News

Study: Social media inspires consumers to spend more

October 18, 2011

Consumers exposed to social content are significantly more likely to increase their spending and consumption than those who aren't exposed, according to final results from an Ogilvy-ChatThreads study that polled restaurant consumers.

There was a 2-7x greater likelihood of higher spending or consumption depending on the media encountered by the study group. The sales impact was most pervasive when social content was combined with other types of media such as PR, out-of-home and TV.

Additionally, out of more than 20 channels studied, social content exposure was associated with the largest shift in brand perception during a seven-day period.

Despite these strong social content impact findings, consumers are seeing relatively little branded social content during their daily routine. Only 24 percent of the study group reported exposure to social content, compared to a 69 percent exposure rate to TV ads.

"Because we captured detailed touchpoint data in the moment from the consumer's point of view, we were able to track day-to-day brand exposures and assess the complex interaction effects of the various media and marketing initiatives," said Dr. Walter Carl, ChatThreads Founder and chief research officer.

Study info

The study recruited 404 individuals to use the ChatThreads BrandEncounter platform in reporting their real-time exposure to 21 different brand "touchpoints" across five QSR brands: KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Taco Bell and Wendy's. The study ran in two segments between Jan. 20 andd May 6, 2011. A total of 5,623 touchpoints were reported by participating consumers, each of whom reported their brand touchpoints over a seven-day period.

Read more about trends and statistics.