Was Beijing Worth the Billions? NeuroFocus Answers the Big Questions for Olympic Advertisers

Were the billions spent on marketing during the Beijing Olympics worth it? Did corporate sponsors get more out of their investment in the Games than other companies who advertised in the programming? Which major advertisers gained the biggest bounce from their commercialsand why?

NeuroFocus, the worlds leading neurological testing company, has conducted the worlds first accurate and reliable neuroscientific study of viewers brainwave reactions to advertising during the Olympics.

The company has just released its proprietary Beijing Brand Study report on advertising and sponsorships in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The results reveal:

  • Which attributes did the television audience associate with the Olympics overall?
  • How effective--or not--were some commercials that aired within the Olympic broadcast? Were these commercials well-primed by the Olympics content?
  • Was there a difference in advertising effectiveness compared between Olympic sponsors and other advertisers?
  • Did commercials featuring Olympic-specific creative executions fare better with viewers than non-Olympic executions? Or vice versa?

What we learned from our exclusive study will surprise some companies, and at the same time reassure others, said Dr. A. K. Pradeep, Chief Executive Officer of NeuroFocus. Our results disclose the true value of some forms of Olympic involvement, while revealing that some investments did not measure up. What makes this report unique is that it is based upon neuroscientific principlesso it is not subject to the degree of variance that afflicts traditional research approaches. Brainwaves tell us the absolute truth, at the subconscious level where brand perception and purchase intent are formed, about what consumers really think, feel, and remember about Olympic advertising and sponsorshipsand they do it at 2,000 times a second. We made sure we were listening.

The NeuroFocus Beijing Brand Study reports that:

  • There was a significant lift in brand perception for some Olympic sponsors, compared to the performance NeuroFocus recorded for other advertisers

Brand Perception Lift is defined as the degree to which certain specific brand attributes experience a gain in consumers subconscious associations with the brand.

SPONSORS:

-- Of the four Olympic sponsors whose advertising was evaluated, the results were:

Best Brand Perception Lift from advertising within Olympic content:

(in order of ranking):
- Home Depot
- Budweiser
- McDonalds and Visa (basically tied)

Commercial Performance Lift is defined as how effective a spot is at capturing consumer's attention, engaging them emotionally, and persuading them towards purchase.

Best Commercial Performance Lift from sponsor advertising within Olympic content:

(in order of ranking)

- Visa

- Budweiser

- Home Depot

- McDonalds

OTHER ADVERTISERS:

-- Of the four non-sponsors whose advertising was evaluated, the results were:

Best Brand Perception Lift From Advertising Within Olympic Content:

- Mazda was neutral

- Wii, Kaiser, and Claritin (no lift recorded)

Best Commercial Performance Lift From Advertising Within Olympic Content:

- Mazda

- Kaiser

- Wii and Claritin (low lift for both)

NeuroFocus Beijing Brand Study Also Disclosed Additional Key Results For Olympic Advertisers:

SPONSORS VERSUS OTHER ADVERTISERS:

Brand Perception:

  • Olympic sponsors got a significant lift in brand perception from being associated with Olympic content; while other advertisers experienced no similar gain in brand perception from their association with the same content

Advertising Performance:

  • Sponsors and other advertisers alike got a similar lift in advertising effectiveness from association with Olympic content
  • Sponsors got a preferential boost in persuasion (purchase intent) by association with Olympic content; while other advertisers scored neutral

High Points For Olympic advertisers:

Sponsor:

  • Visas commercial had the highest percentage lift. NeuroFocus brainwave activity monitoring showed that the use of recent and current Olympic imagery and personalities was quite effective

Other Advertisers:

  • Mazdas commercial had the highest percentage lift. Although the car companys ad is not an Olympic-related execution, its very sporty portrayal of an individual performing complex jumps and acrobatics was quite effective

OLYMPIC-RELATED VERSUS NON-OLYMPIC-RELATED EXECUTIONS:

-- Brand Perception Lift:

Across both sponsors and other advertisers, commercials with an Olympic-related creative execution got a significantly higher lift in brand perception

-- Commercial Performance Lift:

Across both sponsors and other advertisers, there was no significant difference in the lift in commercial performance for both Olympic-related and non-Olympic-related executions when aired within Olympic content

-- Comparison Between A Sponsor With A Non-Olympic Execution, Versus Another Advertiser With An Olympic-Related Execution:

Sponsorship still provided a significantly higher lift in advertising effectiveness, even with a non-Olympic-related creative execution

OLYMPICS: CORE ATTRIBUTE RESONANCE

NeuroFocus Beijing Brand Study also evaluated the attributes that viewers associated with the 2008 Summer Olympics. The company describes these measurements as the Core Attribute Resonance factors aligned with the event.

NeuroFocus ranked four key attributes, defined as how each resonated in viewers subconscious, measured by monitoring their brainwave responses to each attribute:

Findings:

  • Achieve ranked as the highest core attribute associated with the Olympics
  • Inspire was the next highest-ranked attribute
  • Peak and Celebrate were ranked at a low level

NEUROFOCUS KEY FINDINGS/RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OLYMPIC ADVERTISERS:

  • Overall Conclusion: Olympic sponsorship bestows significant, neurologically measurable advantages for companies brands and their advertising.
  • However, commercial priming from advertising within Olympic content can provide significant brand lift for other advertisers who are not sponsors
  • The key to success is to avoid contextual dissonance. Advertising that features creative content that is relevant to the Olympics performs better than advertising that does not
  • NeuroFocus strongly recommends that for the future, both Olympic sponsors and other advertisers focus their advertising on Olympic imagery, language and other associations with the Games. At the neurological level, viewers pay more attention, become more emotionally engaged, and retain messages better when presented with Olympic-related advertising content

NEUROFOCUS METHODOLOGY

NeuroFocus conducts brainwave-based research employing high density EEG (electroencephalographic) sensor technology, coupled with pixel-level eye movement tracking and GSR (galvanic skin response) measurements. The company captures brainwave activity across as many as 128 different sectors of the brain, at 2,000 times a second for each of these locations. NeuroFocus patented brainwave monitoring technology produces results that are far more accurate, reliable, and actionable than any other form of research.

About NeuroFocus

NeuroFocus Inc. is the market leader in bringing neuroscience knowledge and expertise to the world of advertising, marketing, product development, packaging, and entertainment. The company leverages Doctorate-level academic credentials in neuroscience and marketing from Berkeley, MIT, Harvard, and the Hebrew University combined with C-suite level business management and consulting experience.

NeuroFocus clients include Fortune 100 companies across the consumer package goods, food and beverage, financial services, automotive, and retail sectors. Entertainment category clients include major companies in the broadcast and cable television and motion picture industries. The Nielsen Company is a strategic investor in NeuroFocus.

Contacts:

NeuroFocus Inc.
Tom Robbins, 510-367-1920
thomas.robbins@neurofocus.com

Data & News supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Stock quotes supplied by Barchart
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.