Integrated Solutions. Measurable Results.April 2010

360i Point of View on

Nielsen and Facebook’sAdvertisin Effectiveness Stud

Overview

Nielsen and Facebook recently releaseda studyoutlining the positive relationship between paid andearned media on brand awareness and engagement metrics. The study is the first joint researchreport from the two companies following their September 2009 announcement that they werepartnering to develop quantifiable brand-focused measurement for advertisers on Facebook.This most recent white paper outlines the cumulative results of their “BrandLift” studies across 14Facebook campaigns.

What prompted the study?

As social marketing continues to evolve, marketers, agencies and publishers have beenstruggling to understand the impact of social channels on driving brand metrics – and, moreimportantly, how to measure and compare this impact alongside traditional brand mediachannels. Measuring brand awareness, ad recall and purchase intent within the context of Facebook advertising will help marketers understand the value of running paid and earnedmedia together and could inform larger decisions around their media mix and budget allocation.This study helps to answer that question. Using data from more than 800,000 Facebook users,Nielsen has been able to point to the impact that paid and earned media, when workingtogether, can have on a brand’s key business drivers.

Methodology

To complete the BrandLift study, Facebook served an ad to 99% of users (test group) who fitthe brand’s defined target audience and assigned the remaining 1% to a control group whowere not served the ad impression.The test group saw the Facebookimpression in question, while the controlgroup did not. The study measured theimpact of 3 types of media on Facebook:The Homepage Ad, The Social Impressionand the Organic Impression.Participants were categorized based onwhat type of impression they were exposed to. 24 hours after the ad exposure, a sample of both exposed and control users were served Nielsen BrandLift Polls and the impact of the ad ismeasured against those poll results.Nielsen BrandLift polls are one or two question surveys that are an integrated part of theFacebook experience.

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360i Point of View on

Nielsen and Facebook’sAdvertisin Effectiveness Stud

April 2010

Why is this important to marketers?

Looking at the bigger picture, this study highlights the importance and impact of online media,both paid and earned, on driving brand metrics. Social marketing as earned media is becoming abigger part of the marketing mix, but is often planned and evaluated separately from traditionaldigital media channels. Thus far, there has not been a definitive study showing thecomplementary connection between paid and earned media. Nor has there been the frameworkthrough which marketers and agencies can plan these two mediums together.To date, the most common form of measurement on Facebook has been direct response based.Campaigns are evaluated based on eCPM, cost-per-click or-cost-per-fan. “Fanning” (or “Liking”) apage can indicate a deeper connection to a brand and extend the campaign reach, but the effectof this endorsement on the overall media campaign and awareness of the brand has never beforebeen quantified by Facebook. Brands interested in the effect of their Facebook advertising on

BrandLift pollintegrated withinsite experienceSponsoredHomepage Ad onFacebook

Integrated Solutions. Measurable Results.April 2010

360i Point of View on

Nielsen and Facebook’sAdvertisin Effectiveness Stud

awareness, recall or purchase intent have usedpolls in their advertising or leveraged their fanbase to ask questions. With a BrandLift study,marketers can explicitly measure the lift inthese metrics and evaluate against othermarketing tactics, which are being measuredthe same way.The results can also show marketers theimpact of their advertising within differentenvironments. For instance, the study showeda 15 point jump in awareness for consumerswho exposed to 10+ organic impressions.Within standard display campaigns, frequencyis usually capped at 5-10 impressions, with thebelief that anything over that won’t impactawareness.

Next steps for marketers

Marketers need to begin looking at paid and earned media initiatives as complementary and knowthat planning them together can impact brand metrics. Marketers and their agencies will need todevelop strategies that include both, clearly laying out how they’ll play off each other.When developing the strategy, marketers and agencies should think about:

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How will the paid media investment drive earned media volume?

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Who will be seeing the paid ad (target audience)?

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What’s the pass-along factor? What will motivate consumers to share it?

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How will they ensure that their main message remains a part of the conversation?

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What does the organic impression look like?

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What are the goals of the campaign?

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What are other ways we can measure the effect of paid and earned media acrossmultiple platforms beyond Facebook?There are a variety of tools that can help measure brand metrics. Nielsen’s BrandLift is the onlyone that uses Facebook as a research panel. Beginning later this year, Nielsen will begin sellingthe BrandLift study to brands that are advertising off of Facebook. For these brands, the Facebookaudience will still serve as the research panel. Nielsen and Facebook, working through a thirdparty, will be able to identify a user who sees an ad off of Facebook and serve that user a pollwhen he or she is on Facebook. There will be no personally identifiable information passed.According to Nielsen, there is a 60-80% overlap between Facebook and most large sites.