While, traditionally, it may have been difficult to use data to prove the efficacy of branding activities, running Vizu studies provides the opportunity to do exactly that.
In the last year, Exponential’s video engagement division Firefly Video ran Vizu studies alongside more than 80 campaigns across seven countries – and the positive results collected demonstrates not only the effectiveness of Firefly Video campaigns, but also the level of the success video advertising campaigns provide for brands.
Advertisers and brands have used Vizu studies to measure the effectiveness of their digital campaigns by noting the sentiment of responses collected from surveys that are given to two groups of users: the exposed group (defined to be users who have seen their ads) and the control group (those who have not seen their ads). The survey results enable observers to measure the difference in positive response rates from the exposed and control groups.
The difference between these values may be interpreted as ‘brand lift’.
In the last 12 months, Firefly Video collected Vizu survey responses that show a dramatic difference between users who have been exposed to a Firefly ad versus those who have not. Exposed users generate 2.03 times higher positive response rates that of the control group:
The 2.03 figure is also a large increase compared to the standard industry norm of 1.07* (as provided by Vizu):
*Industry norm lift figures include data on standard display and video campaigns.
Caveat: Standard display vs. Firefly Video
Before exploring the results further, it is useful to be cognizant of how Vizu studies on Firefly Video campaigns are unique.
- In a Firefly campaign, the exposed group consists entirely of users who have not only seen the ad (the teaser), but have also chosen to engage with it. All users who engage with a Firefly ad in a campaign that is measured by Vizu will see the survey, compared to 5% of users who have been shown a standard display ad in a campaign being measured by Vizu.
- Another difference comes to light when you compare the level of exposure in Firefly campaigns versus standard display. When measuring the effectiveness of a standard display campaign, an “exposed” user might not have seen (or might even have avoided) the ad, but since only engaged users are surveyed in Firefly campaigns, the level of exposure is anticipated to be higher than the level of exposure in standard display ad campaigns.
- Finally, an engaged Firefly unit is often full-screen, which means that the exposed group is not only more likely to be immersed in the ad, but that their attention is on a much larger unit than a standard display unit.
It’s this combination of factors that cause and effect the additional increases in positive response rates in Firefly campaigns, and should be considered when comparing the ‘brand lift’ to other types of digital campaigns and Vizu norm figures.
Result: Brand lift across verticals
Firefly Video engagement campaigns consistently deliver increased brand lift across vertical:
However, it is important to consider how video campaigns may drive awareness respective of each vertical. Ultimately, users will engage with different verticals in different ways.
The particularly high lift in Entertainment can be explained by the traditionally positive brand impact of movie or video game trailers. Other high-lift verticals include Automotive and Computers and Electronics – all verticals that tend to exhibit strong brand affinities with the users (particularly because users may associate their persona, or status, to the products presented). By contrast, Financial Services is a much dryer area, with fewer opportunities to engage with, and relate to, the product. Meanwhile, in the Consumer Packaged Goods vertical, ad engagement may be difficult since the target market may be broad, and your viewer may not be purchaser.
Video advertising at the forefront to drive brand lift
In short, these results demonstrate the considerable average increase in positive responses from groups of users who engage with Firefly campaigns, indicating an affinity toward video advertising overall. The findings enable us to conclude that Vizu is a powerful brand impact measurement tool whose particularly high results on Firefly Video campaigns can be explained by the increased levels of engagement and exposure in these campaigns.
*Lewis’ post is part one of Firefly Video’s whitepaper that will encompass the current status of the video industry, discuss powerful creative units and results founded from Vizu studies
