Finally - the industry is catching up to what we media professionals have known for a long time: the click is not the end all be all in terms of ad performance measurement. Sure, it is the lowest common denominator, and that makes it easy to measure and compare. Problem is, it ignores the bulk of the impressions that occur in a campaign and that's just plain wrong. Media is very often measured and priced by impressions, meaning times the ad is seen by a consumer. The word 'impression' is appropriate, because even when the ad is not clicked on, it has still left an impression on the person viewing it. And while its' effect can be hard to quantify, it can add up to serious long term results.
The OPA and comScore recently conducted a study measuring the results from branded display advertising. Among many interesting findings, the study concluded that branded display impacted lift in search queries for brand terms by 50% after 4 weeks and then 38% thereafter. That's a lengthy sales cycle, which can be difficult to justify against when making media buys, but there's no arguing that branding is a significant driver of sales.
Behavioral targeting as a discipline is an ideal example of this concept. While behavioral targeting can be extremely valuable as a direct response tool, it often gets undervalued, along with much of display advertising when it comes time to give credit for conversions as a result of branding. Behavioral targeting works because it finds the ideal audience for a particular brand, product or service and offers messaging tailored for them, throughout the buying cycle. It's about engaging the consumer, and developing a relationship, which eventually leads to sales for that particular campaign and enables brand loyalty to continually build.
The OPA/comScore study also noted that long term exposure to branded display advertising increased average time spent on an advertiser site, as well as the average spend on eCommerce. One of the most intriguing findings from the study was that 80% of all clicks come from only 20% of the Internet population.
The value of the impression and the proper attribution of its effect on any campaign, direct or branded, is starting to find its place in the sun. There is much work to be done to continue providing measurable means for assessing value.
