AD:TECH, New York — November 06, 2007 — Keynote Competitive Research, the industry analysis group of Keynote Systems (Nasdaq: KEYN), today announced the kick-off of the world’s first ever study to test and measure how successful rich interactive advertising/promotional micro Web sites are at engaging with consumers. The goal of the study is to compare and contrast “engagement levels” of three automotive micro sites and three movie/entertainment micro sites. Specific measurements regarding consumer attitudes and behaviors on micro sites that feature rich interactive features such as AJAX and Flash-enabled content will be uncovered by the study. 200 general Internet consumers will perform tasks assigned by Keynote on each of the six interactive advertising sites for a total of 1,200 participants.
Internet advertising is the fastest growing category of the $300 billion advertising market. However 69% of consumers favor ad blocking products. Therefore, advertisers are creating the next generation of advertising through rich, interactive promotional micro sites that go beyond the traditional banner ad to engage, entice and excite visitors. These micro sites are growing increasingly popular as a way to offer more and better information than a standard advertisement, and offer the ability to “connect” with end users. They are similar to TV ads in that they offer high production values and incorporate pop culture. However, unlike TV ads, they are highly interactive.
Keynote’s study is the first of its kind to measure user engagement within this expanding advertising micro site space. Through the use of new technologies such as Flash, AJAX and DHTML, these interactive sites provide the tools for users to self-segment, and explore the components of the interactive advertising site they are most passionate about. Understanding a consumer’s relationship with interactive media requires new measurement tools and a new approach to measurement. Click-through rates and time spent on a site no longer deliver the insights necessary to continually improve ROI and increase the bottom line.
To perform the study Keynote will use WebEffective 6.0, the newest version of its market-leading, online research product used by companies to improve Web site effectiveness and online business performance by conducting in-depth customer experience research. WebEffective 6.0 provides Web marketers, researchers and advertisers a customer experience research and usability lab without walls and now includes cutting-edge capabilities to measure the attitudes and behaviors of users as they investigate an interactive Web site incorporating Web 2.0 technologies. Querying the user as s/he performs specific rich interactive advertising tasks, as assigned by Keynote, and collecting technical metrics at the same time, provides marketers with a holistic picture of which site elements are working effectively to promote your brand, and which are not.
“As micro sites grow in complexity, simply reviewing a site and asking before and after questions will not give marketers the date they need. User perceptions change within the experience, and the end result will be different depending on the elements interacted with. Measuring during the experience will grow increasingly critical as the sites become deeper and more feature-rich,” said Don Aoki, senior vice president and general manager of customer experience management at Keynote. “The ultimate purpose of advertising is to impart information, develop positive attitudes, and aid in inducing action beneficial to the advertiser. Historically the consumer was a passive and often unwilling participant. However with interactive advertising, the consumer must be presented compelling content to draw him or her into the interaction. The consumer must be engaged.”
The goals of the Keynote study, which kicked off November 1st and runs through November 15th, is to uncover how engaging, interesting and satisfying each of the interactive advertising sites studied, is to consumers. The results of the study will be published in early December. Aggregated measurements to be captured include:
For more information about Keynote WebEffective and/or the first ever study of interactive advertising Web sites view: www.keynote.com/products/customer_experience/web_ux_research_tools/webeffective.html
About Keynote
Keynote Systems (Nasdaq “KEYN”) is the global leader in on-demand test & measurement solutions for continuously improving the online experience. As an independent and trusted third-party, Keynote provides IT and marketing executives with an unbiased view into their Internet services from around the world. For over a decade, Keynote has been providing measurement data and testing capabilities that allow companies to understand and improve their customer’s online and mobile experience. Keynote has four test and measurement businesses: Web performance, mobile quality, streaming & VoIP, and customer experience/UX. In addition, Keynote’s industry analysis group called Keynote Competitive Research publishes proprietary studies measuring customer experience and service levels across a wide range of industries.
Known as The Mobile and Internet Performance Authority™, Keynote has a market-leading infrastructure of 2,400 measurement computers and mobile devices in over 240 locations around the world. Keynote also maintains one of the most representative panels of online users consisting of 160,000 consumers. Keynote’s on-demand, hassle-free infrastructure allows businesses to access services they need, when they need them to pinpoint and fix mobile quality and Internet problems before they impact customers.
Keynote helps over 2,600 corporate customers become “the best of the best” by helping them improve online business performance and mobile communications quality. Keynote’s customers represent top Internet and mobile companies including American Express, BP, Caterpillar, Dell, Disney, eBay, ESPN Mobile, E*TRADE, Expedia, FedEx, Microsoft, SonyEricsson, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone.
Keynote Systems, Inc. is headquartered in San Mateo, California and can be reached at www.keynote.com or by phone in the U.S. at (650) 403-2400.
Keynote, The Internet Performance Authority and Perspective are registered trademarks and The Mobile and Internet Performance Authority and True Experience are trademarks of Keynote Systems, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2007 Keynote Systems, Inc.
Editorial Contact:
Daniel C. Berkowitz, Keynote Systems, (650) 403-3305, dberkowitz@keynote.com