Online advertising: The key to brand equity

MSN - the network of Internet services from Microsoft Corporation, the Internet Standards Bureau (IAB) and the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), have conducted year-long research in the US, that strongly advocates the significance of online advertising.

The study, which focused on a real life example, Unilever`s Dove Nutrium Bar, marked the first time that online advertising has been studied in conjunction with an entire advertising campaign and therefore allows media planners the ability to quantify the value of the Internet and the role of online advertising in relationship to the overall media mix.

The results show the correlation between the increase in online advertising and the overall effectiveness of a marketing campaign. The study shows, that not only does online perform on par or better than other mediums, but most importantly, that Dove can benefit from an 8% overall branding effectiveness lift (unaided/aided awareness, brand attributes and purchase intent), by simply increasing the share of online marketing from 2% to 15%. Very importantly, this is accomplished with the same marketing budget, by simply reallocating money from print and broadcast to online.

The interactive nature of the Internet allows the user to relate to the advertised brand at another level and in doing so dramatically increases brand awareness at a comparatively low cost.

MSN`s Advantage Marketing programme aims to help advertisers build closer relationships with their customers.

"Working with marketers in SA to increase their understanding of the Internet`s ability to build brand awareness is one of our key objectives," says Mike van Eck, strategic revenue manager at MSN South Africa. "Research like this clarifies exactly how advertising on the Internet measures against traditional advertising media and aims to assist media planners when it comes to allocating their campaign budgets."

Key research findings:

* The research suggests that brands that increase their online advertising may increase key metrics, such as brand awareness, brand attributes and purchase intent.

* Higher online frequency boosts branding effectiveness. Specifically, increasing the number of online impressions from six impressions to 12 impressions over six weeks increased Dove Nutrium Bar`s overall branding effectiveness by 42%.

* TV, print and online advertising are each effective at branding, yet online is generally more cost-efficient.

The Internet is the fastest growing technology to gain customer acceptance and is increasingly being used for a wider range of activities. Results from this study serve to confirm the importance of online advertising programmes. MSN`s Next Generation Ad Products (NGAP), are expanding the creative space to enable marketers` better branding opportunities and increased interactivity with their customers, with specific targeted online advertising.