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Report: Study finds iAds twice as effective as TV ads

AdAge is reporting results of Apple-funded Nielsen study that show iAds are more effective than traditional television ads.

Jim Dalrymple Special to CNET News
Jim Dalrymple has followed Apple and the Mac industry for the last 15 years, first as part of MacCentral and then in various positions at Macworld. Jim also writes about the professional audio market, examining the best ways to record music using a Macintosh. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. He currently runs The Loop.
Jim Dalrymple
James Martin/CNET

The first study results on the effectiveness of Apple's iAds are reportedly in and they appear favorable for Apple and its advertisers.

The study, obtained by Advertising Age but not publicly released, was reportedly funded by Apple and one of iAds early advertisers, Campbell's, but conducted by research firm Nielsen. The results of the study are noteworthy, especially when comparing iAds to television ads, according to AdAge. (We asked Nielsen for our look at the results but Nielsen says it's proprietary information for Apple and Campbell's.)

According to AdAge, Nielsen claims that people exposed to iAds in the study were twice as likely to remember the ad than people who watched a television ad. In addition, five times as many people reportedly remembered the Campbell's brand from the iAd.

In what is surely an important factor for advertisers, the rate that iAd viewers reported intent to purchase the advertised products was four times that of television viewers.

Nielsen didn't say how many people were involved in the survey, only that the TV and mobile surveys were conducted separately and it was a five-week analysis.

It's also important to note that Campbell's iAds were "weighted to reflect the iPhone and iPod Touch universe in terms of age, gender, and income, while TV survey results were weighted for a general TV audience," reported AdAge.

Apple launched iAds in April 2010 to provide a more interactive look and feel to mobile advertising.