Purchase intent increases with rewards

Warc, 18 June 2014

NEW YORK: Mobile consumers are much more likely to buy a product from a brand that offers rewards during the right moments, as compared to consumer impact through banner ads, according to a new report.

IPG Media Lab, a division of IPG Mediabrands, and Kiip, a specialist in rewards, surveyed 1,344 consumers using facial coding and biometrics technology to assess reactions and impact for different mobile advertising on a number of brand metrics during those moments of app use when consumers accomplished a goal. That could mean anything from checking off an item from a to-do list to bookmarking a new recipe.

The headline finding from the Moments that Matter study was that rewards drove an 82% lift in purchase intent, while banner ads produced only a 6% lift, making moment-based rewards 14 times more effective at increasing purchase intent.

While this was the most striking result, the study also found that rewards were generally more effective than banner ads across the other brand metrics considered. Rewards not only outpaced banner ads in boosting brand attributes in all the scenarios tested, but in the case of brand respect increased it by 14% while banner ads actually decreased it by 7%.

And while ads generated higher brand recall than rewards, they decreased brand favourability by 6% while rewards from the same brand boosted favourability by 10%.

Chad Stoller, managing partner, IPG Media Lab, noted that the rewards approach enabled brands "to congratulate consumers at moments when happiness, attention and engagement levels are highest" and offered a way for brands to "elevate points of activation in innovative and proven manners".

Brian Wong, Kiip CEO and co-founder, claimed the research was a major validation of the moments marketing model and "should make any marketer relying on banner ads strongly re-consider their mobile strategy".

Data sourced from IPG Media Lab, Market Wired; additional content by Warc staff