What are online ads for? In a market where brands not only have to face the general lack of interest of consumers in advertising but also have to be able to overcome the fact that consumers themselves are increasingly active in blocking advertising and not directly see it (after all, this is the era of ad blockers and consumers with the ‘quick finger’ to skip as soon as the online video ads can), you might fall into the temptation to think Online advertising, in the end, serves little or nothing.
However, studies show that, despite everything, the ads seen on the network have an impact on consumers and have an impact, moreover, that goes beyond what happens in the network itself. That is, online ads not only impact consumers online behaviors, but also offline.
This is just demonstrated by a study that has just appeared published in Marketing Science and that have made several university experts and linked to several technology companies that at the time of doing the analysis were working on Yahoo.
The researchers drew on data associated with a campaign by a chain of clothing stores in the United States and what made 3 million Yahoo users. These users, who were part of the experiment, received controlled advertising impacts. The campaign associated with that brand of clothing and that was shown to them had a direct impact on them. Seeing those ads made them buy more that clothing brand, which increased their sales during the period by 3.6%. The return on his advertising investment was like this three times.
In and Out of Network
But the interesting thing about the studio is not only that it links online advertising and sales growth but also shows that online ads have a direct impact on what happens outside the network.
Crossing data from Yahoo and marketers, they were able to draw conclusions about what was happening on the network and out of it and therefore analyze how much of the sales was tied to the advertising that had been seen. According to their findings, 84% of the sales that occurred again came from consumers who had seen online ads. That is, out of every 10 new sales made during the period, 8 were from consumers who had seen the campaign on the net.
The relationship between one element and another is something that researchers had already imagined happening, although what allows establishing the study is the figures associated with it. That is, it demonstrates in a tangible and measurable way the impact they have, one of those elements that marketing always seek and pursue and that help to sustain the decisions that are made when establishing a strategy.
Therefore, brands must not only advertise on the net to reach consumers online, but must keep in mind that what they do online will also impact offline.
