Online video advertising
Online video is an area of major growth for ITV.com. Between January and May 2008, video views on the site quadrupled. Recognising this growth, a major car manufacturer, through MediaCom, commissioned a test campaign for its small car range using in-stream advertising around ITV content to test the effectiveness of online video.
- Test the effectiveness of video advertising
- Measure the impact of the advertising on purchase consideration and brand values
Research was carried out by an independent agency using a web-intercept exposed/control methodology. Surveys among 308 drivers were carried out between 19th May and 15th June 2008.
The online campaign achieved 155,000 video impressions on ITV.com from 12th May to 31st May 2008.
The campaign successfully achieved its objectives, with significant differences pre- and post-exposure recorded for each of the key measures.
Purchase consideration (first choice/seriously consider) rose significantly to 36%. Among the target market of small car owners, purchase consideration rose significantly from 32% to 41%.
"We’re delighted with the results. As consumer participation and growth in the world of online video has accelerated over the past couple of years, we have, as an industry, struggled to provide substantiated data that empirically proves the value of this emerging channel. This research has contributed immensely towards the construction of a set of norms that we are now able to use to increase investment into online video."
Rhys McLachlan, Head of Broadcast Implementation, MediaCom
Ten of the 12 brand attributes tested showed significant improvements. 'Innovative', 'Affordable', and 'Good value for money' each rose by more than 10 percentage points.
The strongest scores were among those who had previously owned the car make being tested. Each measure increased after exposure. Two thirds feel they are good-quality, reliable cars, while the score for them being innovative cars increased by half to 38%.
However, those who had not previously owned the make of car showed the largest increases in scores post-exposure. Ten of the 12 brand attributes showed significant growth, with the percentage of people feeling that the cars were innovative and affordable nearly doubling, to 28% and 36% respectively.
Two different versions of the ad were tested – a 10-second version and a 30-second version. Interestingly, the 10" version scored much better – outperforming the 30" ad on both purchase consideration and nine of the 12 brand measures. Among those who had previously seen the ad, the differences were even more pronounced. Purchase consideration was nearly 50% higher and twice as many of the brand attributes showed significant growth.