27.06.2016

Digital ad testing: Debunking three major myths

It’s time to take digital advertising measurement seriously

There’s no longer any doubt about the power of digital advertising. In 2015, the industry was worth US$170 billion and accounted for nearly 30% of all ad spend. This growth shows no signs of abating, with digital ad spend in the US predicted to overtake TV for the first time in 2017, and China due to become the world’s largest digital ad market by proportion of spend a year later. 

Yet compared to traditional media, the need to prove the value of digital advertising and assess its quality is not embraced by all advertisers. Our experience is that there are three myths that have become entrenched in the minds of some brands, justifying their continued failure to evaluate their digital advertising campaigns: 

Myth one: I can get everything I need to know about the performance of my display banners from metrics such as click-through rates and conversion.

We say: “In reality, less than 1% of people click on banner ads, which means your research is missing out on the vast majority of people. You need to find a representative metric that looks beyond click-throughs to brand impact and likelihood to purchase.”

Myth two: I can identify which ads are performing poorly very quickly and change them without any negative impact on my audience.

We say: “It is as essential to test your ads before running them in the digital environment as it is in traditional media. Our research has shown that low quality digital ad banners are not harmless. On the contrary, they can actually damage your brand.”

Myth three: It’s really cheap for us to produce digital ads. It is therefore more cost-effective and quicker for us to create and live test them than to pre-test them.
We say: “It is for this very reason that we have developed a cost-effective and quick solution to pre-test display banners. The intelligence gathered can also guide your future ad creation, helping you to be more successful in the future.”

With proven methodologies and a flexible platform, GfK makes understanding your digital advertising spend both quick and cost-effective. Can you really afford not to test your digital display ads? 

Register for our free webinar "Seven strategies to deliver maximum ROI in digital advertising"