Suggested topics for the second wave include online and offline media interaction, relevance and effectiveness measurement, audience types and engagement, and verticals and new media.

Eleven grants were awarded to universities in the US, China and Canada in the first round of funding. More than 120 applications were received.

Professor Glen Urban (pictured), formerly dean of the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of the panel that is overseeing the programme, said: “I am confident that the quality of this round’s submissions will compare favourably to the impressive projects funded in the first round. The combined learning from the studies in progress and those selected in this second round should prove influential.”

The deadline for submitting proposals for the second phase is 30 October, while the results from the first wave – which included studies looking at the effect of online exposure on offline buying and those exploring the synergies between display and search advertising – will be released in November.