Are online ads losing their zing?

The ability of online advertising to make a lasting connection with consumers may be on the wane, according to a new Dynamic Logic study reported by ClickZ.

The study found that while consumers exposed to online ad campaigns between 2004 and 2005 exhibited brand message association 4.3% higher than a group exposed to conventional ads, by 2006 the message association benefit had fallen to 3.5% and, by 2007, to just 2.5%.

The same downward trend was present in the more general measure of brand awareness, with a 3% benefit over old-style ads in 2005 falling to 2.2% by 2007.

Levels of online ad awareness have also dropped dramatically. That measure gave online ads a 7.3% advantage over conventional ads in 2005, but by 2007 that had fallen to a still reasonably high 4.8%.

Data for the study was taken from Dynamic Logic’s Marketnorms database of consumer responses to advertising.