To dispel the belief that Web branding can't be charted, Avenue A devised the novel testing methodology TrueLift. What separates this approach from past branding studies is the use of a site-independent, random control group."We see nearly all existing cookies," said Avenue A Analyst Todd Gilliam. "Our database is a good mirror of the Internet-at-large."In a study for a major brand advertiser, Avenue A arbitrarily plucked 19 million cookies from their database. Of the study group, 1 million cookies were set aside as a control group and shown public services announcements (PSAs) for one month. The other 18 million saw the brand advertiser's banner."The test banner messaging was not of a call-to-action or special-offer nature," said Gilliam. "The advertiser wanted to make sure the PSA and test banner were about equal in creative and content."Cookie conversion tracking on the advertiser's site for the two weeks following the campaign's conclusion revealed a 10% increase in site visits. With only 20% direct response clicks, Avenue A believes 80% of visits result from brand awareness.

Note: These results are specific to this advertiser. Campaign performance can vary dramatically among advertisers.

Avenue A, December 2000