In the past, comparing ad performance across media platforms has been a challenge for brands. Advertisers have asked us to help them better understand the effectiveness of Facebook ads compared to other forms of advertising—particularly TV ads. Advertisers are also looking for ways to unify metrics and reporting. In fact, 79% of marketers say they would prefer to use one set of metrics across all screens.(1)
Today, we’re introducing new measurement solutions that will enable advertisers to see the impact of their ad campaigns on both Facebook and TV, as well as the incremental impact of both platforms when used together. Nielsen Total Brand Effect with Lift and Facebook Cross-Platform Brand Lift both provide advertisers with the ability to evaluate the impact of their campaigns across Facebook and TV.
Two ways to run a cross-platform brand lift study
Nielsen Total Brand Effect with Lift: Available today, through our partnership with Nielsen, advertisers can interpret their cross-platform results as measured by Nielsen. This solution leverages Nielsen’s expertise in television measurement and its database of television programming to poll for TV ad exposure. Results are delivered independently by Nielsen. Nielsen Total Brand Effect with Lift is available now for eligible advertisers via their Facebook representative. For a more holistic view of effectiveness advertisers can couple their brand measurement with cross platform reach measurement Nielsen Total Ad Ratings (TAR). TAR and Total Brand Effect give the marketer a read on the relative reach and efficiency of spend across an entire campaign.
The product is currently available in both the US and the UK, and will also be available in Australia by the end of the year.
Results from a Nielsen Total Brand Effect with Lift Campaign can be found in the section Facebook and TV ads work better together.
Facebook Cross-Platform Brand Lift: Facebook will offer polling and results from cross-platform brand lift measurement for ads on Facebook, Instagram and Audience Network. These studies will be available for lower spend minimums than measurement through our partners and will also offer self-serve reporting, including that of Facebook usage during commercial breaks. We are starting to build this solution now, and hope to make it available to advertisers in early 2018.
This graphic is provided for illustration purposes only. Exact reporting details are subject to change.
Determine brand lift generated by each platform
These cross-platform brand lift solutions combine lift measurement (a measurement of test vs. control), with an opportunity-to-see methodology for determining TV ad exposure. Opportunity-to-see assesses the likelihood that those people were exposed to a given ad by asking those individuals if they have seen certain TV programs in which the ad was aired. After being asked a question that determines whether they viewed certain TV programs in the previous day, individuals are then asked questions to determine their perception of the advertiser’s brand. Comparing lifts in the exposed groups with the unexposed group gives marketers a more complete understanding of how their Facebook and TV ads drive impact independently and together.
Optimize your Facebook and TV campaigns using actionable results
At the end of a cross-platform brand lift study, advertisers will get information on lift generated by Facebook alone, lift generated by TV alone and lift generated by Facebook and TV together.
This will help advertisers understand if they are effectively and efficiently engaging their audience on each platform. Using these studies, advertisers will be able to improve future campaign performance by optimizing creative, increasing on-target reach (with Nielsen Total Ad Ratings) and spending their media budget more efficiently across platforms.
Facebook and TV ads work better together
Advertisers are already seeing the value of these brand lift solutions. For example, Shark, a pioneer in small household appliances and cleaning solutions, wanted to understand how TV and Facebook generate brand awareness both together and separately, so they could determine the efficacy and efficiency of their overall advertising strategy.
Shark’s campaign helped establish the effectiveness of a combined TV and Facebook video ad strategy.
From April 24 to June 18, 2017, a Nielsen Total Brand Effect with Lift study measured this incremental success. The study revealed these results:
- A 22-point lift in ad recall for TV and Facebook (versus a 6-point lift for TV-only and a 3-point lift for Facebook-only)
- An 8-point lift in purchase intent for TV and Facebook (versus a 6-point lift for TV-only and a 1-point lift for Facebook-only)
- A 6-point lift in awareness for TV and Facebook (versus a 3-point lift for TV-only and a 3-point lift for Facebook-only)
“We proved that Facebook video ads are a natural complement to TV campaigns. We experienced better brand results among people who saw ads on both versus just TV or Facebook alone. We saw the ‘better together’ impact first-hand. Facebook and TV are powerful individually, but deliver a stronger message to our audience when used in tandem.” —Ajay Kapoor, VP, Digital Transformation & Strategy, SharkNinja
Additionally, our advertising partners, including those who are expanding from digital advertising into cross-media campaigns, have expressed excitement about the opportunity to leverage Facebook Cross-Platform Brand Lift solution.
“Now that Buzzfeed has begun to diversify our media strategies to include both Television and Digital, having the option to leverage solutions such as Facebook’s Cross-Platform Brand Lift and Nielsen Total Brand Effect with Lift presents a great opportunity. We look forward to using cross-platform brand lift measurement to both receive valuable insights about our multi-media campaign performance in a single reporting surface, and also to optimize campaign elements such as spend and creative across both platforms.” — Margo Arton, Senior Director of Ad Effectiveness at BuzzFeed
Advertisers now have the opportunity to measure the impact of their Facebook and TV campaigns together using Nielsen Total Brand Effect with Lift, and we look forward to rolling out the Facebook Cross-Platform Brand Lift solution in the coming months.