AOP unveils findings from ‘new rules of engagement’ study
The AOP has unveiled its first ‘New Rules of Engagement’ study, which aims to provide key information on how consumers are engaging with online content and advertising, to encourage publishers to better monetise online display advertising.
The findings show that consumers are more likely to trust advertising and brands on content sites vs social media sites. Respondents are also three times more likely to believe that content sites are better than social media sites at influencing positive brand opinion.
In addition, the research found that measures such as dwell time and frequency of visit are not as indicative of engagement as previously thought.
“This is the first research to highlight the inadequacies of metrics to measure engagement that the industry currently employs,” said Lee Baker, director of AOP. “This study offers publishers, advertisers and agencies compelling data; and ultimately offers advertisers business-critical solutions around advertising engagement. The results of this new study represent a marked evolution in how to view advertising engagement online.”
The study highlights five key areas of ensuring engagement – the importance of a ‘trustworthy’ site (recognition of and confidence in a brand); authoritative (consistent, reliable thought-leadership); unique and original content; offering users a community; and entertaining users.
In terms of advertising behaviour, the AOP suggests there are three vital characteristics – trust (consumers are more likely to engage with and/or respond to an ad on a site they trust); action and awareness.
The AOP commissioned GfK NOP to conduct the research project, examining engagement levels across a number of sites, including national newspaper websites, commercial TV and radio sites, magazine sites, portals such as MSN and Yahoo! and social networks such as Facebook.
Tim Cain, head of research and insight at the AOP said: “This is a significant piece of research in that it has sought to understand better the underlying factors that can really ascribe ‘engagement’ and create a framework for determining how and where it exists. This study has created a model that can be replicated for comparative analysis at individual site, category or genre level.”
Sarah Messer, chair of the AOP’s Research Committee and head of commercial research & insight at ITV added: “Online is known as the ‘accountable’ medium, and while direct response is a persuasive metric, this research shows that some indicators, such as ‘dwell time’, are not an accurate measure of ‘engagement time’. Users will visit social network sites daily and for long periods of time, yet by visiting a B2B, consumer or business site and obtaining relevant information or news quickly, doesn’t make the user any less ‘engaged’.”