WPP agencies and Microsoft Advertising plan to conduct a research project exploring the relationship between search engine marketing and brand building.
The agencies involved include Wunderman, BrandAsset Consulting and ZAAZ. The research will include the impact search marketing has on WPP’s blue chip clients, as well as consumers across the globe.
An initial report is expected to be released during Advertising Week in September in New York.
“Today, marketers are spending billions on search engine marketing, primarily as a direct response mechanism,” David Sable, vice chairman & COO of Wunderman, a WPP agency, said in a release. “We think it’s time to better understand how search builds brands differently than traditional media. The connection between brand building and search marketing is at best, spotty and the research we will conduct may help shed light on how brands can tap into search as a brand and market share builder.
Microsoft has a keen interest in better understanding search marketing with the recent launch of its Bing search engine.
“The opportunity is ripe to re-think preconceived notions about what search decision engines can and cannot do, and how the connections between search and display are becoming increasingly interwoven to drive brand awareness,” Scott Howe, corporate vice president of the advertiser and publisher solutions group at Microsoft said in a release.
The research will focus on the following areas:
The correlation between brand awareness and search efficacy;
How search engines are changing consumer behavior;
How social marketing impacts the search for brands;
The connections between paid search and brand development;
The companies hope to uncover new findings on where and how search is working best: at what stage of brand development it generates the greatest impact and how the intersection of categories and consumer preference and purchase intent comes into play, the companies said.
“Ultimately, we hope the findings that come out of this research will help inform media mix strategy for both direct response and brand building in the future,” Sable said.
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