Are you an advertiser or agency interested in the UK FMCG sector? Are you looking for more information on ROPO (research online purchase offline) behaviour? Then check out this study that looks at ROPO behaviour in the UK FMCG sector focusing on FMCG searchers and those who have visited a grocery retail online site. The study combines single source data for online behaviors and offline purchases in those categories.

 Key Findings:

• In 2011, 64% of UK internet users spent significant time researching brands before making a major purchase (vs. 50% in 2008). 
• 47% of main shoppers visit grocery retailer websites and 72% search for FMCG related terms. Two thirds of main shoppers search for Food & Drink related terms, half search for Beauty information. 
• Main shoppers who Search & Visit spend +13% more in-store than those who do neither. 
• Main shoppers who search for FMCG information online are younger, more affluent and have larger households. 

You can access ppt and pdf versions of the study on the Think Insights site here. Posted by Rosie Rankin, Agency Team

Check out this new global insights hub from our US team.

Quick pop quiz:*

1. Based on search history, consumer demand for pretzels peaks in what month of the year?
2. Search adds how much (in $) to the world’s GDP?
3. In 2011, what percent of people dreamed and brainstormed about their next vacation?
4. What percent of the daily queries on Google.com have never been seen before?

These are just a few questions that can be answered on the new Think Insights with Google, our information and resource hub for marketers. The site is fresh out of beta and sporting a playful new look, helpful tools, more studies, the latest trends and exciting videos. We invite you to visit the site, take a look around and see what’s new.

If you only have a few minutes to spare, try playing with our new Real Time Insights Finder tool. With just a few clicks you can spot emerging trends and gain valuable consumer insights, all in real time. For example, the most popular video in common among males 25-34 in Italy and the U.S. is the Official Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 game trailer.

Although we’ve made a lot of enhancements to Think Insights based on initial user feedback, we’re always trying to iterate and improve. So please don’t be shy! Join the conversation by adding the Think with Google page on Google+ to one of your circles.

Think Insights is forward-thinking and rooted in data. We hope you’ll use it as a one-stop shop for consumer trends, marketing insights and industry research.

*Answers to pop quiz (they can all be found on Think Insights in less than 60 seconds!):
December, Real Time Insights Finder Tool
$540 billion directly to global GDP, The Impact of Internet Technologies: Search Study, Jul 2011
50%, 5 Stages of Travel Interactive Infographic
16%, Search Fact & Stat

Posted by Laura McClung, Ads Marketing Team

Our recent whitepaper uncovers new insights as to consumers' movie-going intentions and the evolution of their search behaviour over the last few years.

The study shows that consumers are searching for movies and considering what they want to watch much earlier than they used to. In 2010, we saw that searches for film titles began to ramp up five weeks prior to the opening weekend, whereas in 2008, they would pick up much closer to the time.

Not only are movie-goers searching earlier, they are searching more. Movie-goers searched 1.75 times more per film in 2010 than in 2008. Additionally, searches for film trailers were up by more than 50% in 2010 versus the previous year.

Search provides a unique look at how consumers are researching movies revealing great opportunities to better engage with them.

If you are interested in exploring this topic further, the full study is available for download here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

In June, we shared some research from the US market looking into the user behaviour of smartphone owners in our post Understanding smartphone consumers. This month, we are pleased to share the UK version of the study.

As with the previous study, the key objectives were to understand:

• How smartphones are typically used on a day-to-day basis

• What other activities consumers carry out while using their smartphones

• The types of information they are searching for on mobile

• How smartphone consumers are using their devices to help them make their purchase decisions

• How receptive they are to mobile ads.

More than half of UK smartphone owners use their device every day to go online. They have become so attached to their little pocket PCs that more than one in five claim that they would sooner give up their TV than their smartphone!

As you would expect, a large proportion of smartphone users (89%) access the internet while they are out and about. What is slightly more surprising is that an even larger proportion (98%) are using their device to go online while they are at home.

As with their trans-Atlantic counterparts, some of the most popular smartphone uses among UK smartphone owners include passing the time when waiting (65%) and finding information quickly (52%), as well as being used as a "kind of modern accessory" (48%).

Increasingly, smartphone owners are using their mobiles to assist with their purchase decisions. More than 50% make a purchase based on information which they obtained from a smartphone. Further, 81% looked for local information with nearly a third of these local information seekers going on to make a purchase.

When it comes to mobile advertising, 87% of smartphone owners recall seeing a mobile ad. However, 83% of top UK advertisers do not have a site optimised for mobile. It is important that advertisers build a good mobile user experience as 28% of smartphone owners have taken action after having been exposed to a mobile ad. More specifically:

• 44% have clicked on a mobile ad

• 33% have visited the advertiser's site

• 32% have made a purchase.

If you are interested in learning more about UK smartphone users, please watch our short video here or download the full study here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

The internet is a multi-billion pound industry in the UK, which accounted for 7.2% of the nation's GDP in 2009. The UK leads the world in e-commerce as the country with the highest per capita spending online. [1]

As the growth of e-commerce remains unabated, we see that consumers are increasingly researching their purchases online.

Our new whitepaper conducted in conjunction with Nielsen, takes a detailed look at consumers' path to purchase across multiple sectors. The study seeks to understand the length of research journeys, how shoppers are researching their purchases and how they are using search during their decision making process.


Here are somes key findings from the study:

• Research journeys are often lengthy and in some sectors, can last more than a month.

• 1 in 3 conversions takes place 30 days after the initial research.

• 70% of consumers who purchase use search.

• Generic search terms play a key role in the research process. Shoppers who convert online are 19% more likely, on average, to search on generic terms than those who are just 'window shopping' or end up making their purchase offline.

To learn more, please download the full study here.

[1] BCG Report - The Connected Kingdom, October 2010

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

In our latest study, conducted in conjunction with GfK using their Media Efficiency Panel, for Renault, we see how YouTube can be used to complement TV campaigns to reach exclusive audiences.

Highlights from the study:

• Almost half of YouTube homepage reach was incremental to TV.

• Each of the three YouTube homepages reached a high level of exclusive audience. Only 8% of those reached were exposed to all three homepage ads.

• The YouTube homepages achieved a cost per reach point significantly lower than TV.

To see the full study, please download it here.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

We are pleased to share our new study from the US market which looks into the effect of the internet on conversations involving a mention of a brand. The study illustrates how important online channels, particularly search, are to inspiring and informing these conversations.

Everyday in the US, there are currently 3.3 billion brand mentions. 2.4 billion conversations involve a brand each day which equates to approximately 1.4 impressions per conversation.

While the majority of conversations that involve a mention of a brand (WOM conversations) occur offline, the internet is now the primary source of information stimulating such conversations and it is the leading source for consumers to find information during and after a WOM conversation.

In more than 15% of WOM conversations, search engines are used to find additional information. Search websites have also been shown to be the number one place that consumers visit in order to take further action.

Please watch our short video to find out more.



The full study is also available for download here.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

We are pleased to share a brand new piece of research from the US market which looks into the user behaviour of smartphone owners. The study seeks to gain a deeper understanding of:

• How smartphones are used on a day to day basis

• How consumers are multi-tasking with their smartphones

• Typical searches made on smartphones

• How smartphone consumers are using their devices to help them make their purchase decisions

• Whether they are receptive to mobile ads.

The study illustrates the importance of role the that smartphones now play within the everyday lives of many consumers. Nearly 9 out 10 smartphone owners use their devices throughout the day for a variety of activites ranging from using search engines to find information, to watching videos. They have become so entrenched in our lives that 43% of smartphone owners say that they would prefer to give up beer instead of internet access on their smartphone.

Unsurprisingly, using the smartphone is an incredibly popular time-killer with nearly 60% claiming to use their smartphones while waiting, for example, in a queue at a supermarket or for a bus.

Smartphone users are also becoming increasingly reliant on their devices for shopping assistance with 70% of smartphone consumers using their devices while shopping in-store.

In terms of advertising, smartphone users are not only noticing mobile ads, they are receptive to them. 82% notice ads on their smartphones, half of which take action. However, it is not only mobile ads prompting action. Mobile search is often prompted by cross media exposure. Over two thirds of smartphone owners have carried out a search on their smartphone as a result of traditional media.

If you found these insights interesting and would like to learn more about the smartphone consumer, please download the full study here.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

At Google, we love ROI so we're pleased to share some recent benchmarks of customer performance achieved on the Google Display Network (GDN).
Our recent paper demonstrates the value that our customers are getting from different forms of targeting on the GDN.


The numbers (from Q4 2010) show that, on average, the click-through rate achieved across the network was 4 times higher than the DoubleClick display ads benchmark of 0.07%.

That's not all, our Contextual targeting delivers an average click-through rate of 0.45% - 6.4 times higher than the DoubleClick benchmark. Our customers tend to invest 40% of their Google display budgets into this form of targeting and have been able to achieve great results.

Retargeting on the GDN is also performing well for our customers, with an average cost-per-click of 38p and average cost-per-thousand impressions of 0.83p. Again, this is a fantastic way of generating fantastic results for performance campaigns.

Check out the full report for all of the details plus information on all of the new audience-buying features that will be available in the next few weeks.

Posted by Biren Kalaria, Display Team

We are pleased to announce the release of our first multi-country reach and frequency study, with Ubisoft.

For the launch of their video game, "Michael Jackson: The Experience", Ubisoft ran a multi-media campaign in the UK, France and Germany.

The research conducted with GfK and MarketingScan, seeks to understand the overall impact of each media and YouTube formats in the mix-media in terms of reach and frequency. It also examines the incremental impact of YouTube in terms of reach, frequency and profiles.



Key findings from the study:

• YouTube can drive incremental reach for your campaign.

• The YouTube Masthead maximises incremental reach of YouTube, especially among core target groups aged 16-34.

• YouTube can optimise cost-efficiency of cross-media campaigns.

• A longer YouTube schedule - achievable with alternative formats (ROS, Pre-roll) - will help maximise reach potential of YouTube over four weeks and allow a greater cost-efficiency.

To learn more, please download the full study here.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

We are pleased to share our new cross-media study with LG, conducted in conjunction with MetrixLab. This is our first piece of cross-media research with a mobile manufacturer.

The study sought to understand the branding impact of YouTube within the media mix, specifically, the reach and incremental reach of TV and YouTube against the target audience. It also explores both the effectiveness and efficiency of TV and YouTube at shifting branding metrics.


Key findings are as follows:

• After adding YouTube to the media mix, an incremental 8% of the target audience was reached.

• YouTube delivered strong effect across LG's main branding metrics.

• YouTube was consistently more efficient than TV at delivering brand effect on the audience reached.

To find out more, the full study is available for download here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Cross post from the Google UK Travel Blog


2011 is a great year for Easter bank holidays! To help advertisers plan for the coming season, we have analysed trends in 2010 and 2011 (to date) and have written our findings in the latest whitepaper, which you can download here.

Travel query growth year-to-date suggests that demand from the online travel consumer continues to grow (29% year-to-date), and we expect this to carry through the Easter weekend. The upcoming Royal Wedding may increase tourism within the UK. Sweden had the last major European Royal Wedding in July 2010. During this month, queries for hotels in Sweden originating from the USA grew 40% year-on-year. More impressively, hotel queries within Sweden rose 124% year-on-year.

We have also noticed more interest for short haul destinations when compared to long haul, the former growing 20% vs.7% year-on-year in January 2011.

For a more detailed analysis, please download the whitepaper. We hope you find the insights and recommendations helpful.


Posted by Jonny Cranmer, Travel Team

We are pleased to share our new case study with AXA brand, Direct Seguros, which was recently conducted in Spain. The study demonstrates the role of search in driving both online and offline applications, and the cost efficiency of search relative to other media. A recommendation for optimal media mix is also included as part of the paper.

Highlights from the study:

• Significant online to offline effect. 8.8% of offline conversions are driven by online activity.

• Paid search is the most cost-effective way to increase insurance applications - over ten times more efficient than other media.

• Improving position in paid search increases applications online by 2.7%, and offline via the call centre by 1.7%.

• Considerable TV and search synergy – TV incrementally drives 6% of paid search clicks.

If you would like to learn more about this new piece of research, please download it here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Here we share our recently released case study with Nutrigloss conducted in France. The study shows the incremental impact of a YouTube campaign on the offline sales of Nutrigloss shampoo.


Key findings are as follows:

• L’Oréal’s media spend became more efficient by using YouTube. Swapping some TV for YouTube achieved equivalent sales for 13% less budget.

• Adding a YouTube campaign after a TV burst helped to maintain sales up to 17% above their post-TV level.

• Up to 35% of those exposed to the YouTube & display campaign were not reached by TV.

• The YouTube & display campaign was very effective in complementing TV, over-exposing those least exposed to the TV campaign.

To learn more, please donwload the full study here.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Did you know that consumers exposed to a homepage ad on YouTube are 4 times more likely to visit the advertiser's site, search for the brand or watch the company's videos on YouTube?

Or that across financial advertisers, for every 10 applications search drives online, search drives another 4.5 offline?

For more great insights around online marketing and advertising, check out our new video which showcases some of the best learnings from research carried out with our partners last year.




Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Cross Post from the Google UK Travel Blog


To help you plan for seasonal events, we have written a brief research paper for Valentine's Day 2011.

The study provides insights into how users search for travel products around February 14th; taking into account influencing factors, such as the spring half-term dates and the day of the week on which Valentine's day falls.

We hope you find the recommendations in this paper useful, and are happy to answer any questions you have.

Posted by Jonny Cranmer, Travel Team

We are pleased to share our recently released advertising effectiveness study conducted by Metrix Lab in the UK and Spain with Adidas.

This study sought to understand how the YouTube Masthead shifted key brand metrics for Adidas during their World Cup campaign.


Key findings from the study:

• The Adidas masthead on YouTube had strong cut-through and extremely high levels of recognition with close to two thirds of exposed respondents, in both the UK and Spain, recognising the campaign.

• Adidas’ top of mind association with the World Cup was lifted by 13% and 10% in the UK and Spain, respectively.

• The Adidas masthead on YouTube drove positive brand image association in both markets.

• Those exposed to the campaign in the UK conducted 93% more searches on the World Cup and Adidas than those who did not see the campaign.

To view the results in more detail, please download the full study here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

Despite it being common knowledge that most people in the market do the bulk of their research online, there has been minimal information available on how this online research process works. There is limited data available as to the types of sites house hunters look for, how many sites they visit or even how long the research process typically lasts. For marketers and property businesses, understanding how the property seekers’ consumer journey online looks is key to planning effective marketing campaigns.


This is why, earlier this year, Google commissioned a‘clickstream’ study with Nielsen to establish some clear insights into the property space online. The primary objective for the study was to obtain an in depth understanding of the user journey towards finding a new home online.

A report on the key findings from the study is available on Property Drum's December 2010 issue.

Posted by James Bacon & Bickey Russell, Local Team

We are very pleased to share the first cross media case study from the UK Media Efficiency Panel - the only single source panel which can link offline sales to online and offline media exposure.

The study sought to examine the cross media effectiveness of the Cadbury’s Chocolate Charmer Campaign and impact on short term sales. It also explores metrics such as cross media campaign reach, incremental reach, resultant uplift in sales and return on campaign investment.


Key highlights from the study:

• The online element of the campaign provided impressive incremental reach. In particular, the YouTube campaign (Masthead + Promoted Video) delivered nearly 16% incremental reach over TV.

• Amongst 15-34 year olds, the results were even better. Against this audience, online delivered 33% incremental reach.

• Online drives in-store sales efficiently. The online campaign drove 20% of the in-store sales from just 7% of the budget.

• YouTube Promoted Videos achieved an ROI six times higher than TV.

To learn more, please download the study here.

Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team

We are pleased to share new research published this week in collaboration with the IAB and Facebook. It studies the behaviour and attitudes of YouTube and Facebook users, with the aim of understanding the role of each in users’ online lives. Specifically, it delves into the motivations for visiting these sites; the ‘social’ activities conducted on each; attitudes towards brand presence and different types of advertising on the sites; and behaviours around viewing and sharing brand content.



Key highlights from the study:

• While it’s commonly assumed that everyone uses YouTube and Facebook, the overlap is smaller than one would expect.

• Visits to YouTube tend to be for a specific motivation while visits to Facebook are to pass time.

• Social networking is greater than any single site. YouTube and Facebook play different but integral roles in a user’s online social experience.

• Brands that advertise on each site benefit from the perceived attributes of each site.

• Loyalty and familiarity are not the driving force behind recommendations. Whether people share or like a brand depends greatly on whether its content is interesting.

To learn more, please download the full study here.


Posted by Selina Rennie, Agency Team