Soft drinks brands underestimate online advertising

By Jemima Bokaie, Marketing, Wednesday, 27 February 2008 12:00PM

Online advertising for soft drinks brands is almost three times more effective than marketers believe, according to fresh research by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).

The study, which examined advertising campaigns for four major soft drinks brands - Coke Zero, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Max and Powerade - found that marketers devote an average of 8.5% of their total media budget to the web despite the fact that it contributes 24% to total brand engagement.

It also showed that TV and press advertising are the strongest drivers of brand engagement, contributing 43% and 32% respectively.

Other findings from the survey, conducted by aevolve, showed that consumer engagement with soft drinks brands is determined by five factors: taste (43.2%), affinity (35.3%), differentiation (9.4%), salience (2.6%) and health (8.8%).

Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the IAB, said: ‘Combining TV and print with online display ads is a powerful, proven method for delivering higher returns on investment. Striving for resonance is also a powerful driver of brand engagement and ultimately sales. We hope that this study will convince more FMCG marketers to allocate greater budgets to online.'

This article was first published on Marketing