According to a new study led by Inskin Media, Research Now and Conquest Research, the relationship a reader has with a publisher can boost online ad effectiveness.
The research revealed that ad consideration on publisher-branded sites was 60% higher in comparison to ads on sites without publisher branding, and 152% higher among readers with a close relationship to the publisher.
Meanwhile, advertiser brand warmth was 33% higher, brand empathy 20% higher and brand proximity 19% higher.
“The relationship a publisher has with a visitor can have a catalytic effect in terms of boosting the effectiveness of the ads it carries, which reveals an important lesson,” said Steve Doyle, Inskin Media’s CCO.
“It shows that if online publishers pay more consideration to the reader experience, particularly in regards to advertising, the ads will be more effective, so they can charge a higher premium while carrying less advertising – a virtuous circle.”
In contrast, there was no evidence that suggested related editorial content affected ad consideration in any way.
For instance, a food ad next to an article about obesity did not affect any brand metrics. Also, a story that was both positive and had similar theme to ad can still create a negative brand association which suggests that individual parts of the article have disproportionate effects.
“This shows that brand safety is considerably more complex than the industry might like to admit,” Doyle added. “For example, we know brand safety is a ‘PR’ issue but what effect does it actually have on how readers actually perceive the brand and act on it?
“Without a doubt, more research in this area is required to help marketers devise meaningful and effective brand safety policies, as the area is still a relative unknown.”
The study compared the conscious and subconscious reactions of 4,370 people towards ads on websites either with or without publisher branding.
