GfK's WEP panel to track electronics purchases

GERMANY-- GfK's single-source panel measuring online advertising exposure and packaged goods purchases has been expanded to add tracking of slow-moving consumer goods, such as electronic items.

The company already has 15,000 people in Germany reporting on their FMCG purchases, data for which is tied to their exposure to online advertising to determine the effect web marketing has on buying decisions.

Called the Web Efficiency Panel, it was used recently in a project carried out in partnership with Google and Coca-Cola.

This project set out to analyse the sales impact of Coca-Cola's cross-media Christmas campaign, so panel members also had their use of TV, radio and print media measured.

Reporting on the results today, GfK said it found the interplay of TV advertising and YouTube video ads to be the most effective in driving sales. Consumers who had seen the ad on TV and online within the space of a week demonstrated a 97% higher purchase rate.

Author: Brian Tarran