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CNET really work
Certainly on CNET. Targeting appears to be key.
By Marty Beard
When CNET introduced its new, large ad format a year ago, the only thing that was clear about the ads was that they were large, interactive and all but impossible for even the most casual web surfer to overlook.
Fast-forward a year and the interactive messaging unit, as it is called generically, has been declared effective, at least according to a study carried out for CNET by Millward Brown Intelliquest.
This type of ad takes up a large chunk of real estate on the web page, with web site content wrapped around it.
The IMUs, basically miniature, navigable web pages within web pages, offer site visitors the chance to learn more about an advertiser without having to leave the page.
Yet much of the ad unit’s increased effectiveness appears to stem from its targeted placement rather than its large size or interactivity.
CNET carries technology news, and a large proportion, 46 percent, of its readers work in technology, which makes them an ideal target for the sorts of tech ads CNET carries.
"The effectiveness in this case is attributed to the fact that the user base is primed to find out about and buy technology," says Mickey Wilson, CNET’s vice president of industry marketing.
Still, they appear to be getting results.
The survey of users on CNET’s News.com news publication and CNET’s ZDNet News subsidiary examined the ads’ effectiveness at branding, user engagement and purchase consideration. It followed up on a similar poll about the ads’ effectiveness carried out last July.
The study found a marked increase in the number of users who could recall having seen the IMU ads, which were promotional messages for companies such as Dell and Microsoft.
Forty-eight percent said they remembered seeing a given IMU ad, which CNET refers to as the Messaging Plus Unit, after seeing it just once.
In the July study, 42 percent reported recalling the ad after one viewing.
The doubt that still clouds internet advertising concerns whether users are really getting involved with the messages they’ve seen.
The results of the Millward Brown Intelliquest survey indicate that the units do in fact get users’ attention and draw them in.
Given a list of adjectives to choose from, 51 percent of respondents agreed that the ads were eye-catching; 45 percent agreed that they were interesting, and 35 percent deemed them intriguing, which is 55 percent higher than the percentage that deemed standard banner ads to be intriguing.
Additionally, 60 percent said that the units were worth stopping their activities to view, and 49 percent said that they thought the units were the type of ad they’re likely to click on.
And 56 percent of the respondents said they considered the IMU format to be unlike ads for comparable brands.
The units also generate greater brand awareness, according to the study.
Twenty-four percent of respondents exposed to IMUs for a given brand reported thinking that the brand offers something different from its competitors.
Eighteen percent of respondents said they had a higher opinion of the advertiser than of its competitors, while 17 percent saw the advertiser as superior to others.
And 17 percent thought the advertiser could meet their needs.
The study also notes that the units increased viewers’ likeliness to connect the brand with the messages by 89 percent.
Finally, the units were reported to be effective at getting consumers to consider purchasing products from the advertiser.
Compared to a control group, who saw only a house ad for CNET, respondents exposed to the IMU ads were 12 percent more likely to consider purchasing the brand advertised.
Ultimately, the study concludes that the format, if executed judiciously, can be quite effective.
"When we first introduced the units one year ago, there was more of a question about the novelty factor," Wilson says.
"What we've learned with this round of studies, as well as what we've seen from user activity on our page, is that the key to the success of the units is knowing your audience, branding early, keeping the unit simple, and providing them with the right information."
April 5, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Marty Beard is a staff writer for Media Life.
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