The click is dead...and the few people who do click on banner ads are not your best customers and do nothing for your brand.

So says new research by Starcom , Tacoda & ComScore, which calls into question click-through-rates as a primary source of accountability for Internet advertising aimed at brand building.

The Wrong People Are Clicking:

The study reveals that a very small group of consumers who are not representative of the total US online population is accountable for the vast majority of display ad click-through behavior:

"The study illustrates that heavy clickers represent just 6% of the online population yet account for 50% of all display ad clicks. While many online media companies use click-through rate as an ad negotiation currency, the study shows that heavy clickers are not representative of the general public. In fact, heavy clickers skew towards users between the ages of 25-44, households with an income under $40,000, spend less than non-clickers, and are more likely to visit auctions, gambling, and career site.”

No Corrolation Between Clicks & Brand Metrics:

"Starcom data suggests no correlation between display ad clicks and brand metrics, and show no connection between measured attitude towards a brand and the number of times an ad for that brand was clicked. The research presentation suggests that when digital campaigns have a branding objective, optimizing for high click rates does not necessarily improve campaign performance.”

CTRs are the wrong measure for brand-building advertising and consideration/preference campaigns online.

Source: ChasNote

This entry was posted by Hashem Bajwa, on 13 March 2008. You can leave your response.