New Version of BrandImpact Tool 12/09/00 Millward Brown Interactive has recently released the latest version of its BrandImpact Research Application. BrandImpact provides online advertisers with the ability to test banners, rich media ads and now streaming ads with the same measures used to assess offline ad effectiveness: brand awareness, brand image, brand consideration and ad diagnostics. Investment in online advertising reached US$4.62 billion in 1999 (up 250% over the previous year). However, there is an increasing need to have proof of return on investment. According to Nigel Hollis, Executive Vice President of Millward Brown Interactive, "Results to date reveal both good news and bad news about online advertising. 1 in 5 ads really break through and have a strong effect on brand awareness and perceptions, but at the other end of the spectrum, 1 in 5 are not even noticed. This confirms the need for advertisers to better understand which ads are effective and which not, in order to better optimise their current advertising and provide learning for the future." BrandImpact uses a robust measurement methodology, and has the advantage of being both faster and far lower priced than traditional research equivalents. The new version adds foreign language capabilities to the application, normative data and better ad diagnostics to the online report. Over 100 BrandImpact tests have so far been carried out.