Measuring Media Effectiveness: Assessing Media ROI throughout the Purchase Funnel
By Commissioned by Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) and conducted by Marketing Evolution
Multichannel
"Magazines dominate two crucial stages of the purchase funnel: brand familiarity and purchase intent."
Year: October 2008
Type of Promotional Material/Activity Tested: Magazines, Television, Internet
Methodology: An aggregation of 38 advertiser-commissioned cross-media accountability studies from late 2004 to mid-2008 (this study builds on Marketing Evolution's 2006 analysis by adding 18 new studies). The studies measure media impact across select stages of the consumer purchase decision-making process, focusing on big categories, including automotive, entertainment, electronics and pharmaceuticals.
Metrics: Return on Investment (ROI). Marketing Evolution’s ROI-based model examines impact and efficiency calculated via three interrelated measures: the average number of people influenced by an ad, the number influenced per $1,000 of advertising spending, and the cost per individual impact.
Independent Variables:
- Television ads (network, syndication, cable and/or spot)
- Consumer magazine ads
Note: Television was the dominant element in the advertising mix. Overall, the average budget allocation consisted of 80% in television, 15% in magazines, and 5% in online.
Dependent variables:
- Consumer perceptions through the stages of the purchase funnel where advertisers focus the most attention: brand awareness, brand familiarity, and purchase intent.
Brand Awareness (how consumers become aware, via ad exposure, of the existence of a particular brand):
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Because TV accounted for the majority of ad budget allocation (80%), it led magazines and online in the average number of people impacted.
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Regarding cost efficiency, magazines come close to pulling even with TV in terms of consumers reached per $1,000 of ad spend (91 consumers for magazines versus 100 consumers for TV).
- For cost per impact, TV led with $0.98 per impact, magazines followed closely at $1.08 and online lagged well behind at a cost of $1.97 per impact.
Brand Familiarity (the degree to which advertising increases the percentage of consumers who say they know a brand):
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Again TV, due to its budgetary size, surpassed magazines and online in the average number of people impacted.
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Magazines proved almost twice as effective as both TV and online in number of consumers reached per $1,000. Magazines indexed at 181 people reached per $1,000, versus 101 consumers for online and 100 for TV.
- For brand familiarity, magazines led in lowest cost per individual impact at $1.40 per impact, versus $2.58 for online and $2.61 for TV.
Purchase Intent (the most important stage of the purchase funnel where the consumer indicates how likely he or she is to purchase a product or service):
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As expected TV impacted a higher average number of people who indicated they intended to purchase a product or service, based on TV’s high percent of ad budget.
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Magazines dominated individual impact per $1,000 for the purchase intent stage: magazine ads were shown to influence 145 people per $1,000, versus 100 for TV and 68 for online.
- Magazines proved superior in cost per individual impact for purchase intent at $1.23 per impact, versus $1.77 for TV and $2.61 for online.
Across the Funnel:
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Magazines most consistently generated a favorable ROI throughout the purchase funnel, followed by TV.
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While category-specific (auto, entertainment, electronics, and pharmaceuticals) findings each showed a unique profile, the overall pattern held across the individual categories.
Take Aways:
- The updated 2008 MPA study findings reinforce Marketing Evolution’s 2006 analysis, “Measuring Media Effectiveness: Comparing Media Contribution Throughout the Purchase Funnel”, showing that magazines add an important influence to the stages of the purchase funnel. Specifically, the 2008 analysis shows magazines dominate two crucial stages: brand familiarity and purchase intent.
- The findings also demonstrate that each of the three media studied —magazines, TV and online—incrementally contribute to advertising impact, showing the importance and power of employing multichannel marketing strategies.
Complexity rating: 1 (complex statistical analysis scale: 1=none, 2=moderate, 3=difficult)
Source: MPA's Measuring Media Effectiveness: Assessing Media ROI throughout the Purchase Funnel.
