Measuring the Effectiveness of Online Advertising: Lessons Learned

1. Lessons Learned
Measuring the Effectiveness of Online Advertising:
Gian Fulgoni, Chairman, comScore
Todd Curtis, Senior Consumer Insights Manager
Digital and Applied Analytics for Marketing Effectiveness, General Mills

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Topics
 The explosive growth in online advertising
 The challenge of accurately measuring its effectiveness
 The C-Level challenge: clicks and cookies
 One solution: continuous online behavioral panels
 Lessons learned

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Cross Media Advertising Market Spending:
Online Ranked Third Behind TV and Newspapers
SOURCE: IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, 2009 Full-Year Results, April
2010, IAB & PricewaterhouseCoopers
14.3% share of total

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Online Now Equivalent to 28% of TV Ad Dollars and Approaching
Cable TV Ad Spending
Source: CAB Analysis of Nielsen TV Data
Online from IAB / PWC
Total TV Cable TV Online
$81.9
$25.0 $22.7
Total Ad Spend in 2009 ($Billions)

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Search, followed by Display, dominates U.S. online advertising
Percent of 2009 Online Advertising Revenue

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Display Ad Spending De-accelerated Markedly Under Impact of
Recession but Rebounded Strongly in H2 2009
Total Display Ad Spending* in $ Billions and % Chg vs. YA
$1.9 $1.9
$1.8
$2.0
$1.9 $1.9 $1.9
$2.3
Q1 08 Q2 08 Q3 08 Q4 08 Q1 09 Q2 09 Q3 09 Q4 09
% Chg
vs. YA
+27% +13% +5%0% +15%0%+0% -4%
*Total Display Ad Spending includes banners, rich media, video and sponsorships
SOURCE: IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, 2009 Full-Year Results, April
2010, IAB & PricewaterhouseCoopers

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Number of Online Display Ad Impressions Continues to Surge
Through Q2 2010
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Q2 '09 Q3 '09 Q4 '09 Q1 '10 Q2 '10
974
1,050 1,064
1,090
1,173
Millions
(+20% Y/Y)

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6% of
Branding
Dollars
Despite having grown to become a major advertising medium, the Internet is
lagging badly in capturing branding dollars because of a focus on direct
response metrics such as the click
Source: Brand.net analysis based on data from Barclays Capital, Think Equity
Partners, LLC, and DMA
63%
37%
$91B
$55B
$6B
$18B
2009 US Measured
Media Spend: $147B
Branding
Direct
Response
30% of DR
Dollars

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Measuring Advertising Effectiveness:
Lessons from the Net: How not to do it …

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Click Rates on Individual Campaign Ads are Minimal
Source: DoubleClick for Advertisers, U.S. Advertisers, January – December 2009
DoubleClick Rich Media Formats Only
A Cross-Section of Major U.S. Verticals
0.15%
0.08%
0.09%
0.06%
0.10%
0.09%
0.10%
0.07%
0.08%
0.09%
Auto
B2B
CPG
Financial Services
Media/Entertainment
Retail
Tech
Telecom
Travel
Wellness
Click-Through Rate on Individual Ad Campaigns by Industry Vertical for
DoubleClick Rich-Media Format

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Non-
Clickers
84%
Clickers
16%
Non-
Clickers
68%
Clickers
32%
 Only 16% of internet users clicked on at least one display ad in
March 2009, down from 32% two years earlier
July 2007 March 2009
Source: comScore, Inc. custom analysis
Total U.S. Online Population July 2007 and March 2009 data periods
In the U.S., Half as Many Clickers on Any Display Ad in 2009 vs. 2007

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But. Agency and Advertisers Still Preoccupied with the Click
Source: Feb 2010 Collective Survey of 420 Agency
and Advertiser Executives
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
CTR
CPC
CPA
Ability to Drive Brand
Awareness
Interaction Rate
Ability to Drive Brand
Favorability
64%
61%
48%
35%
33%
25%
What Metrics Do You Use To Evaluate
Ad Network Performance?

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If Not The Click, Then What?
“A click means nothing. A click earns no revenue and creates
no brand equity. Your online advertising has some goal – and
it’s surely not to generate clicks. You want people to visit your
website, seek more information, purchase a product, become a
lead, keep your brand top of mind, learn something new, feel
differently, etc. Regardless of whether they clicked an ad or
not, the key is to determine how that ad unit influenced a
consumer to think, feel, or do something they wouldn’t have
done otherwise.”
John Lowell
SVP Director, Research & Analytics
Starcom

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Clicks on Display Ads Are a Misleading Metric
and Don’t Reflect Brand-Building Effects
Clicks don’t reflect the cumulative (latent)
impact of ads
Clicks don’t tell you anything about brand
building effects
Only use clicks to evaluate direct response ad
campaigns (or Search)
Evaluate the effectiveness of online ad
campaigns using behavioral impact over time
14

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Cookie Deletion Creates Havoc in Ad Measurement
Cookie deletion creates audience measurement issues
Cookie
Deletion*
Year Method
Belden 43% 2004 Survey
Nielsen 44% 2005 Survey
Jupiter 39% 2005 Survey
comScore 31% 2006 Electronic U.S.
Forrester 50% 2008 Survey
comScore 24% 2009 Electronic Europe
* % of responders/users deleting cookies during past month

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Deletion Rates Add to the Problem: Number of Different Cookies Per
Machine Per Month for Same Site Among Deleters
No. of Different
Cookies for Same
Web Site
No. of Different Ad
Server Cookies for
Same Campaign
U.S. 5 7
Europe 4 8
Source: comScore

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The Cookie Deletion Problem: Overstated Audiences and Ad
Campaign Reach, but Understated Ad Frequency
Cookie deletion creates major problems:
– 2.5 times overstatement of unique visitors as
measured by Web site server logs
– 2.5 times overstatement of reach and a similar
understatement of frequency in ad server logs

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A Solution: Continuous Behavioral Panels That Don’t
Use Cookies for Tracking

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Powerful Platform from the Industry Leader
Global Panel of 2 Million Users, Largest of Its Kind
360° View of Consumer Behavior
Advertising
Exposure
Online / Offline
Transactions
Search
Behavior
Demographics
Life Stages
Online
Video
Web Visiting
and Viewing
The Only Global Measurement of
Audience and e-Commerce
41 Media Metrix Reported Countries
170+ Countries with Sample Presence
Mobile
Usage

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Measuring the Retail Sales Impact of Online Ad Campaigns
 300+ comScore studies conducted to assess impact of paid search and
online ads on offline sales
 Real world analysis: comScore panelists divided into matched groups
(exposed and non-exposed to advertising)
– Search only
– Display ads only
– Search and display ads together
– Neither
 Passively measured behavior:
• Online activity through comScore behavioral panel
• Linked to in-store buying through CRM databases, retailer loyalty cards,
credit card data, IRI scanner panel
 Analytical design compares behavioral changes across exposed and
unexposed groups from pre- to campaign time periods

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June 2009 Journal Of Advertising Research:
comScore’s “Whither the Click?”
 Journal of Advertising Research
“What We Know About Advertising: 21 Watertight Laws for
Intelligent Advertising Decisions”
 comScore’s “Whither the Click?”
– 300+ comScore studies conducted to assess behavioral impact
of paid search and online display ads.
21
Even with Minimal Clicks,
Display Advertising can Lift:
• Site visitation
• Trademark search
• Online and offline sales

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Display Ads Lift Site Visitation Across All Verticals
4.5%
0.9%
1.3%
0.6%
9.1%
7.0%
5.8%
4.8%
6.6%
1.9%
2.3%
1.1%
13.8%
10.0%
7.2%
5.8%
Average, N=139
Automotive, N=38
Finance, N=16
CPG & Restaurant, N=10
Retail & Apparel, N=21
Media & Entertainment, N=24
Electronics & Software, N=14
Travel, N=9
Advertiser Site Reach
Weeks 1-4 after first exposure
Control Test
% Lift: 46%
Δ Lift: 2.1%
% Lift: 114%
Δ Lift: 1.0%
% Lift: 86%
Δ Lift: 1.1%
% Lift: 77%
Δ Lift: 0.5%
% Lift: 52%
Δ Lift: 4.7%
% Lift: 42%
Δ Lift: 2.9%
% Lift: 25%
Δ Lift: 1.5%
% Lift: 21%
Δ Lift: 1.0%

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Display ads successfully build retailer sales both online and
offline – even with minimal clicks
$994
$9,905
$1,263
$11,550
Online Offline
$ per 000 Exposed
Control Test
% Lift: 27.1%
% Lift: 16.6%
% Lift: 27%
% Lift: 17%
Source: comScore “Whither the Click?”
Journal of Advertising Research June 2009

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Measuring Advertising Effectiveness:
An Advertiser’s Perspective …

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TV – Ad Development Process
Target &
Insight
Idea
Creative
Media
Plan
In-Market
Purchase

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Digital – Ad Development Process
Target &
Insight
Idea
Creative
Media
Plan
In-Market
Purchase

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In-Market Key Questions to Answer
Media Reporting
– Did the advertising reach the targeted audience?
– What websites displayed the ad?
Effectiveness and Efficiency
– Did the campaign drive purchasing?
– What is the ROI?
– Why?
What’s next?

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Media Reporting – As Early as Possible
Do you know who saw your ad?

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Media Reporting – As Early as Possible
Do you know where your ad is displayed?
Viagra.com
Allgals.com
Adultvideo.com
Spankwire.com
XXXMatch.com

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Media Reporting Metrics
Key Metrics – Developing…which ones matter?
 Total Impressions
 Unduplicated Reach
 Frequency
 Demo Impressions
 Target
 US (Local Country)
20%
12%
14%
9%
6%
4%
7%
4%
24%
1 2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 11-15 16-20 21+
Campaign Frequency Example
Experimenting with others…
 GRPs: Household, individual, targeted
 High value task, social media, earned media impressions
 Impressions by geography

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Did the Campaign Drive Purchase?
Purchase is stronger than stated intentions
Effectiveness
– Test/Control (Single Source) – Newer touch points
– Marketing Mix -- Large spends by campaign
Why?
– Online advertising trackers
– Custom surveys
– Result Roll-ups

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Media Measurement Evolution
Experimental Commercialization
• Digital Video
• Social Media
• Viral/Earned
• Mobile
•Paid Search
• TV
• FSI
• Promotions
• Print
• Radio
Measurement Continuum
Usage
•Digital FSI
•Digital Banner
•Relationship
Marketing
•Rich Media
• Scale increases need for measurement precision

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comScore -- 82% of Online CPG Brand
Campaigns Increased Sales
 Average $ Sales lift in retail stores was 22%
 Campaigns comScore has analyzed …
– Pizza, Snack Bars, Pasta, Meals, Cereal, Frozen Snacks, Tea, Cookie
Mixes, Toothpaste, Juice Drinks, Deodorants, and more
Average $ lift was 22%
82% of campaigns
showed a positive
sales lift
Percent Lift in
Dollar Sales
No. of Offline Sales Effectiveness Studies
Source: comScore CPG Ad Effectiveness Study

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Short Term Offline CPG Brand Sales Lift From Online Advertising
Matches Longer Term TV Impact:
TV (BehaviorScan) Internet (comScore)
+8%
+9%
BehaviorScan tests conducted over one year period
comScore studies over three months*
*Assumes 40% HH Internet Reach Against Target
Hypothesis: More precise targeting ability of the Internet
allows more impressions to be delivered against target
audience in a given period of time

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Effectiveness Drivers (Digital)
 Standard ROI principles apply
 Business size, seasonality, etc
 US Impressions
 Reach your target
 Frequency: 5-10 impressions per campaign
 Digital is scalable
 Strength of branding, message, creative, and placement

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Creative Power: Over 50% of the impact of advertising is driven by
the strength of creative
Ad Quality
52%
Media
Weight
13%
Other
35%
*Quality of creative is based on ARS Persuasion Score which measures changes in
consumer preference through a simulated purchase exercise with and without
exposure to the creative .
comScore ARS Global Validation Summary includes an evaluation of 396 TV ad
campaigns, utilizing sales data from R. L. Polk New Vehicle Registration, IMS
HEALTH, IRI InfoScan, Markettrack, Nielsen SCANTRACK or Nielsen Retail Index.
Media Weight = Medi Plan elements, such as GRPs, wearout & continuity/flighting of airing
Ad Quality = quality of the creative based on ARS Persuasion Score*.
% Influence on Market Share Shifts
Source: Source: comScore ARS Global Validation Summary
Creative is 4x More
Impactful in
Influencing Sales
Than
Planning Variables
Numbers represent the percent variance in market share shifts explained by the corresponding
factors.

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Five Universal Truths about the Role of Creative in Advertising
Getting Creative Strategy Right from the Start Is Critical
Consider the Sum of the Parts as a Key Part of the Creative Process
Sound Creative is Critical, but Context Matters Too
The Importance of Emotion Cannot Be Ignored
Manage Advertising Wearout to Maximize Effectiveness

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What’s Next …
Continued measurement experimentation
across touch points
– Online video
– Earned media
– Paid search
– Rich media
– High value tasks
– Gaming
How do consumer touch points work together?

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How Do Media Vehicles Work Together?
TV
FSI
Radio
Internet
Mobile
Earned
Media
Direct
Mail
Package
Trade
Print
In-StoreRelationship
Marketing
•Cross media interactions provide additional insights

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Industry Needs
Tools to track complete digital efforts
Strong partnerships for data integration and
single source experimentation

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Thank You!