Top 7 KPI’s that drive brand impact

As a marketing research company, we don’t just conduct studies for clients. We use our research to learn from our own insights. Over the years, we have tested hundreds of TV commercials. Together, they provide a tremendous amount of information. That’s why we decided to carry out a meta-analysis with our TV copy testing database. A meta-analysis is a research where the results of previous studies are collected and analysed, in order to achieve a general conclusion.

What drives brand impact?

Ever wondered which KPI’s drive brand impact the most when it comes to television commercials? Which KPI’s contribute the most to an effective TVC? If we knew which elements could possibly drive brand impact, we could use them to our advantage. That’s why DVJ conducted a meta-analysis to find out.

The meta-analysis

To find out what drives whether a commercial is effective or not, we tested different dimensions that influence the two brand impact scores: unaided brand recall and message clarity. Prior research showed that these two scores are the most important predictors for the in-market performance of a commercial. So, we took different KPI’s which are divided by engagement, associations and direct response, and measured which KPI’s have the most influence on the two brand impact scores. We used commercials from different European countries for this analysis. We looked at commercials from The Netherlands, The UK and Ireland, Germany, Poland and Switzerland.

Among this analysis we also studied which content characteristics influence brand impact, and analysed what makes a TVC effective.

The Top 7 KPI’s

We looked at the different dimensions that are most important for unaided brand recall and message clarity and took into account the degree of the impact each of these dimensions have. We’re counting down the top 7.

7. Number of associations

The number of associations the consumer has with your TV Commercial, has a significant positive impact on the two brand impact scores.

6. Brand fit

It’s important that your TVC fits your brand. Brand fit positively influences the clarity of the message and the ability to remember a brand spontaneously.

5. Percentage of unique associations

The percentage of unique associations has a positive influence on unaided brand recall and message clarity.

4. Enjoyment

Another important KPI for brand impact is the level of enjoyment a commercial brings. This is quite logical when you think about it. When people enjoy a TVC, they are more likely to understand the message and remember the brand.

3. Watched completely

Watching the ad completely also positively contributes to brand impact. People are more likely to perceive a message and remember a brand when watching an ad in its entirety.

2. Understanding

Understanding a TVC contributes to the brand impact scores. When consumers understand the commercial, they understand the message, and remember the brand better.

1. Audience retained after 10 seconds

The KPI that contributes the most to brand impact, is retaining the audience after the first 10 seconds. Even more so than watching the ad completely. When a TVC can hold the audience’s attention longer than 10 seconds, it has a significantly positive effect on the clarity of the message and remembering the brand spontaneously.

The KPI’s are ranked from top to bottom in Figure 1.

Figure 1

The most significant contribution

There are lots of KPI’s that may contribute to brand impact, but through the meta-analysis we found that this was the order in which these 7 KPI’s contribute positively to brand impact. It’s good to see that the different KPI’s which DVJ Insights measures in their copy test, all play a part in achieving good brand impact scores. These KPI’s contribute the most to achieving an effective TV Commercial, and thus drive brand impact.

Our TV copy-test

DVJ Insights’ TV copy-test takes into account the way in which people look at advertising as well as the role of emotions in advertising. Pre-testing your TV commercial is crucial when optimising and increasing your ad. Because media investments typically constitute the largest costs associated with a campaign, pre-testing prevents you from wasting your advertising budget. Our copy-test combines registration, and implicit and explicit research techniques, to expose the full potential of the TVC. By comparing this with a robust benchmark, every advertiser immediately knows whether and how improvements are possible.

Contact us for more information about our copy-test.