The survey confirms that a cohesive ad-website presentation improves consumers' reactions.
For more on the structure of this week's test, please refer to Monday's article. Our method of evaluation is a questionnaire, with five questions covering site expectations, purchase intent, optimal price point, usage and brand perception. For the specific questions and multiple choice options, again, please refer to Monday's introductory article. We worked with Offermatica to develop the methodology for this test, and their technology is powering the popup survey, the site content management and the data collection.
Let's take a look at the data from the questionnaire and see how the responses went.
Test Results
In the data below, Group A saw the site style that included the ad imagery references. Group B saw the site style that didn't include ad-based imagery.
The first thing to note is that those who experienced a consistent theme between the ad and the website were far more likely to respond to the survey. If featuring similar themes like the historical figure imagery from the online ad to the site creates a sense of familiarity and thus relaxation, then it would track that those people would be more likely to participate in the questionnaire. Conversely, if the site experience is jarringly different from the online ad, visitors are less likely to "play along."
Chart 1, Question 1 asks point blank if what they saw on the site was what they were expecting. In general, the responses were positive regarding the site content. The question itself is a little tricky, since we can assume that the visitor probably has not heard of either liquid sugar or Sugarshots. Although we focused the question on the site content as clearly as possible, some respondents may have thought we were asking whether the product was what they were expecting.
Looking at the numbers, those who saw the ad's graphic theme reflected in the site were on average about 11 percent more likely to say the site offered what they expected.
Chart A, Question 2 asks, "How interested are you in buying this product?" Here again, those who experienced continuity between the ad and the website were 17 percent more likely to have an interest in purchasing the product.
Chart A: Questions 1 - 3
1. Does this site offer what you were expecting?
| TOTAL | YES (1) | % | NO (0) | % | SCORE | |
| GROUP A (new) | 23 | 17 | 73.91 | 6 | 26.09 | 0.74 |
| GROUP B (default) | 12 | 8 | 66.671 | 4 | 33.33 | 0.67 |
| LIFT = | 11 % | |||||
2. How interested are you in buying this product?
| TOTAL | Extremely(5) | Somewhat(4) | Neither Y NOR N (3) | Not Very (2) | Not at All (1) | SCORE | |
| GROUP A (new) | 24 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3.79 |
| GROUP B (default) | 12 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3.25 |
| LIFT = | 17 % | ||||||
3. What do you expect to pay for a 12.5 oz bottle of Sugarshots?
| TOTAL | $9.99 | $7.99 | $5.99 | $3.99 | NFM | SCORE | |
| GROUP A (new) | 24 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 2 | $4.66 |
| GROUP B (default) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 4.19 |
| LIFT = | 11 % | ||||||
Chart A, Question 3 asks what price they'd expect to pay for a bottle of Sugarshots. While prices were low overall, our Group A once again felt more value in the product, placing the expected price point 11 percent higher than Group B.
One thing we should note is that we didn't quite reach statistical significance with this survey. We would have liked to have had at least 100 respondents for each test branch. As it stands, the data should be referenced as not final, but showing strong trending in a consistent direction towards the cohesive ad/site experience.
Summary
In Monday's article we covered the idea that behavioral scientists and marketers understand the importance of creating an experience that matches expectations as much as possible, because an alien or unfamiliar experience creates tension. Alternately, relaxation and comfort are the big keys to leading someone down a sales or conversion path.
What all of this points to is the idea of utilizing all testing input and all online tracking studies to better understand and meet the interests and needs of our target audience. As we start to gain a better understanding of them and how we can relate to them, we should apply those findings across all communication vehicles. When we do that, we are creating a consistent, cohesive marketing environment, not just between the banner and the site, but also across all customer touch-points.
To be sure, certain promotions and target-specific campaigns will always exist outside the brand umbrella. And this test seems to indicate that even under those circumstances, a certain amount of cohesion and consistency is good.
One thing to keep in mind is that this test focuses on meeting visitors' expectations. Creatively speaking, we should be trying to completely exceed their expectations by striving to get the visitor so engrossed in our content or experience that what they saw five minutes ago in an ad is of no consequence, and instead, they're completely focused on what's down the road.
I mentioned that we worked with Offermatica on the technology and methodology for this test. Jamie Roche, president of Offermatica, had the following to say regarding what they're seeing in regards to creating the ideal ad/website experience: "We're beginning to see a trend that suggests a different approach to integrating the ad and the site experience. Instead of just creating visual similarity between the ad and the site, we think of the experience from the ad through the site (possibly multiple visits) as a narrative. The ad has a role, the first page has a role, the next page has a role, and so on. The 'hand-off' between one step and the next should be gentle, thus the consistent visual cues, but also should advance the narrative. We feel that if we reinforced the visual AND progress the visitor through the sales 'funnel' by delivering the next layer of information, we are more likely to increase the conversion on the site."
If there's a single takeaway from all this, it could be that people are generally cognizant of online advertising, and they're cognizant of the sites they're visiting. They may not think they are, or want to admit it, but the numbers say differently. They're forming opinions on what they see and reacting in calculable, understandable ways. When developing online communications, we need to make the experience as complete and immersive as possible. Maybe not everyone will notice, but a significant portion of the audience might. And if we can get them involved, and move the needle a little more, then that could prove the difference between success and failure of the campaign.