One Additional Minute of Exposure to Display Advertising Can Boost Direct Traffic to a Company’s Website by 10%, According to New Research from NYU Stern

A new digital attribution model shows that advertising effects are
amplified up to four times when consumers are targeted earlier and for
longer periods of time

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NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–New research from NYU Stern Professor Anindya
Ghose and Emory University Professor Vilma
Todri introduces a unique digital attribution framework to measure
the effectiveness of display advertising on a consumer’s likelihood to
search for a brand or product, and ultimately, make a purchase.
Moreover, their research shows advertising effects are amplified up to
four times when consumers are targeted earlier in the purchase funnel
and exposed to the ad for longer durations.

This first-of-its-kind study uses real-world settings and data to
examine how actual viewability of display advertising – and the length
of exposure to display ads – impacts consumer behavior from initial
exposure to final purchase. This framework is part of a pioneering set
of research focused on digital attribution, or determining which display
advertising channel deserves the most credit for a consumer’s purchase –
a key question among advertising executives who manage campaigns for
brands.

Using a large-scale, individual-level data set, which tracked the entire
advertising campaign of a U.S.-based retailer, the study reveals:

• On average, 55% of display ads are not viewable – meaning they are not
  visible on a consumer’s screen area for more than one second.
• Exposure to display ads increases the chances that a consumer will
  engage in active search and visit a company’s website by more than 36%.
• Additionally, consumers are 25% more likely to click on a search ad
  served up to them on Google.
• When a consumer is targeted earlier in the purchase funnel, one
  additional minute of exposure to display advertising can increase the
  likelihood he/she will visit a company website by almost 10%.
• Consumers are also 7% more likely to complete a purchase after seeing
  a display ad.

“This new framework gives advertisers the ability to causally measure
the impact of digital advertising on the search and purchase behavior of
consumers, which is a key component in a broader marketing campaign,”
Professor Ghose explained. “By using an attribution model such as ours,
they can now measure return-on-investment more effectively and more
readily optimize their budgets.”

The article, “Towards
a Digital Attribution Model: Measuring the Impact of Display Advertising
on Online Consumer Behavior,” is forthcoming in MIS
Quarterly and was nominated for a Best Paper Award at the 2015
INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST).

To speak with Professor Ghose, please contact him directly
at 212-998-0807 or aghose@stern.nyu.edu,
or contact Janine Savarese in NYU Stern’s Office of Public Affairs at
212-998-8082 or jsavarese@stern.nyu.edu
or Niamh Roberts at 212-998-0615 or nroberts@stern.nyu.edu. To
contact Professor Todri, please contact her directly at vtodri@stern.nyu.edu.

Contacts

NYU Stern
Professor Anindya Ghose, 212-998-0807
aghose@stern.nyu.edu
or
Janine
Savarese, 212-998-8082
jsavarese@stern.nyu.edu
or
Niamh
Roberts, 212-998-0615
nroberts@stern.nyu.edu