Two recent studies have examined the return on investment across different media for retail advertisers. The results are conclusive – print is the number one advertising medium for retailers.

Study 1 – Microsoft Advertising

A recent Microsoft study (carried out in 2009) conducted with Brand Science analysed the return on investment of 26 UK retailers advertising communications.

• For all retailers, prints return on investment was £5.01, more than any other channel and 133% greater than TV.
• For traditional offline retailers, the difference was even more pronounced, with prints return on investment £6.41, again more than any other channel and this time 164% greater than TV.

As a consequence of the study Microsoft recommends that retailers reallocate their advertising budgets, increasing the proportion they allocate to print by 10 percentage points.

Study 2 – Outdoor Advertising Association

A separate study conducted by the OAA (again in 2009), again in conjunction with Brand Science, finds a similar outcome.

This study analysed 400 campaigns and, using ad spend and sales uplift data supplied by brand owners, compared the ROI of different channels. Again, print performed strongest with the highest ROI. The ROI of each channel for every pound spent was:

• Print: £6.23
• Outdoor: £3.57
• TV: £3.57

Source: OAA/Microsoft Advertising/ Brand Science