Forget Clicks, iProspect Study Shows Ad Impressions Drive Purchases & Boost Brands
By now you should have heard of the ‘last click’ attribution methodology and how it is a wrong headed analysis that risks biting the hand that feeds it. But have you heard of the ‘no-click’ attribution analysis? Neither have I, but iProspects latest investigation suggests that whatever market sector we are in, it might be time for marketers to start thinking about it.
Commissioning comScore to conduct a survey, iProspect set about uncovering the true effect of all digital media channels, and the effect of branding on customers’ purchase paths. The research spanned organic search impressions, paid search impressions, online display ad impressions, and all combinations thereof, across 15 brands within five vertical industries: retail, insurance, banking/financial services, software, and hotels.
Curiously, the study reveals that simply exposure to ad impressions boosts brand recognition and drives purchase behavior, even when users don’t click on them. Furthermore, seeing an ad online nearly doubles internet users’ likelihood to visit a website in the future. The study measured four key metrics: brand favorability, likelihood to make a purchase, likelihood to visit a website, and brand trust.
Key findings are:
However, the most interesting findings illustrate specific behaviors within market sectors:
This is just a summary of the findings, there are many more per industry vertical in the white paper. The key takeaway is that every market behaves differently and in nearly all cases, organic search reinforces the trustworthiness of sites that advertise, yet conversely, advertising generates more distinctiveness and recognition within the organic results. Whilst social media mentions and mobile impressions were not included in this study, it seems fair to suppose that these also improve brand favorability and likelihood to visit and purchase from your website.