Summit marketers get more proof that the Internet drives brick-and-mortar revenues.

The interactive advertising industry is intimately familiar with the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) past and present Cross Media Optimization (XMOS) discoveries. The organization has spent the last several years linking online ads and branding effectiveness as they pertain to some of the biggest brands, and has made significant headway in convincing marketers to spend a larger portion of their ad budgets online.

On the second day of the iMedia Brand Summit last week, a panel of experts added a new layer to existing research, by linking increased online ad spending with not only increased brand awareness, but something more tangible -- sales.

Mediasmith president David Smith kicked off the panel by presenting topline findings of the MSN Media Accountability Study, which set out to prove that the Web works wonders not only for direct response, business-to-business and ecommerce, but also for consumer goods sold through retail.

The study, conducted by MSN in conjunction with Rex Briggs of Marketing Evolution, analyzed the online component of ad campaigns conducted by Nestlé’s Coffee-Mate and Kraft’s Jell-o brands and found that the Web can indeed provide media impact equal to or better than other media effective at branding.

Full details of the study have not yet been publicly unveiled, but Smith shared that in both cases, online advertising contributes to a healthy brand both in sales and differentiation, the study found. 

Todd Manion, director of CRM and ebusiness at Nestlé, commented that the results of the study confirm that the Internet is “a medium we finally have to deal with,” because online does increase offline sales.

Marketing Evolution’s Briggs said that three factors make this study different from the 1,500 previously conducted around the industry. First, he said that early studies looked at online in isolation, which is a mistake.

“You have to look at it in the context of an overall marketing mix,” he said.

The second big breakthrough is the correlations with sales.

Third, he said, “it’s not just data; it’s part of the planning process.”

Kraft Global Marketing Resource and innovation division’s director of e-communications, advertising and strategy Carole Walker said the study will contribute significantly to increasing the low level of spend that online “always gets.”