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Research by Wunderman Finds Link Between Brand Building and Search Engine Use By Consumers
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New York, Feb 9, 2010 -- – Initial research conducted by Wunderman, BrandAsset® Consulting, ZAAZ and Compete has found that the search engine consumers use to find a brand’s website impacts their perception of that brand and impacts their decisions made while they’re on the site.
“Search begins with the choice of search engine,” said David Sable, vice chairman and COO of Wunderman, one of the companies involved in the research. “What this means if you are managing a brand is this: you need to know how consumers relate to Bing, Yahoo! or Google and how that reflects on you.”
In this first-of-its-kind research, loyal users of Bing, Yahoo! and Google were found to have distinct characteristics that benefit some brands more than others. The research was funded by Wunderman, BrandAsset® Consulting, ZAAZ and Compete exclusively.
“This
research demonstrates that marketers have a real choice to make when
formulating search strategies,” said Shane Atchison, CEO of
ZAAZ. “The search engine acts as a kind of
‘train’ on the Internet. Each train provides a
different set of unique results or ‘destinations.’
Consumer preference for a specific train demonstrates a unique
demographic and psychographic profile.”
The research finds that the search experience on different search
engines yields different results, with some being more relevant to the
consumer than others. This, according to the research, contributes to
overall customer and brand awareness. If the results of the search
satisfy the needs of the consumer, then the search engine has greater
appeal to that potential customer and he or she will have a deeper
connection to the brand and the search engine. Therefore, the research
indicates, search engines provide different degrees of a
“brand lift” to the destination site.
The study finds two distinct reasons why different brands do better
with different search engines:
- It’s About Who You Are: The demographic and psychographic profile of each loyal search engine user is different. Bing users, for example, tend to be mostly from the tip of the adoption curve (innovators and early adopters) where Yahoo! and Google’s passengers tend to be middle majority (see accompanying chart).
- It’s About the Road You Take: Each search engine delivers a different result, whether paid for or earned. In the brands and vertical categories studied (automotive, travel, retail, and wireless), each search engine demonstrated different degrees of consumer engagement ranging from visiting to finally purchasing.
Consumer search engine preference says something about, “who
I am” and, “how I act.” Within a product
category, users of each search engine showed a propensity for enhanced
involvement with a particular brand. Below are examples in three
different categories.
Retail
In the case of Walmart, Bing’s loyalists visit, shop, and,
ultimately purchase more than other search engine loyalists.
- For category definitions of degrees of engagement, refer to legend below.
For Target and Amazon, Bing and Yahoo! are gaining on Google in converting its loyal users.
Travel
In the travel sector, the data indicates that Google leads the category
in conversion.
Wireless
Yahoo! loyal users showed a greater number of visits to AT&T
Wireless websites than either Bing or Google users. In addition, Yahoo!
loyal users were more likely to purchase wireless goods and services
than Bing or Google users.
Search engine marketing has
become more competitive since the introduction of Bing within
the last six months. Despite longer tenures for Google and
Yahoo!, Bing has established a foundation of loyal users whose
engagement with brands is substantial.
Automotives
Google demonstrates category consistency from first visit through to
actual purchase. Google loyalists constituted a
greater number of visits to Lexus websites than either Bing or Yahoo
users. Bing users show a greater number of visits and a propensity to
buy Toyota than either Google or Yahoo users.
“What this
means for marketers is the need to choose their search engines wisely.
The search engine which performs well at the brand level may not
necessarily perform as well at the category level. Under spend on one
search and you’re likely leaving money on the table or in
your competitors’ hands.” said Ed Lebar, CEO,
BrandAsset® Consulting.
Research
Methodology
The
research concentrated on loyal brand search users of Yahoo!, Google and
Bing investigating:
- The correlation between brand awareness and search efficacy;
- How search engines are changing consumer behavior;
About Wunderman
Wunderman is the original architect of response-driven marketing, an
estimated trillion dollar global industry. Today, with 50+
years of innovation, creativity, and insight, Wunderman stands as the
first name in advertising that delivers measurable results. Throughout
its network of 120+ offices in 50+ countries and 15+ specialized
companies, Wunderman speaks the customer’s
language—whatever the dialect—at the right time,
creating profitable conversations that build brands and generate sales.
Wunderman is part of Young & Rubicam Brands and a member of WPP
About
BrandAsset® Consulting
BrandAsset® Consulting helps business executives, investors and
marketers assess and drive the strategic direction and intangible value
of brands. BAC has created proprietary models and metrics using the
world's most comprehensive database of brands. Its BrandAsset®
Valuator model has measured brands since 1993 and today over 35,000
brands have been evaluated among over 600,000 respondents in over 50
countries. Brand Asset Consulting is part of Young & Rubicam
Brands.
Compete, a Kantar Media
company, helps the world's top brands improve
their marketing based on the online behavior of millions of consumers.
Leading marketers such as Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Hyundai Motor
America, Upromise, Chrysler, and Verizon Wireless rely on Compete's
services to create effective online experiences and highly profitable
advertising campaigns. Compete's online behavior database—the
largest in the industry—makes the Web as ingrained in
marketing as it is in people's lives. Compete was founded in 2000 and
is located in Boston, MA, with offices throughout the U.S. For more
information about us, please visit www.competeinc.com/,
or to join the conversation visit www.compete.com/.
ZAAZ employs a unique combination of logic and creativity to achieve positive business results for clients large and small. ZAAZ provides web strategy, creative design, user experience, web analytics, and site- and search-optimization services. The combination of strategic planning, smart execution and comprehensive analytics to scientifically measure and optimize the customer experience sets ZAAZ apart from other interactive agencies and its approach complements Wunderman’s “test and run” optimization philosophy. Founded in 1998, ZAAZ became part of Wunderman in July 2006.