MAGNA/Oracle Study Shows Higher Engagement on Lower-Emission Ads

MAGNA, the centralized IPG Mediabrands intelligence, investment resource, partnered with Oracle to conduct a global study on the relationship between consumer engagement and sustainability. The study measured 350 display ads across 100 U.S. websites in more than 50 countries. Ultimately, the results showed that an ad viewed for a longer period produced two-thirds fewer emissions, yielding a 6% reduction in GHG emissions by merely prohibiting non-viewable impressions. This study also included a Scope3 carbon emissions model, which measures the emissions across all aspects of the supply chain. Using this model, the study was calculated in total grams of carbon dioxide from digital impressions (gCO2e).

“Sustainability is a vitally important facet of our business model, and this research reveals how we can foster more environmentally friendly practices in the advertising industry without sacrificing attention metrics,” said Martin Bryan, Chief Sustainability Officer at IPG Mediabrands. This study demonstrates that advertising agencies can be both financially and sustainably successful, as the longer their ads are run, it can reduce their carbon footprint.”

In addition to the Scope3 emissions model, the study used Oracle’s Moat Score System to examine the relationship between metrics and emissions, revealing that the higher the quality of metrics, the fewer grams of carbon dioxide are emitted. The study also revealed that static ads have 34% fewer emissions than animated, and 16% fewer emissions on desktops, as opposed to other electronic devices, supporting the strong positive correlation between attention and sustainability. Since conducting this study, IPG Mediabrands has used these findings to develop more advanced media buying algorithms and supply path optimization solutions.

The full study can be found here.