Study: Display ads responsible for 44% of Q1 transactions
The C3 Metrics report shows that display advertising, while not as sexy as newer advertising formats, is still pushing higher product/brand awareness and conversions. Researchers studied 50,000 online transactions and found that 44% of the time, display ad units drove the initial awareness and conversions for brands.
“Advertisers and agencies want to attribute success of campaigns within a very tight window, and we understand that,” said Mark Hughes, C3 Metrics CEO. “This report clearly shows that display advertising is the first step on the road to success. The sales funnel starts with display ads and even gets pushed further down into the funnel by effective display ads.”
According to data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), online advertising reached a quarterly spending high of $7.3 billion in Q1 2011, that is a 23% increase Year over Year. Making the Q1 spend even more attractive is that fact that 2010 was a record-breaking year for online ad spending itself.
“As more Americans spend more time online for information and entertainment purposes, digital advertising and marketing has emerged as one of the most effective tools businesses have to attract and retain customers,” said Randall Rothenburg, President and CEO of IAB.