Survey shows online ad power

by Staff, Media Week 08-Jul-08, 07:30

LONDON - Online advertising generates more brand engagement for retailers than any other media, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau.

The "Brand Engagement" survey, commissioned by the IAB and carried out by Aegis Media UK's research unit, aevolve, found that online advertising for retail brands delivers 40% of total brand engagement, compared with 31% for press and 19% for TV.

The survey found that average online ad spend for five retailers - Debenhams, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Woolworths and Next - amounted to just 2.5% of their total media budgets during the first six months of the year. Consequently, the IAB concluded that online advertising is around 16 times more effective than such a monetary investment would suggest.

Guy Phillipson, IAB chief executive, said he hoped the study would help retail advertisers appreciate the brand-building capabilities of online.

Mary Jefferies, director at aevolve, added that the study showed how retailers needed to integrate in-store, online and communic-ations experiences.

The study tested a total of 38 ads across online, press, TV, outdoor and radio, researching the attitudes of 1,024 women, aged 30 to 50, who had shopped in at least three of the five retailers in the past six months.