Re: Measuring the Branding Impact of Online Ads

From: John Gaskill <jg_at_info-central-usa.com>
Date: Thu 20 Dec 2001 19:19:10 -0500

Matt Dooley wrote:

>How do TV, Radio, billboards, newspapers and magazines
>measure branding? If an advertiser wants to learn how
>well their ads are increasing brand awareness, they
>should hire someone to study that question. To assume
>that the internet can gauge people's thoughts is silly.
>To write off branding, when that's the MAIN function
>of most forms of advertising, is just as silly. CPM
>rates might be too steep right now (I'd argue that we
>should just give CPM for USERS, not impressions), but
>CPA is just not going to allow publishers to survive.

Here we go again.

In the first place, TV, radio, newspapers and other
media don't measure branding. They measure
awareness.

For profit advertisers interested in measuring the
"effectiveness" of their branding can do it in one of two
ways:

1.) Survey people to see if the desired brand
        attitudes are actually being created in people
        exposed to the "branding" ads; or,

2.) Set up tests to see if the "branding effects" are
        increasing sales of the product or services, or
        allowing the advertiser to increase the selling price
        and raise overall revenue as a result.

While the first can be done rather quickly in the life of a
branding campaign, the second frequently takes longer,
especially if repositioning is involved, because attitudes
rarely change overnight and most "branding campaigns"
require multiple repeated exposures of a message for
it to be processed as the advertiser wants, if it happens.

In the second place, the MAIN function of most advertising
is to sell a product. Ask the average advertiser whether s/he
wants a "fancy brand" that does not sell or a product that
sells and carries a brand to its customers and see what
answer you get.

Branding has value, but it is integral to the selling
message implicit in good advertising, not of greater
importance.

My $ 0.02

Regards to all,

John Gaskill
jg_at_Info-Central-USA.com
http://Info-Central-USA.com





Received on Thu Dec 20 2001 - 18:19:10 CST