Study Seeks Value in Brand Chatter On Social Networks
Study Seeks Value In Brand Chatter On Social Networks
by Tobi Elkin, Tuesday, Apr 24, 2007 6:00 AM ET
A STUDY CONDUCTED JOINTLY BY Fox Interactive Media's MySpace and Carat
USA's Isobar finds that campaigns taking place within social networks,
while difficult to quantify, do in fact deliver value for marketers.
The "Never-Ending Friending" study identified a metric dubbed the
"Momentum Effect" by Marketing Evolution, a marketing, measurement and
consulting firm. The metric attempts to quantify the impact of a brand
within a social network beyond traditional advertising impressions to
encompass the viral power of consumer-to-consumer communication.
The findings of the study--conducted over the course of six months with
partners TNS, TRU and Marketing Evolution--were presented at a MySpace
client summit in Los Angeles on Monday.
"We wanted to answer the question everyone has: 'How do we define
success in social media?'" said Heidi Browning, senior vice president
of client solutions for Fox Interactive. "Advertising on MySpace is new
to everyone. The way most marketers are doing it is building their own
communities or microsites within the network. When people come to
visit, they can click through on ads, see their own friends there--they
can participate. You can add that brand as a 'friend' and bring it into
your personal network," Browning said.
Many marketers remain confused and frustrated over how to measure the
impact and return on investment of their campaigns with MySpace and
other social networks. The lack of any real metrics and standards makes
it challenging for marketers to go beyond throwing experimental media
dollars into Web 2.0 and 3.0 environments to allocating more
substantial budgets.
The study involved quantitative and qualitative feedback from nearly
3,000 U.S. Internet users, as well as MySpace clients for in-depth case
studies.
Among the study's key findings: Social networks have spurred a major
shift in the way people interact with each other and with media with
more than 70% of Americans ages 15 to 34 actively participating in
online social networks. The findings also revealed that people are
engaging with them during prime-time business and school hours as well.
Isobar clients Adidas and Electronic Arts, both of which have run
significant campaigns on MySpace, participated in the study, which
attributed more than 70% of their marketing return on investment to the
"Momentum Effect."
Both marketers detailed the results of their campaigns (Adidas compared
two running show launches, EA debuted a new game) in the study, which
sought to quantify what the effect is for marketers of consumers going
beyond clicking on an ad.
For example, what is the value of an Adidas brand champion adorning his
MySpace home page with Adidas-branded wallpaper? What is the value of
such an action, particularly as that person's friends encounter it?
"We looked at awareness levels, responses to an ad, the number of
people who came to the custom community--and asked what the exponential
value of the conversation happening in the social network is," Browning
said. In other words, what value can be placed on the brand chatter
among friends in your network?
One MySpace member, a 27-year-old male, noted, "I don't want brands to
advertise to me, I want them to be my friends." Browning said people
demand a different kind of relationship with "their" brands, and that
this calls for alternative communications strategies.
Fox Interactive plans to extend the study to more marketers and share
the findings. "Our plan is to make this research as turnkey as possible
and to partner with clients," Browning added.
Sarah Fay, president of Isobar, and a veteran interactive marketing
strategist, said the problem of quantifying the return on investment
from social network involvement continues to be a challenge for
marketers and the industry.
"We've been pretty enthusiastic about recommending social networking
for online campaigns knowing that there was value past the impressions
delivered," she said. "We had a sense of the 'Momentum Effect' but we
couldn't quantify it. The Marketing Evolution piece of this helps us
understand that a lot better. Granted it's only two clients. We're not
sure if it's the pinnacle of what you can achieve, but it's a first
stake in the ground. It's not like it all ends here."
The research, Fay said, suggested that 70% of the value of the program
was attributed to the viral effect beyond merely purchased media.
"That's a lot of added value."
Isobar clients Adidas and EA--and Reebok, which didn't participate in
the study--know social networks are right for their brands. "But
because this is new, not everyone can envision it right away. You can
tap in and use social networking platforms for all kinds of brands but
as with everything, there is a finesse involved. It really is all about
the creative strategy," Fay observed.
The "Momentum Effect' can be a real "accelerator to any kind of media
program if you're able to tap into the consumer-to consumer benefit,"
Fay said, adding that marketers need to activate the community for
their brand.
The new study also found that more than 40% of all social networkers
said they use social networking sites to learn more about brands or
products that they like, and 28% said at some point a friend has
recommended a brand or product to them.
Also, the vast majority of time on social networks was spent connecting
with family and friends as opposed to meeting new people. Of those
polled, 69% said they use social networks to connect with existing
friends and 41% said they use the sites to connect with family members.
In addition, the study revealed that current social networkers spend on
average more than seven hours per week on social networking sites, and
that those hours are driving the growth of overall time spent online.
More than 31% of online social networkers claim they spend more time on
the Web in general after starting to use a social network. They were
also more inclined to engage in other entertainment media and
activities including listening to music, playing games and talking on
their mobile phone.
The study was conducted in a series of focus groups by TRU of MySpace
users in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. An online survey of 3,000+
U.S. panelists ages 14 to 40 was conducted by TNS and included three
segments: MySpace users, social networkers from other sites, and
non-social networkers.
Finally, detailed case studies including behavioral tracking and survey
measurement with two MySpace clients, adidas and Electronic Arts were
conducted by ROI measurement firm Marketing Evolution.
Tobi Elkin is Editor-at-Large, MediaPost. Email her at telkin@mediapost.com
by Tobi Elkin, Tuesday, Apr 24, 2007 6:00 AM ET
A STUDY CONDUCTED JOINTLY BY Fox Interactive Media's MySpace and Carat
USA's Isobar finds that campaigns taking place within social networks,
while difficult to quantify, do in fact deliver value for marketers.
The "Never-Ending Friending" study identified a metric dubbed the
"Momentum Effect" by Marketing Evolution, a marketing, measurement and
consulting firm. The metric attempts to quantify the impact of a brand
within a social network beyond traditional advertising impressions to
encompass the viral power of consumer-to-consumer communication.
The findings of the study--conducted over the course of six months with
partners TNS, TRU and Marketing Evolution--were presented at a MySpace
client summit in Los Angeles on Monday.
"We wanted to answer the question everyone has: 'How do we define
success in social media?'" said Heidi Browning, senior vice president
of client solutions for Fox Interactive. "Advertising on MySpace is new
to everyone. The way most marketers are doing it is building their own
communities or microsites within the network. When people come to
visit, they can click through on ads, see their own friends there--they
can participate. You can add that brand as a 'friend' and bring it into
your personal network," Browning said.
Many marketers remain confused and frustrated over how to measure the
impact and return on investment of their campaigns with MySpace and
other social networks. The lack of any real metrics and standards makes
it challenging for marketers to go beyond throwing experimental media
dollars into Web 2.0 and 3.0 environments to allocating more
substantial budgets.
The study involved quantitative and qualitative feedback from nearly
3,000 U.S. Internet users, as well as MySpace clients for in-depth case
studies.
Among the study's key findings: Social networks have spurred a major
shift in the way people interact with each other and with media with
more than 70% of Americans ages 15 to 34 actively participating in
online social networks. The findings also revealed that people are
engaging with them during prime-time business and school hours as well.
Isobar clients Adidas and Electronic Arts, both of which have run
significant campaigns on MySpace, participated in the study, which
attributed more than 70% of their marketing return on investment to the
"Momentum Effect."
Both marketers detailed the results of their campaigns (Adidas compared
two running show launches, EA debuted a new game) in the study, which
sought to quantify what the effect is for marketers of consumers going
beyond clicking on an ad.
For example, what is the value of an Adidas brand champion adorning his
MySpace home page with Adidas-branded wallpaper? What is the value of
such an action, particularly as that person's friends encounter it?
"We looked at awareness levels, responses to an ad, the number of
people who came to the custom community--and asked what the exponential
value of the conversation happening in the social network is," Browning
said. In other words, what value can be placed on the brand chatter
among friends in your network?
One MySpace member, a 27-year-old male, noted, "I don't want brands to
advertise to me, I want them to be my friends." Browning said people
demand a different kind of relationship with "their" brands, and that
this calls for alternative communications strategies.
Fox Interactive plans to extend the study to more marketers and share
the findings. "Our plan is to make this research as turnkey as possible
and to partner with clients," Browning added.
Sarah Fay, president of Isobar, and a veteran interactive marketing
strategist, said the problem of quantifying the return on investment
from social network involvement continues to be a challenge for
marketers and the industry.
"We've been pretty enthusiastic about recommending social networking
for online campaigns knowing that there was value past the impressions
delivered," she said. "We had a sense of the 'Momentum Effect' but we
couldn't quantify it. The Marketing Evolution piece of this helps us
understand that a lot better. Granted it's only two clients. We're not
sure if it's the pinnacle of what you can achieve, but it's a first
stake in the ground. It's not like it all ends here."
The research, Fay said, suggested that 70% of the value of the program
was attributed to the viral effect beyond merely purchased media.
"That's a lot of added value."
Isobar clients Adidas and EA--and Reebok, which didn't participate in
the study--know social networks are right for their brands. "But
because this is new, not everyone can envision it right away. You can
tap in and use social networking platforms for all kinds of brands but
as with everything, there is a finesse involved. It really is all about
the creative strategy," Fay observed.
The "Momentum Effect' can be a real "accelerator to any kind of media
program if you're able to tap into the consumer-to consumer benefit,"
Fay said, adding that marketers need to activate the community for
their brand.
The new study also found that more than 40% of all social networkers
said they use social networking sites to learn more about brands or
products that they like, and 28% said at some point a friend has
recommended a brand or product to them.
Also, the vast majority of time on social networks was spent connecting
with family and friends as opposed to meeting new people. Of those
polled, 69% said they use social networks to connect with existing
friends and 41% said they use the sites to connect with family members.
In addition, the study revealed that current social networkers spend on
average more than seven hours per week on social networking sites, and
that those hours are driving the growth of overall time spent online.
More than 31% of online social networkers claim they spend more time on
the Web in general after starting to use a social network. They were
also more inclined to engage in other entertainment media and
activities including listening to music, playing games and talking on
their mobile phone.
The study was conducted in a series of focus groups by TRU of MySpace
users in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. An online survey of 3,000+
U.S. panelists ages 14 to 40 was conducted by TNS and included three
segments: MySpace users, social networkers from other sites, and
non-social networkers.
Finally, detailed case studies including behavioral tracking and survey
measurement with two MySpace clients, adidas and Electronic Arts were
conducted by ROI measurement firm Marketing Evolution.
Tobi Elkin is Editor-at-Large, MediaPost. Email her at telkin@mediapost.com
Powered by ScribeFire.
