Less than 25 percent of digital campaigns are being measured using brand uplift studies, and the majority of brand effectiveness measurement is conducted by media owners to justify spend, as opposed to independent research for brand-led strategic planning.

Yet brands who more frequently measure digital brand impact and employ the results strategically see higher shifts in brand awareness, of up to 20 percent, than those who measure infrequently, demonstrating how brand research drives brand health.

The stats come from On Device Research’s first ‘State of Digital Brand Measurement’ study, conducted in partnership with Data Stories Consulting. The study is based on qualitative and quantitative interviews conducted with 19 senior agency leaders from Dentsu Aegis, Mediacom, PHD, Mindshare, Publicis, Starcom and OMD from July to October 2019. Alongside the results, the study it includes a series of key considerations and best practice for advertisers, agencies and research suppliers.

“While agencies claim that the majority of digital ads are assessed using brand metrics, the majority of campaign measurement reports employ behavioural and delivery metrics such as clicks, likes or video views, as brand proxies, despite the fact they have no proven link to brand uplift,” said On Device CEO, Alistair Hill. “We hope the insights revealed in the report enable brands, agencies and their media partners to dig deeper into the true brand impact of their digital advertising campaigns.”

The overwhelming consensus from the research is that the advertisers who are getting the most out of digital brand measurement are those who apply learnings from research studies to future planning strategies. Further research from On Device Research has confirmed that advertisers who measure brand impact multiple times have enjoyed higher brand awareness shifts, of up to 20 per cent, than those who have only measured digital brand impact once.