Halo effect takes online marketing in-store
April 8th, 2011
The halo effect allows online marketing efforts to influence in-store purchase decisions, according to Google research.
In a 'Think with Google' video post on the Inside AdWords blog, crew member Dan Friedman notes how it is possible to prove that adverts shown online can have a real-world impact.
By showing lots of advertisements for particular products in some areas, but only normal numbers of promotional messages in other geographical regions, Google was able to detect differences in bricks-and-mortar shopping habits.
In the areas with saturated online marketing, sales of the target products were lifted and return on investment of up to 15 times achieved.
The halo effect is the principle by which positive sentiment in one category can lead to a favourable view of other areas too.
In Google's research, one retailer achieved a 3.6 per cent lift in their target product range – and a one per cent halo effect across the board – leading to a 1,000 per cent return on investment.
Karen Webber is the head of marketing communications. She joined the team as a journalist in 2005, after working in marketing and media roles in South Africa and in the UK. 
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