Original Branded Content Gives Best Ad Value, Says Study
For online video advertisers wondering where to put their money, Specific Media has an answer: original branded content. In a study conducted last month in Britain, Scotland, and Wales, the video ad network Specific Media and partner Decipher found that viewers showed the strongest brand recall and highest brand affinity rating when watching original branded content.
The study was designed to compare the effectiveness of user-generated content, short-form video, catch-up TV video, and original branded content. Nearly 2,500 people were shown videos with ads from nine global household brands.
In a test of unprompted brand recall, 26 percent of the subjects were able to recall brand names when the ads were shown with original branded content, compared to 14 percent for short form videos, 13 percent for catch-up TV video, and 11 percent for user-generated content.
Results were stronger in brand affinity testing, with 69 percent of the subjects showing brand affinity when the ads ran with original branded content, compared to 57 percent for short-form video, and 55 percent for catch-up TV videos.
The study also found that serving ads on entertaining content makes a huge difference for brand affinity. Those who enjoyed a the short-form video they watched, for example, showed 73 percent brand affinity, compared to only 41 percent for those who didn't enjoy the content. This pattern existed for all content types.
"Video advertising spend increased 100 percent last year and with more consumers engaging with online video content than ever before, this provides a great chance for advertisers to exploit its potential," says Chris Worrell, European research manager for Specific Media.
Specific Media will make a white paper with the full study findings available for free download in the next few months.