Integrated Solutions. Measurable Results.

April 2010
360i Point of View on
Nielsen and Facebook’s
Advertising Effectiveness Study
Overview
Nielsen and Facebook recently released a study outlining the positive relationship between paid and
earned media on brand awareness and engagement metrics. The study is the first joint research
report from the two companies following their September 2009 announcement that they were
partnering to develop quantifiable brand-focused measurement for advertisers on Facebook.

This most recent white paper outlines the cumulative results of their “BrandLift” studies across 14
Facebook campaigns.

What prompted the study?

As social marketing continues to evolve, marketers, agencies and publishers have been
struggling to understand the impact of social channels on driving brand metrics – and, more
importantly, how to measure and compare this impact alongside traditional brand media
channels. Measuring brand awareness, ad recall and purchase intent within the context of
Facebook advertising will help marketers understand the value of running paid and earned
media together and could inform larger decisions around their media mix and budget allocation.

This study helps to answer that question. Using data from more than 800,000 Facebook users,
Nielsen has been able to point to the impact that paid and earned media, when working
together, can have on a brand’s key business drivers.

Methodology
To complete the BrandLift study, Facebook served an ad to 99% of users (test group) who fit
the brand’s defined target audience and assigned the remaining 1% to a control group who
were not served the ad impression.

The test group saw the Facebook

impression in question, while the control
group did not. The study measured the
impact of 3 types of media on Facebook:
The Homepage Ad, The Social Impression
and the Organic Impression.

Participants were categorized based on

what type of impression they were exposed to. 24 hours after the ad exposure, a sample of
both exposed and control users were served Nielsen BrandLift Polls and the impact of the ad is
measured against those poll results.

Nielsen BrandLift polls are one or two question surveys that are an integrated part of the
Facebook experience.

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© 2010 360i LLC. All Rights Reserved

 Integrated Solutions. Measurable Results.

April 2010
360i Point of View on
Nielsen and Facebook’s
Advertising Effectiveness Study

BrandLift poll
integrated within
site experience

Sponsored
Homepage Ad on
Facebook

Why is this important to marketers?

Looking at the bigger picture, this study highlights the importance and impact of online media,
both paid and earned, on driving brand metrics. Social marketing as earned media is becoming a
bigger part of the marketing mix, but is often planned and evaluated separately from traditional
digital media channels. Thus far, there has not been a definitive study showing the
complementary connection between paid and earned media. Nor has there been the framework
through which marketers and agencies can plan these two mediums together.

To date, the most common form of measurement on Facebook has been direct response based.
Campaigns are evaluated based on eCPM, cost-per-click or-cost-per-fan. “Fanning” (or “Liking”) a
page can indicate a deeper connection to a brand and extend the campaign reach, but the effect
of this endorsement on the overall media campaign and awareness of the brand has never before
been quantified by Facebook. Brands interested in the effect of their Facebook advertising on

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© 2010 360i LLC. All Rights Reserved

 Integrated Solutions. Measurable Results.

April 2010
360i Point of View on
Nielsen and Facebook’s
Advertising Effectiveness Study
awareness, recall or purchase intent have used
polls in their advertising or leveraged their fan
base to ask questions. With a BrandLift study,
marketers can explicitly measure the lift in
these metrics and evaluate against other
marketing tactics, which are being measured
the same way.

The results can also show marketers the

impact of their advertising within different
environments. For instance, the study showed
a 15 point jump in awareness for consumers
who exposed to 10+ organic impressions.
Within standard display campaigns, frequency
is usually capped at 5-10 impressions, with the
belief that anything over that won’t impact
awareness.

Next steps for marketers

Marketers need to begin looking at paid and earned media initiatives as complementary and know
that planning them together can impact brand metrics. Marketers and their agencies will need to
develop strategies that include both, clearly laying out how they’ll play off each other.

When developing the strategy, marketers and agencies should think about:

• How will the paid media investment drive earned media volume?
• Who will be seeing the paid ad (target audience)?
• What’s the pass-along factor? What will motivate consumers to share it?
• How will they ensure that their main message remains a part of the conversation?
• What does the organic impression look like?
• What are the goals of the campaign?
• What are other ways we can measure the effect of paid and earned media across
multiple platforms beyond Facebook?

There are a variety of tools that can help measure brand metrics. Nielsen’s BrandLift is the only
one that uses Facebook as a research panel. Beginning later this year, Nielsen will begin selling
the BrandLift study to brands that are advertising off of Facebook. For these brands, the Facebook
audience will still serve as the research panel. Nielsen and Facebook, working through a third
party, will be able to identify a user who sees an ad off of Facebook and serve that user a poll
when he or she is on Facebook. There will be no personally identifiable information passed.

According to Nielsen, there is a 60-80% overlap between Facebook and most large sites.

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© 2010 360i LLC. All Rights Reserved

 Integrated Solutions. Measurable Results.

April 2010
360i Point of View on
Nielsen and Facebook’s
Advertising Effectiveness Study
Additionally, Facebook’s population, when compared to Nielsen’s current NetView panel, hugs the
mean. Given this data, Nielsen believes that it’s an ample group from which to sample.

There are questions around whether running a poll only on Facebook will accurately measure the
effect of a non-Facebook campaign. With other brand awareness surveys such as Dynamic Logic or
Insight Express, surveys run on sites where the advertising has already appeared. That being said,
Facebook’s audience can serve as a representative panel. Polling is a part of the Facebook
experience and users may be more inclined to participate in the study, thus delivering quicker
results.

If there is no budget for a study, marketers can continue to utilize polls and direct communication
with their fan base on Facebook. There is also the opportunity to create A/B message tests and
evaluate response. Without a commissioned study, however, it will be difficult to accurately
measure lift across brand metrics.

Marketers who are already investing in or considering investing in non-DR related efforts on
Facebook should consider a BrandLift study if they are interested in quantifying the results of
these efforts.

• Entertainment marketers can measure the impact of social advocacy on movie premiere
attendance or tune in for a television series premiere.
• Consumer packaged goods brands can evaluate the impact of “mom” and her Facebook
friends on purchase intent
• Retailers looking to rebrand themselves for specific markets can measure the effectiveness
of that messaging on ad recall

Bravo utilized paid and earned media to promote the season finale of Top Chef. They hosted a
virtual viewing party and used paid media on Facebook encouraging users to RSVP to the event. In
addition to the social and organic impressions resulting from these efforts, they also supported the
initiative with community management on their Facebook page and tweets to their followers. The
program is a great example of paid media working in harmony with the brand’s “earned” or
conversational/social media. Paid media extended the reach of the campaign and resulted in even
higher social engagement and organic impressions.

While these are just examples, the key to making results actionable is to answer the questions we
outlined above and ensure that paid and earned media are planned to support each other.

Concluding Thoughts
Marketers and agencies cannot continue to plan paid and earned media separately. We’ve seen
campaigns that have driven high traffic volume to social experiences, only to have the
communication stop there. On the flip side, there are wonderful social experiences out there that
have little traffic because there has been no paid media support.

NEW YORK | ATLANTA | CHICAGO | DETROIT | SAN FRANCISCO | LONDON | info@360i.com | 888.360.9630

© 2010 360i LLC. All Rights Reserved

 Integrated Solutions. Measurable Results.

April 2010
360i Point of View on
Nielsen and Facebook’s
Advertising Effectiveness Study
When planning a campaign that’s meant to engage consumers beyond the initial click, it’s
imperative that consumer behavior and social context are taken into account. Marketers and
agencies have the ability to drive that behavior by including the right tools and support to help
their audience connect with their brand and amplify their message.

Nielsen and Facebook’s study is informative in itself. More importantly, it shows the commitment
to big players in the digital space to start helping brand marketers understand the value of both
paid and earned media. As measurement and reporting continue to integrate and become more
robust, marketers, agencies and publishers will find ways to weave the opportunity for social
endorsement into their campaigns.

Next Steps
Contact your strategic advisor to learn more about media strategy and measurement.

About 360i
360i is an award-winning digital communications agency that drives results for Fortune 500 marketers through insights,
ideas and technologies. 360i helps its clients think differently about their online presence and evolve their strategies to
take advantage of the new world of marketing communications – one where brands and consumers engage in
interactive and multi-directional conversations. Current clients include H&R Block, JCPenney, NBC Universal and Office
Depot, among others. For more information, please visit blog.360i.com or follow us on Twitter @360i.

NEW YORK | ATLANTA | CHICAGO | DETROIT | SAN FRANCISCO | LONDON | info@360i.com | 888.360.9630

© 2010 360i LLC. All Rights Reserved