EIAA RESEARCH SHATTERS ONLINE AD MYTHS
Key Findings
· 81% believe the internet is a vital component of their company’s advertising strategy
· 88% say that rising broadband penetration is making online advertising more attractive
· The online share of total ad spend will rise substantially over the next two years
· Perceived lack of research & measurement remains key barrier for advertisers
London, 5 September 2005 – Many of the myths and preconceptions surrounding online advertising were dispelled today with research from the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) revealing that the internet forms a vital component in the marketing campaigns of many of Europe’s top advertisers. The increasing importance of online is being driven by greater broadband penetration and therefore internet usage.
The EIAA Marketers’ Internet Ad Barometer was commissioned by the EIAA to understand the role online advertising plays and attitudes towards the internet amongst key advertisers across Europe. Conducted by Enders Analysis, the independent media and telecoms research company, the study involved interviews with over 50 top marketers at some of the leading brand advertisers in the FMCG, Entertainment and Automotive sectors.
“Online advertising is now a crucial element of our marketing strategy,” said Simon Thompson, Marketing Director, Honda UK. “Our target consumers are online so we need to be following them. Enquiries all used to be by telephone, now they are all online. To reflect this, we are currently in the process of substantially increasing our online media budget.”
The EIAA study reveals the true attitudes of top advertisers towards online as part of the marketing mix:
Myth 1: Brand advertising online doesn’t work
The EIAA research reveals that 89% of those questioned disagree that brand advertising online is a waste of money. Over three quarters (77%) believe that internet advertising allows them to reach target groups that are hard to reach via other media.
Myth 2: Online advertising is an add-on to mainstream marketing strategy
81% of those questioned believe the internet is a vital component of their company’s advertising strategy.
Myth 3: The Internet only has a niche audience
Increased internet usage among consumers, which is being driven by rising broadband penetration, is making online advertising more attractive to marketers. 88% of those questioned agree that increasing broadband penetration is making the internet more attractive as a branding medium.
Myth 4: Online advertising cannot achieve both brand and direct marketing objectives
The study reveals that advertisers have the same broad range of objectives with online advertising as with other forms of marketing. Namely, most advertisers are seeking to change brand perceptions and influence purchase decisions as well as generating sales. In the UK, influencing purchase decisions was the top objective for FMCG advertisers while those in the Entertainment sector are primarily looking to generate sales.
Search Vs Display
While display continues to represent the lion’s share of online advertising, the study indicates that a growing proportion of online spend will move towards search. In the UK, three quarters of entertainment brand advertisers and half of automotive advertisers say that they will increase their spend on search.
Research & Measurement
The biggest barrier to increased online ad spend is a perceived lack of sophisticated research tools according to those questioned. The majority of advertisers, whilst believing online to be measurable and having a broad range of marketing objectives, continue to rely solely on click-throughs & registrations on their website to measure the success of online campaigns.
All of those questioned within the UK automotive sector and three quarters of those within entertainment use click-throughs & registrations as measurement tools despite brand awareness, purchase internet and sales generation being key objectives. Few marketers questioned judge the success of their online campaigns using these brand measures.
Online’s Rising Share
All of those questioned predict a substantial increase in their online advertising spend over the next few years with online representing a much greater proportion of total marketing spend. The largest rise will be in the automotive sector with those questioned within estimating that online will represent 8.7% of total ad spend by 2007, a 123% increase. FMCG advertisers predict a 59% increase in the share of online ad spend while entertainment brand advertisers predict a 28% increase.
The majority of this increased online share will come from spend on TV advertising in particular. Automotive advertisers questioned responded that 41% of the planned increase in online spend will come from their TV budget and 20% from the print budget. FMCG brand advertisers on the other hand plan to fund their increasing online spend from TV (14%) and Direct Marketing (14%).
“This study is conclusive evidence that many of the old myths and assumptions surrounding online advertising no longer exist and that for the vast majority of marketers, online represents an integral part of their marketing strategy,” said Michael Kleindl, Chairman of the EIAA and Managing Partner of Valkiria Network. “As an organisation it is our job to make advertisers aware of the research and measurement tools that currently exist and ensure we continue to set in place the necessary tools to overcome advertiser concerns regarding online.”
The EIAA’s member networks now have a total of 147.7 million monthly unduplicated unique vistors across 15 countries according to comScore Europe, representing a reach of 95% of the active European online audience. (Source: comScore Europe August 2005 European Digital Calculator).
-ends-
The research was conducted by Ender Analysis who interviewed marketing decision-makers at over 50 leading brand advertisers within the following sectors: FMCG, Automotive, and Entertainment. The research was conducted in July and August 2005. Marketing decision-makers at the following companies participated in the study: Buena Vista International, Cadbury-Schweppes, Citroën, Coca-Cola, Colgate Palmolive, Coors, Disneyland, Ferrero, Français des Jeux, Gaumont Columbia Tri-Star, Gillette, GM Opel, GM Vauxhall, GSK, Interbrew, Honda, Kellogg's, Kimberly-Clark, Kraft, L'Oreal, LU, Mars, Masterfoods, McDonalds, Nestlé, Scottish Courage, NTL, Peugeot, PMU, Procter & Gamble, Renault, Telewest, Toyota, 20th Century Fox, UGC, UIP, Unilever, Volvo, Warner Bros, Yves Rocher.
About the EIAA
The European Interactive Advertising Association ( www.eiaa.net) is a unique pan- European trade organisation for sellers of interactive media. The primary objectives of the EIAA are to champion and to improve the understanding of the value of online advertising as a medium, to grow the European interactive advertising market by proving its effectiveness, thus increasing its share of total advertising investment. Its members are currently AD Europe, AdLINK Internet Media AG, AOL Europe, MSN International, Tiscali, Yahoo! Europe, LYCOS Europe and T-Online International. It is chaired by Michael Kleindl, Managing Partner of Valkiria Network.
About Enders Analysis
Enders Analysis ( www.endersanalysis.com) is an independent media and telecoms research company, covering the entertainment, mobile, and fixed telecommunications industries in Europe, with a special focus on the reaction to new technologies.
For further information, please contact:
Alison Fennah Nick Wilkins/Gemma Yates
Executive Director Red Consultancy
EIAA Tel: 020 7025 6500
|
