Picnic, in collaboration with Goodstuff, have unveiled the results of a digital study that highlights the importance of media quality in driving brand consideration. The study, conducted with measurement partner Cint, was run off the back of a Clearpay campaign.
Goodstuff and Picnic sought to understand how media quality impacts campaign effectiveness, examining how ads perform in high-quality versus lower-quality media environments. The research provides critical insights for advertisers aiming to maximise their return on ad spend (ROAS) by focusing on premium digital environments.
The study: testing the impact of media quality: The study compared two sets of digital media inventory, one classified as high-quality with PIQ (Picnic Inventory Intelligence) scores above 30, and another as low-quality with scores below 30. The scores PIQ is Picnic’s proprietary technology that offers a holistic and measurable approach to quantifying quality across the open web.
Identical creatives were used across both high and low-quality media environments. Picnic’s high-impact ads, which utilise large, attention-grabbing formats in mid-article placements, were delivered to ensure maximum viewability across both inventory sets.
The results: vanity metrics vs. brand consideration: When measured against traditional campaign metrics like viewability and click-through rates (CTR), the results from both sets of inventory were similar. Low quality inventory delivered 77.43% viewability, whilst high-quality inventory performed similarly at 76.86%
There was also minimal difference for CTR, with both the low and high quality environments delivering 0.23%. These figures indicate that media quality had little impact on these surface-level success metrics.
However, the real difference emerged in the brand consideration study. Ads running on high-quality inventory significantly outperformed the low-quality set, driving brand consideration scores well above Cint’s industry benchmarks. Meanwhile, ads placed on low-quality sites negatively affected brand consideration, suggesting a damaging effect on how consumers perceived the brand.
Key Takeaway: focus on media quality for long-term success: The study revealed that while vanity metrics such as CTR and viewability were consistent across different media environments, media quality played a crucial role in influencing deeper brand outcomes like purchase intent. By focusing on delivering ads in high-quality digital environments, brands can achieve more meaningful and impactful results from their marketing efforts.
This research demonstrates that brands looking to improve ROAS should prioritise media quality over quantity. Investing in high-quality media environments can drive better brand outcomes and more effective marketing spend.
Vicky Farley, digital director at Goodstuff, commented: "It was great to collaborate with Picnic on this test to show how we can more effectively drive consideration for our clients and the importance of quality over quantity in digital advertising. We know the importance of delivering high-quality media for our clients to achieve their comms and business outcomes, and this research will help further in those conversations with clients where the performance of their marketing spend continues to be under ever-increasing scrutiny."