Marketers need to demonstrate advertising value beyond surface-level data like clicks and views. These metrics don’t reveal how a campaign influences a person’s thoughts or feelings about a brand. A brand lift study is designed to measure the real-world impact of advertising on audience perception. This provides a clearer picture of a campaign’s effectiveness.
What is a Brand Lift Study?
A brand lift study is a form of market research that measures how an advertising campaign influences consumer attitudes and behaviors. The goal is to quantify the change in brand perception directly attributable to a specific campaign. This is achieved by dividing a target audience into two distinct groups. The first is the “exposed” or “test” group, which sees the advertising, while the second is the “control” group, a statistically similar audience that does not.
By surveying both groups and comparing their responses, analysts can measure the difference in perception. This measured difference is the “lift,” representing the value the campaign added. Instead of just knowing how many people saw an ad, a brand lift study reveals if the ad successfully made the brand more memorable or desirable.
The Purpose of a Brand Lift Study
Businesses use brand lift studies to understand their advertising’s return on investment. The findings offer evidence of a campaign’s effectiveness, which is valuable for justifying marketing budgets. By showing a measurable increase in brand favorability or purchase intent, marketers can demonstrate that their spending is generating value.
The insights gathered are also used for strategic planning and campaign optimization. The studies reveal which messages, creative elements, or ad formats resonate most with the target audience. This data allows marketing teams to refine their approach for future campaigns, allocating resources to the most effective strategies. Ultimately, these studies help marketers understand if an ad made a difference in how people think and feel about their brand.
Key Metrics Measured
Ad Recall
Ad recall measures if an individual remembers seeing a particular advertisement, gauging the memorability of a campaign. In a study, this is assessed by asking both groups a direct question, such as, “Do you recall seeing an ad for [Brand X] in the last two days?” A significant difference in positive responses between the groups indicates the ad was memorable.
Brand Awareness
Brand awareness gauges how much a campaign increases the audience’s recognition of the brand. This metric is important for new companies or those entering a competitive market. A survey might ask, “Which of the following companies have you heard of?” with the advertiser’s brand listed among competitors. A higher recognition from the exposed group demonstrates a lift in awareness.
Consideration
Consideration assesses if a consumer will think about using a brand when they are in the market for a product or service. This metric measures a campaign’s ability to place the brand in the consumer’s set of potential choices. A survey question could be, “When you are thinking about purchasing [product category], which brands come to mind?” The goal is to see a higher incidence of the advertised brand being named by the exposed group.
Purchase Intent
Purchase intent is a measure of the probability that a consumer plans to buy a product after seeing an advertisement. It is a strong indicator of a campaign’s power to drive future sales. Questions are specific, such as, “Based on the ad you saw, how likely are you to purchase [Product X] in the next month?” A higher stated intent from the exposed group signals the campaign is moving consumers toward a transaction.
Favorability
Favorability measures the campaign’s impact on the audience’s overall opinion of the brand. This metric helps determine if the advertising improved how people feel about the company. Surveys might ask participants to rate their opinion of a brand on a scale. A positive shift in the ratings from the exposed group shows the campaign successfully generated goodwill.
How Brand Lift Studies Work
The execution of a brand lift study follows a structured process. The first step is establishing a baseline understanding of brand perception. This is done by conducting an initial survey before the campaign launches to gauge existing attitudes toward the brand.
Next, the target audience is randomly divided into the control and exposed groups. This random assignment ensures both groups are statistically identical, so any differences in their responses can be attributed to the ad campaign.
Once the campaign is active, surveys are deployed to both groups. These surveys contain questions designed to measure the key metrics. The timing of these surveys can vary to measure immediate impact or lasting effects.
The final step is the analysis, where responses from the exposed group are compared against the control group. The difference between the two sets of answers reveals the “lift.” For example, if 8% of the control group and 12% of the exposed group expressed purchase intent, the absolute lift would be 4 percentage points.
Conducting Your Own Brand Lift Study
For businesses looking to implement a brand lift study, several accessible options are available. Most major digital advertising platforms have integrated brand lift testing tools into their systems. Platforms like Google, Meta, TikTok, and LinkedIn offer automated solutions that simplify setting up and running a study.
These tools handle the creation of control and exposed groups, survey delivery, and data analysis. The process is often guided, allowing marketers to select the key metrics they want to measure before launching their campaign. These built-in tools are often available to advertisers who meet certain spending thresholds and provide a convenient way to gather insights.
For more complex research needs, such as measuring lift across multiple platforms or including offline channels, businesses can partner with third-party market research firms. These companies offer more customized studies, can design comprehensive surveys, and provide a deeper level of analysis for a holistic view of a campaign’s influence.