Banner Ads Effective at Branding

Online banner advertisements are as effective as television advertisements in their ability to significantly increase consumer awareness of brands, according to a study by Ipsos-ASI.

According to the research, the recall level of an online ad is equivalent to that of a television ad when measured for immediate recall. The data shows that 40 percent of the respondents who view a static online ad banner will remember it, as compared to 41 percent of those who view a 30-second commercial.

The research was based on the America Online/Ipsos-ASI database. Researchers have tested more than 45 banner ads on approximately 7,000 randomly recruited AOL customers in various areas of the AOL site.

“While comparisons to other media are extremely important to the advertising community, we believe that online advertising is even more effective than television advertising using other effectiveness measurements,” said Myer Berlow, AOL’s Senior VP of Interactive Marketing. “No other medium allows advertisers the opportunity to immediately capture the attention of active and engaged consumers; to provide them with more information about their product or service; and to complete transactions. This is one of online’s real competitive strengths over print and television advertising, and one that cannot be duplicated in the offline world.”

Ipsos-ASI plans on measuring the persuasion and brand imagery of online ads in the coming months.

“Given this research, we believe that more and more advertisers and agencies will take an active role in exploring the online medium and discovering the benefits to them,” said Marianne Foley, Senior VP of Ipsos-ASI Interactive.