This week, were published the results from a test performed by Google Netherlands along with Matrixlab, Heineken and Twist, the Heineken’s agency. The goal was to find which are the effects of the paid ads on branding. All the parts involved were pleased by the results. As the methodology, they compared the effectiveness of search against other media and studies the interaction of search with other media. They evaluated the impact of the campaign called “Jouw Heineken” which sent visitors to http://www.jouwheineken.nl where they could design custom beer bottles for purchase. In addition to search, the designers of the campaign used online display ads, TV and YouTube.

The conclusions of the study were highlighted by Google:

– a search impression alone creates 23% more brand preference for Heinneken than all the campaign without the search; a search click creates 69% more brand awareness;

– the fact that search was able to affect the brand awareness shows the ability for search to move the prospects into paying customers which is awesome;

– the serach and TV had synergetic effects because increases overall brand effect by 1.5 times;

– search proved to be 53% more efficient in cost than TV in creating Top of Mind Awareness;

– the first search result on the left side captures and retains the most attention;

– the test of frequency showed that three impression contacts were 39% better than one at influencing brand preference.

Last week, Google made public similar data from a separate test it ran with Levi’s. The companies found that paid search ads raised consumer awareness of the Levi’s brand, no matter if the ads are clicked or not.