Online Advertising Down Under
September 25 2001
RedSheriff, the Australian interactive measurement and research specialist, has recently released the results of its first Online Advertising Market Report - The Banner and Beyond.
The research shows that two thirds (66%) of Internet users are exposed to advertising most often through their TV consumption. TV is perceived to have an advantage over other mediums due to its usage of visuals, movement and sound, as well as being capable of inducing a much higher emotional response than any other mass media. Fifty three percent (53%) of Internet users surveyed stated they had in fact gone online and visited websites after viewing an advertisement on TV.
While TV plays a dominant advertising media role for a majority of Internet users, 9% of users believed they were most often exposed to advertising via the Internet. Internet advertising ranked a close second to newspaper advertising in driving users to the Net.
Consumers perceived different media as having particular communication strengths. Television was seen as being capable of generating emotional response whereas Internet advertising was appreciated for its interactivity and ability to link to detailed information. Consumers expected elements of consistency between online and offline advertising for a particular brand or product.
According to James Burge, research director Australasia at RedSheriff, "Consumer reach and advertising effectiveness can be maximised through an integrated online and offline approach. However, the research shows that there was little conscious awareness or recall of integrated online and offline advertising campaigns amongst Internet users. Each medium has its communication strengths and should be employed to leverage on these to meet brand and product communication objectives. Synergies arise from employing different media for their strengths and where possible driving consumers between them."
Group participants generally recalled seeing advertising on websites, the formats and creative of the advertising, but failed to remember brand names or product information immediately after viewing. Overall, users most often recalled online advertising that was highly noticeable, relevant or entertaining. Online advertising was more likely to be recalled where the following elements were present:
- Ads positioned above the fold.
- Well known brands.
- Logo prominence.
- Creative with images or graphics.
- Ads that included movement and animation.
- Ads with an element of interactivity.
- Relevant brand or product messages.
- Campaign consistency or familiarity with offline communication and promotion.
Whilst many online ads performed on some of the aspects mentioned above, ineffective execution of one of these elements could be enough to dramatically reduce the apparent effectiveness of a campaign.
To gain an in-depth understanding of how Internet users react to online advertising and how their behaviours and attitudes differ, the research identified three mutually exclusive groups. These are:
- Ad Absorbers - more positive than negative attitude to advertising on the Internet.
- Ad Ambivalents - mixed or neutral attitude to advertising on the Internet.
- Ad Avoiders - more negative than positive attitude to advertising on the Internet.
"Of these market segments observed, the online Ad Absorbers were more likely to go online to visit a website due to offline advertising. Ad Absorbers are heavier Internet users than the Avoiders and Ambivalents, spending approximately seven hours per week on the Internet and similar amounts of time watching pay and free to air TV. Ad Absorbers were also more Internet "savvy" and more likely to go online to obtain product information (66%) obtain local community information (39%) and/or utilise news, sports, or weather updates (61%), use multiplayer games (21%), use services related to health and medicine (40%) and chat rooms (34%)." added Burge.
Participants also discussed how they perceived the different forms of online advertising. The formats included:
- Unsolicited and solicited email - the mention of email advertising cues unpleasant memories and negative perceptions for many, though some recounted more positive experiences and attitudes towards relevant opt-in email marketing such as newsletters.
- Banner ads - "Banner blindness", a phenomenon recently identified in the US, also appears to affect Australian Internet users. Users state they usually "zone out" and ignore information from the banner area as it is expected to contain advertising.
- Pop-ups - received overwhelmingly negative reactions, though they had the greatest level of awareness and, in some cases, had been found to be relevant or entertaining.
- Advertorial and sponsorships - extremely low level of awareness, this type of promotion blended in with the site and was often not identified as advertising.
- Competitions and surveys - frequently recalled due to the involvement required on the part of the user. Some users expressed a high level of enthusiasm for participation for both online and offline, while others did not feel that participation would result in any rewards.
The findings of this report were based on qualitative group discussions, a telephone survey of Australians living in metropolitan areas and an e-mail survey sent to a sample of participants who had taken part in the telephone survey.
All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.
