Connected omnichannel campaigns are 2.2 times less fatiguing to audiences, new research shows

Here’s the thing:

New research provides compelling evidence on the benefits of connected omnichannel strategies. According to a study conducted by The Trade Desk Intelligence, a traditional multichannel strategy — purchasing media in isolated silos across different platforms — is both less efficient and less effective than a holistic omnichannel strategy.

The study defines “omnichannel” as a strategy that consolidates media buys across three or more channels to put audiences at the center of a well-coordinated, seamless campaign. According to the study, compared with disconnected multichannel campaigns, connected omnichannel ad strategies are shown to drive better engagement.

As the study suggests, when a brand plans its channel buys independently of one another, consumers are more likely to experience an ad either too many times or at suboptimal times, reaching a saturation point. The findings indicate that when fatigue sets in, the impact of that ad is diminished.

In fact, connected omnichannel campaigns are 2.2 times less cognitively fatiguing for people who experience them, the study reveals.

Data debrief:

The Trade Desk Intelligence partnered with PA Consulting and a diverse group of advertisers across various industries to collect over 120 hours of brain activity — capturing more than 1 billion brain wave data points in the process. About 80 people in the U.S. and U.K. participated in the study in the first quarter of 2024.

Consumers in the study were split into two groups. One group experienced disconnected (multichannel) campaigns, and the other was exposed to connected (omnichannel) campaigns. The campaigns featured the same brand and creative. The campaigns’ impact was measured across six key metrics: attention, connection, immersion, cognitive load, persuasiveness, and encoding, which is the consumer’s ability to commit an ad to memory.

The findings are presented in a report, The Untapped Opportunity of Omnichannel, released today. In addition to being less fatiguing, connected omnichannel campaigns were found to be 1.9 times more likely to connect with audiences, 1.5 times more immersive, and 1.4 times more attention-grabbing. Further, the study found these strategies are 1.2 times more memorable.

Why it matters:

“This research sets advertisers on a journey,” says Sara Picazo, director of market research and insights at The Trade Desk and a lead researcher on the study. “In the short term, they might start to think about how they plan for different channels. For instance, do they want to have certain colleagues in the room who are responsible for other channels as they plan their campaigns? We’ve already heard from some advertisers who’ve said that’s how they’re thinking.”

As for long-term impact, Picazo suggests this research might help spark conversations across the industry around new omnichannel tactics. “They might ask themselves, ‘If we can improve performance for brands and for consumers, then why aren’t we doing it?’ And I think advertisers will start asking these questions the deeper they go into their own omnichannel journey,” she says.

The Current is owned and operated by The Trade Desk.