I Can See a Halo (Effect)

Comscore have just published a piece of research in the US comparing member sites of Digital Content Next (DCN) and non DCN sites.Members of DCN represent the more identifiable and recognised sites in the US and include ABC, The New York Times, Discovery and Bloomberg.

In the research it compare the relevance and recall of advertising between the two types of site and highlights the difference in terms of brand lift in advertiser campaigns across the sites reviewed. Comscore have called it the Halo effect.

Similar research was carried out by AOP Ireland in 2012 and 2013 for the Irish marketplace. The first piece of research, centring on online engagement identified a similar Halo Effect for members of AOP Ireland and Irish content sites in general.

78% of Irish internet users recognise that advertising on Irish premium content sites were more relevant to them in contrast to only 11% who thought that advertising on international sites were aimed at them, despite geo targeting.

the Irish research, it found the an audience trust and find the content of a site relevant, the more effective the advertising on the site is. In fact the research found that audience trust in advertising on Irish sites was twice that on social networks. Further research in 2013 found that 78% of Irish internet users recognise that advertising on Irish premium content sites were more relevant to them in contrast to only 11% who thought that advertising on international sites were aimed at them, despite geo targeting.

It also found that DCN sites had an average 67% higher brand lift than non DCN sites.

Comscore report, which was undertaken without the knowledge of DCN members found that advertising appearing on DCN premium sites was three times more effective in driving mid funnel brand lift metrics which included favourability, consideration and intent to recommend. It also found that DCN sites had an average 67% higher brand lift than non DCN sites.

Higher viewability and lower levels of invalid or NHT traffic were common drivers to the results.

The Comscore research also focussed on the risk of commoditisation of display due to programmatic advertising as it is agnostic to context and editorial quality.

The interesting thing in the similarity between the findings. though they were carried out 4 years apart and in different markets, is that a trusted contextual environment and editorial relevance are key aids in achieving brand lift.

As adage goes, quality never goes out of style.