Which Olympics TV ads drove consumer searches?

With a massive TV audience tuning in for the Rio 2016 coverage, it’s an important event for brands. So which TV ads have been most effective?

A post on the Google Analytics blog seeks to answer the following questions:

  1. Which ads were noticed by the audience (an estimated 26.5m viewers)?
  2. Which ads drove interest, shifted perception, and increased intent?
  3. And, which ads drove actual consumer response?

To find the answers, Google has used a combination of consumer surveys and ‘second-screen (mobile, desktop, and tablet) response data’ – search queries driven by the ads.

Awareness

The Coca-Cola ad was recalled by almost 35% of respondents, followed by Samsung and Chevy (23% and 22%).

awareness

Interest

Google surveyed people who had seen the ad, and those who hadn’t.

  • On average, respondents who saw the ads were 18% more positive about the brand in question than those who didn’t see it.
  • These respondents were also 16% more likely to find out more and/or purchase the product being advertised.

interest

An interesting side-point here is that the impact of ads on respondents’ feelings and purchase intent was exactly the same, whether or not the brands were official Olympics sponsors.

Consumer response

Responses were measured in the form of second screen searches, meaning that consumers picked up their smartphones and tablets after seeing the ads.

The McDonald’s ad achieved the greatest response, with 42% more searches then the average, followed by BMW and Samsung.

response

The importance of the second screen

These TV ad driven searches came overwhelmingly via mobile – 94% compared to an average of 56% for those brands when their ads were not showing. 

For brands, that means a presence on the TV screen isn’t complete without a strategy for small screens, as well.

As TV ads drive search behaviour, it’s important that brands have a strategy for these responses. This includes:

  • Get the search strategy right. If people search for the brand or product mentioned, will they find the right landing page? Do you need to buy PPC ads?
  • Ensure that landing pages are mobile-friendly. If responses are occurring on mobile devices, ad budget is wasted if respondents can’t easily view the page.
  • Ensure that landing pages back up the ad. Landing page design needs to reinforce the ad and ensure a smooth transition for the user.

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