1. 1
IN DIGITAL, YOU NEED TO BE
PERSUASIVE TO BE IMPACTFUL
(MOST OF THE TIME)
Millward Brown Digital April 2013

2. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
We analysed US data from the Link for TV, print and digital databases
to understand how Link copy testing metrics relate to one another.
For print and digital ads, all measures are more highly correlated with
each other, compared with correlations seen across measures for TV.
It is clear that there are many similarities between these media in the
US:
• Branding will always be strongly related to impact
• Ads that are easier to understand tend to be better branded
• New information is strongly linked to persuasion
However, there are also some clear differences:
• For print and digital ads, a persuasive message is one route to
impactful advertising. For TV, impact and persuasion are unrelated.
• For print and digital ads, virality is related to both persuasion and
impact; whereas for TV, the relationship is much weaker

3. 3
THERE IS ALMOST NO RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IMPACT AND
PERSUASION FOR TV ADS, BUT A SIGNIFICANT ONE FOR PRINT AND
DIGITAL ADS
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Awarenessindex
Persuasion top box
TV
Based on 5858 USA-English online ads r=0.10
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
0 10 20 30 40 50
Impactscore
Persuasion top box
PRINT
Based on 578 USA- English online ads r=0.54
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
0 10 20 30 40 50
Impact
Persuasion top box
DIGITAL
Based on 837 USA-English online ads r=0.47

4. 4
FOR PRINT AND DIGITAL, A PERSUASIVE
MESSAGE IS ONE ROUTE TO HIGH IMPACT…….
…if you‟ve got a persuasive message, focus on getting the
message across clearly, rather than extra creativity.
Correlation between
Impact/AI and Persuasion
TV Print Digital
0.10 0.54 0.47

5. 5
THE DEGREE OF INTER CORRELATION ACROSS
LINK MEASURES BY MEDIA
Given the relationship between persuasion and impact, it is not
surprising to find Digital Link shows the highest degree of inter
correlation between measures; this level is also fairly high for Print.
0.43
0.55
0.62
TV
Print
Digital
Average degree of inter correlation

6. 6
Enjoyment and stopping power are key to impact for Digital ads and
enjoyment is important for TV, whereas stopping power and difference
are important for Print
Impact diagnostics
Correlation with
Impact/AI
TV Print Digital
Branding* 0.64 0.81 0.90
Enjoyment* 0.50 N/A 0.79
Involvement* 0.44 0.58 0.38
Understanding 0.23 N/A 0.71
Stopping power* N/A 0.74 0.85
Different to other ads 0.40 0.70 N/A
IMPACT
Note*: these relationships are dictated largely by the fact that these metrics contribute to our Awareness Index/ Impact
summary metrics
BRANDING IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT FOR IMPACT

7. 7
A PERSUASIVE MESSAGE IS ONE ROUTE TO
IMPACT FOR PRINT AND DIGITAL ADS
Relevance, believability, difference and virality contribute
strongly to impact for print and digital ads
Persuasion diagnostics
Correlation with
Impact/AI
TV Print Digital
New information -0.03 0.51 0.50
Relevant 0.14 0.71 0.68
Believable 0.25 0.72 0.78
Brand really different 0.30 0.78 0.80
Brand Appeal 0.17 0.74 0.72
Tell other people 0.44 0.78 0.76
Saw online would send on 0.41 N/A 0.67
IMPACT

8. 8
NEW INFORMATION DRIVES PERSUASION STRONGLY
ACROSS ALL MEDIA. PERSUASION MORE LIKELY TO
IMPACT VIRALITY FOR DIGITAL ADS.
Brand appeal and Persuasion are similar measures for all
media and correlate highly across each medium
Persuasion diagnostics
Correlation with
Persuasion
TV Print Digital
New information 0.70 0.72 0.62
Relevant 0.63 0.60 0.65
Believable 0.45 0.43 0.47
Brand really different 0.68 0.64 0.46
Brand Appeal 0.77 0.77 0.74
Tell other people 0.41 0.60 0.68
Saw online would send on 0.31 N/A 0.70
PERSUASION

9. 9
FOR DIGITAL, SOME MEASURES REGARDED AS
IMPACT DIAGNOSTICS ARE RELATED TO
PERSUASION ….
…notably enjoyment and stopping power
Impact diagnostics
Correlation with
Persuasion
TV Print Digital
Branding 0.23 0.30 0.26
Enjoyment 0.29 N/A 0.60
Involvement -0.01 0.34 0.26
Understanding 0.33 N/A 0.37
Stopping power N/A 0.45 0.64
Different to other ads 0.05 0.29 N/A
PERSUASION

10. APPENDIX - THE DATA
All data included here is based on USA – English online ads, and comes from the
following databases:
- Link for TV, Link for Print and Link for Digital
Data used to look at correlations between measures has varying base sizes
depending on the measures, but total data sets include:
- TV 8389 ads (2001-2012)
- Print 1528 ads (2000-2012)
- Digital 914 ads (2005-2012)
10

11. IMPORTANT NOTES……..
This analysis is designed primarily to help us understand the Link research
solution better, and the dynamics of different media on these measures.
This is NOT a validation or a hierarchy of importance.
We have NOT correlated Link measures against external success criteria (in-
market performance or sales).
Rather, what we have done is look internally to understand the dynamics of
our own metrics better.
Also, although correlations tell us where relationships exist, they do not tell
us which measure “drives” the other. For instance we tend to see quite high
correlations between branding and understanding. This is helpful, but we
can‟t say whether ads that are easier to understand tend to be better branded,
or whether clearer branding makes ads easier to understand.
Data is based on US only and could vary by country.

12. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR HOW WE SHOULD ANALYSE LINK
RESULTS ACROSS DIFFERENT MEDIA……..
Based on our strong TV testing heritage we tend to make certain assumptions
about how Link tests “work” and which measures we should use to support
and diagnose which other metric.
This analysis makes it clear that there are variations across media so we need
to analyse pre test results for each media with a different mindset, and we
need to be prepared to take a different approach to our story-telling.
• For print and digital ads , if the ad has done well it is more likely to have
done well on most measures.
• For print and digital, a persuasive message is one route to get impact (but
there are others)
• For TV ads we are more likely to end up with more nuanced stories where
Impact and Persuasion are not inter-related.
We know from CrossMedia that the overall impact for print and digital ads
alone are unlikely to be as powerful as that of a TV ad, which currently has
the ability to reach the biggest audience in one single showing.
So TV advertising, as part of a campaign, can helpfully „prime‟ the consumer
for other media to reinforce and enhance the brand message.