Study for AOL Finds Bold Color Banners Work Best

IPSOS-ASI, an advertising research and evaluation firm in Stamford, CT, released a study saying that banner advertising on America Online “is highly effective in generating awareness of brands and increasing consumers’ intent to purchase products.”

Pretty much a ho-hum statement, but the study did find that bold colors work best.

The research (presumably paid for by AOL) also indicates that the impact of banner ads “is consistently positive in both content and chat areas on the AOL service.”

The study shows that, once a banner ad is noticed, there appears to be little difference in attitudes or behavior between either the chat or content areas on AOL.

An average of 55% of the test groups in the content area recalled seeing the ad for the product immediately after viewing it, while 48% of the test groups in chat remembered it. In four of seven cases, persuasion was significantly improved with exposure to the ad, the company said.

The research also suggests that banner ads featuring the boldest colors have the greatest impact on recall. In addition, ads that feature new information most significantly move consumers toward purchase.

“Intent to purchase and recall are two of the most important goals of effective advertising,” said Bob Pittman, president and COO of America Online. “What this new research shows is that AOL is succeeding in delivering both.”