Accountability II: How Media Drive Results and Impact Online Success

By Magazine Publishers of America (MPA)

Magazines

"This study shows that print ads are consistent performers --- with magazines adding an important influence to all segments of the purchase funnel, especially the most noteworthy category of purchase intent."

Date: 2007

Type of Promotional Material/Activity Tested: Magazines, Television, Internet, Newspapers

Methodology:  A sequel to Accountability: A Guide to Measuring ROI and ROO Across Media, this MPA paper presents an aggregation of cross-media accountability studies (performed by third-party firms such as Dynamic Logic/Millward Brown, Marketing Evolution, JupiterResearch, BIGresearch and others).

Metrics:
 

• How media performs across the various stages of the consumer purchase decision-making process (brand/ad awareness, message association, brand familiarity, brand imagery, purchase intent).

 

• How media drives online results --  influencing consumers to perform searches and visit websites.

Top Line Results:
 

• The synergy of three media proves better than two and two media better than one, in generating results across the purchase funnel -- from brand awareness to purchase intent.  Aggregated studies find that TV and magazines together are the most effective combination of two media at all stages studied.

   

• While TV produces the largest increase in brand awareness, magazines also provide a significant boost.

   

• In driving ad awareness, Dynamic Logic finds that magazines, TV and online each contribute to increased ad awareness, with TV then magazines producing the greatest lifts in ad awareness (significantly more than online).  Marketing Evolution’s studies show magazines outperform TV in increasing ad awareness.

   

• Examining the mid-stages of the purchase funnel, where attitudes about a brand can shift, aggregated study findings show that magazines and TV perform as relative equals as primary drivers for message association, brand familiarity and brand imagery.

   

• When it comes to the most important stage of the purchase funnel -- purchase intent -- magazines are significantly more effective in increasing consumers’ intent to buy.

   

• Twenty Marketing Evolution studies show magazines performing the most consistently across all stages of the purchase funnel:
   

   
  Source:  MPA
   

• Magazine ads drive web traffic.  Marketing Evolution studies (combined sample size: 21,000 ) show a 40 % lift in web traffic occurring after consumer exposure to magazine ads.  Including a URL in a magazine ad tripled the percent change in visits.

   

• Magazines are tops for prompting web searches (52%), followed by television (44%), and newspapers (41%) -- regardless of gender and age according to a BIGresearch 2007 study with a sample of over 15,000 adults.

   

• JupiterResearch findings show that two out of five online search users, who perform a search because of exposure to advertising in an offline channel, will make a purchase as a result of that search.  Their study finds that TV ads are the main offline source (37%), followed by magazine/newspaper ads (30%).

   

• Mediamark Research Inc. (MRI) finds that print media users (magazine and newspapers readers) are most likely to go online, seek information, and make purchases.

Take-Aways: 

• This study shows that print ads are consistent performers with magazines adding an important influence to all segments of the purchase funnel -- especially the most noteworthy category of purchase intent. 

• Offline media drives web traffic—searches and purchases. 

• When looking at the role individual media play in driving web results, magazines most consistently drive web traffic and search.

Complexity rating: 1 out of 3 (Complex statistical analysis scale: 1= none, 2= moderate, 3 = difficult)

Source: MPA, Accountability II:  How media drive results and impact online success