK Analysis: Format of Exposure UK Analysis: Frequency of Exposure Public Sector Campaign Analysis 23
Within the Public Sector Campaign, Video Generated Higher Lifts than Did Display Absolute Percentage Point Lift in Site Visitation Exposed Group vs. Control Absolute Percentage Point Increase in Campaign Search Term Reach Exposed Group vs. Control Group Display Only Video Only Display Only Video Only 0.95% 2.70% 0.74% 1.39% Wks 1-4 Wks 1-4 24
SUMMARY Video and Display ads both successfully lifted visitation to the advertiser s web site and also increased the number of campaign search queries These results are observed despite minimal clicks on the display ads Both video and display advertising appear to have a latent impact with lifts being sustained over a four week period following initial exposure The impact of video ads was more immediate than that of display ads but didn t increase significantly with additional exposures. In contrast, the impact of display ads climbed markedly with increased frequency, suggesting that multiple impressions are needed to capture Internet users full attention and engagement In the one public service campaign where video and display formats were both used, it was possible to compare the relative effectiveness of video versus display and the results show that video generated a higher lift in both site visitation and campaign search queries 25
Project Contacts Fox Networks Hernan Lopez, President.Fox Networks hernan.lopez@fox.com comscore, Inc Mike Shaw, Director of Marketing Solutions mshaw@comscore.com Toby Crisp, Senior Analyst tcrisp@comscore.com Gian Fulgoni, Chairman gfulgoni@comscore.com 26
Thank You 27