Across a wide range of advertising metrics, branded content sites outscored internet industry norms 41 out of 43 times according to a new report from the Online Publishers Association (OPA).
Additionally, “beyond-the-banner” forms of online advertising such as video, sponsorships and rich media also outpaced industry norms when placed on branded content sites.
“It’s an absolute fact with online advertising: environment matters,” said OPA president Pam Horan. “In nearly every category measured, ad effectiveness scores on branded content sites were numerically higher than on the Web in general, on portals or on ad networks. Whether it’s the trust they engender or the audiences they attract, branded content sites deliver better advertising results.”
When it comes to brand favourability, branded content sites provide a 29% improvement over average online advertising performance in MarketNorms. For purchase intent, branded content sites provide a 20% improvement. With both measures, there is an even greater bounce among affluent audiences, the study found.
Branded content sites are 24% more effective than overall MarketNorms at impacting purchase intent among those with household incomes of $75,000 or greater.
The OPA analysis also shows that video advertising on these sites provides an 82% brand awareness boost over MarketNorms’ overall online video advertising averages and a 67% boost for improving brand favourability. Rich media ads on branded content sites provide a 28% brand awareness improvement over MarketNorms.
“Branded content sites are doing a particularly effective job of delivering results with developing advertising formats, including video advertising and rich media,” Horan continued. “Just as we have seen with offline media, the value of context cannot be underestimated – a point that is clearly reaffirmed in this study. A sponsorship on a ‘name’ site delivers the power of that media brand to the advertiser associated with that content.”
The IAB and PwC released a report in April which showed that online advertising grew almost 40% year on year in 2007 to a new high of over £2.8 billion (see UK Online Adspend Grows Almost 40% Year On Year In 2007).
It was the third largest medium last year, up from being the smallest market sector in 2003, taking its share to 15.3% in 2007 from 11.4% in 2006.
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