1. Research Paper # 2 September 3rd, 2012
Search and
Performance Display:
Better Together
by Thomas Volpi, Global Head of Marketing,
Tom Burg, Head of Marketing and Communication US,
and Patrick Wyatt, Head of Business Intelligence

3. Search and Performance Display: Better together
How to take advantage of the synergies from
combining Search and Performance Display
After years of sustained growth, business
driven by Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
is slowing down. This Criteo research paper
analyzes the convergence of Search Marketing
and Performance Display. It demonstrates
that advertisers can achieve significant
synergies by using both these channels simul-
taneously, generating increased conversions
and improved ROI.
© Criteo — September 3rd, 2012 1/8

4. Search and Performance Display: Better together
Executive summary
Today, businesses face a wide array of digital marketing options in the quest for im-
proved return on investment and greater sales volumes. Historically, Search Marketing
has been the most reliable, cost-effective way for marketers to generate new custo-
mers and sales, but fifteen years of growth has created significant market saturation,
where additional investment often doesn’t create enough additional return. Though
Search Marketing can be extraordinarily effective, it still faces the limitation that users
spend only 5% of their time searching and only 13% of people perform a shopping-
related query on any given day.
Fortunately, the emergence of Performance Display advertising – infusing online ban-
ner advertising with real-time data and optimization capabilities – has given a real
shot in the arm to the online advertising ecosystem. It has provided marketers with a
way to engage users the 95% of the time they are not using search engines, reaching
TV-like audiences, this time with one-to-one messages. By borrowing many of the
strengths Search Marketing is famous for – measurement, scale, transparency, and
driven by user intent – Performance Display has provided marketers with a dramatic
new way to generate new customers and sales. But what is even more compelling is
recent data suggesting that the convergence of Performance Display with Search has
created a powerful, combined approach.
Criteo, in conjunction with The Nielsen Company, recently conducted research to in-
vestigate the impact that performance display advertisements have on users’ search
habits. The research demonstrated that marketers who successfully combine Search
Marketing with Performance Display enjoy substantial business benefit. That combi-
nation, in fact, drives 4 tangible benefits :
1 — Extending Performance Display to the entire funnel. By leveraging interest, in-
tent and engagement data, the combined performance of Search and Display allows
marketers to address the entire funnel.
2 — Increased search Activity: According to Nielsen studies, when Performance
Display is combined with Search, organic searches (SEO) increase by 28%.
3 — Lower paid search for advertisers: users exposed to performance display ads
click on paid search results 5% less often than do non-exposed visitors.
4 — Enhanced branding effect. Exposed users make 50% more branded que-
ries, and have a 25% higher brand awareness.
2/8 © Criteo — September 3rd, 2012

5. Search and Performance Display: Better together
Introduction play can reach a fully extendable audience, thanks to
RTB solutions. In 2011, RTB granted access to 10%
of the US display market, which counted 4,8 trillion
display ads that year 4. In this case, the technology
It’s Simple – Search Works multiplies contact points with potential buyers for bet-
Search has been a dominant digital marketing chan-
ter conversion rates and more new clients.
nel for years and it continues to play a vital role for
marketers today. Simply, it’s where the audience is
Moderate Usage Frequency: Nielsen shows
- last year, 63% of Internet users used search en-
internet users use Google Search once every 2.4
gines at least 5 days a week. 1 Hence, search adver-
days (Source: Mediametrie//NetRatings – 2012
tising is a valuable approach when advertisers look to
home/office) and all forms of search once every 2.5
reach consumers who exhibit intent, with the ability to
days according to comScore (Qsearch, 2011).
show relevant messages against the very keywords
consumers are searching for. It is no surprise that
Limited Branding Effect: For product-related
advertisers generally prefer solutions offering at the
marketers interested in driving brand awareness,
same time scalability, a low risk management ap-
search advertising provides very little branding effect.
proach - real time monitoring of Clicks, CTR and ROI,
Typical brand marketing KPIs like awareness, inte-
and the combined ability to optimize and perso-
rest and demand generation are difficult to measure
nalize their campaigns on any adjustable parame-
through search, a purely performance-driven chan-
ter that has a proven impact on campaign results.
nel. On the other hand, display solutions allow for a
greater branding effect as consumers are more likely
Search Limitations to do a branded search after they have been exposed
Though SEM provides advertisers with a low-risk to a display ad 5.
marketing experience, there are still limitations. Satu-
ration in the marketplace, coupled with declining ROI, Inability to Cross Sell: With search marketing,
has opened the door for other complementary solu- advertisers are also limited in what they can recom-
tions to break through. SEM limitations include: mend to consumers. Indeed, within a simple text ad,
it is not possible to dynamically suggest a range of
Low Time Spent: Nielsen studies show that complementary products or services, the likes of
users spend only 5% of their time on search en- which can be done with Performance Display solu-
gines, as opposed to 95% on content-related sites 2. tions, as the approach allows for greater variety than
Advertisers must therefore complement their search simple text.
marketing efforts with performance display banner
advertising to ensure greater “targeted awareness.”
Few Shopping Queries Limiting Supply:
Only 13% of internet users do daily shopping-related
requests 3 . More than 77% of all search queries are
for non-shopping-related topics. As a result, the ave-
rage CPC has soared. According to Google’s Investor
Relations Page, the average CPC on Google more
than tripled in five years, from $0.38 in 2005 to $1.24
in 2010. Unlike Search Marketing, Performance Dis-
1. Source : Deloitte, May 2012 “Vox Populi : State of The Media Democracy Survey”
2 . Forrester Research, “Interactive Marketing Forecasts, 2011 to 2016”, August 2011
3. Deloitte, May 2012 “Vox Populi : State of The Media Democracy Survey”
4. Source : comScore, USA, 2012. 4.8 trillion display ads were delivered in 2011 in the US alone.
5. Source : Nielsen, USA, September 2011
© Criteo — September 3rd, 2012 3/8

6. Search and Performance Display: Better together
Performance Display and Win-Win #1
Search Together Result Enhanced performance across
in Win-Wins the entire purchase funnel
Performance display and Search should no longer be It’s all about the data.
seen as different beasts. The two channels share Over the last few years, the online advertising industry
the same DNA: has focused on leveraging and injecting into ads all
different types of data. It has been, in essence,
a giant and collective R&D effort, all to make Display
• Bidded CPC Model
“smarter” by exploiting what is now known as “Big
• Dynamic Personalisation
Data.” Far beyond Search data, it is the aggregation
• Real-Time Campaign Management
of all user-centric information. It now allows adver-
and Optimisation
tisers to measure the impact of targeting the upper
funnel with smart key performance indicators (KPIs):
Together, they make an even more powerful combi- keywords, intent-based metrics, browsing interest,
nation. Studies run by Nielsen for Criteo have shown demographic figures, and social preferences.
four main synergies between Search and Performan- Intelligently injected into Display, these complemen-
ce Display that marketers should consider: tary sources of data allow a much broader approach
than SEM’s solely intent-based solution. Marketers
can now speak to and engage with new customers on
1 Enhanced performance across a performance basis, all related to different levels of
the entire purchase funnel intent, interest and engagement. Thanks to this large
amount of data, advertisers can then set the most ap-
2 Increased Search activity propriate and relevant levels of investment, necessary
to address new, dormant and active customers.
3 Lower paid search To leverage this massive dataset, Performance Dis-
for advertisers play vendors have created different tools such as
retargeting, targeting, search-retargeting, look-alike,
4 Enhanced Branding Effect and others, that can be used separately or bundled to
offer the best performance. Search and Performance
Display are highly complementary and both are
required to address the entire purchase funnel.
Upper Funnel > Display ads help drive
awareness and then interest
Only Performance Display can drive initial interest
from the upper funnel. C3 Metrics’ recent study has
shown that Display originates 44% of advertisers’
transactions 6. Marketers understand that upper-fun-
nel advertising campaigns are best suited to drive
awareness and interest and without them, revenue is
difficult to generate longer-term.
SEM does not detect or initiate interest at
the upper funnel; awareness is best generated
by Display ads. With the right data, ads will deli-
ver relevant, timely messages, and the most ad-
vanced will include a product recommendation.
4/8 © Criteo — September 3rd, 2012

7. Search and Performance Display: Better together
Mid-Funnel > Display can exploit generic Most intent data comes from active customer on-
interests and intent site behaviours.
Performance Display provides an effective way to When SEM and Performance Display both
leverage users’ queries done outside search chan- utilise high-quality, intent-based data, they often earn
nels in order to engage high-potential customers a comparable level of performance.
through product-level personalised banners. The When the two channels operate in sync, adverti-
technology most used to do this is called Search sers enjoy a higher overall ROI. In July 2012, a Criteo
Retargeting. research paper, “Value Of Clickers” 7 proved that
when enough intelligence is introduced into the ads
Lower Funnel > Making Display themselves, buyers do click on Display ads. Accor-
perform like Search ding to the study :
At the bottom of the funnel, user behaviour data • “Clickers buy 3 times more frequently than non-
is highly intent-based. Both SEM and Display can clickers”
leverage specific queries and keywords from the • “43% of regular buyers click on Criteo Ads Alone”
search channel and from data providers and in-site • “50% of browsers are responsible for 80% of clicks
search engines. Of course, the quality, accuracy and and sales”.
freshness of this data impact the performance.
> Illustration #1 The right data 1 — Interest (1st-party data): demogra- SEM is purely intent-based marketing
to uncover the right customer phics, behavioral data from publishers, and is 100% fueled by intent data – com-
and behavioral data . prising only the queries entered by users
This graphic represents the full range 2 — Intent (1st-party data): high-intent on search channels. Performance display,
of interest, intent and engagement data data collected from social platforms (I by leveraging the most appropriate data,
across the entire purchase funnel – in like/I want), generic keywords (product can now be considered a “full purchase
order to properly reach new, active and category) and specific keywords (pro- funnel” advertising channel.
dormant customers with the most rele- ducts, retailers)
vant and accurate messaging. From top 3 — Engagement (3rd party-data): spe-
to bottom, we believe there are 3 primary cific searches on in-site engines, beha-
types of data involved in the buying pro- vioral browsing and buying statistics to
cess across the funnel: fuel product engine recommendations.
OFF SITE DATA UPPER FUNNEL
3rd party data New Customers
"WHO I AM"
Socio demo Demographic Data
Interest
Surf "WHAT I LIKE"
Social & Check-in
Performance Display
"WHAT I’M INTERESTED IN"
Social Cookies
Generic Keywords "EARLY SEARCH"
Intent
Keywords
SEM
Specific Keywords
"WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR"
Keywords
Engagement
Specific Keywords
Behavioral surf "WHAT I‘VE DONE"
Cookies
ON SITE DATA Strength LOWER FUNNEL
1st party Data of Data Active Customers
Criteo © 2012
6. Source: C3 Metrics, Q1 2011. C3 Metrics examined 50,000 transactions across a subset of its client data collected in Q1,
2011. C3 Metrics’ proprietary decision engine provides full-funnel attribution modelling, capturing all online media sources from
the top of the funnel, where sales are originated, to the conversion at the bottom of the funnel. Across all 50,000 transactions
analysed, C3 Metrics determined originators, assists and converters for each transaction at a granular level.
7 . Source : Criteo, “Value of Clickers”, research paper written by Patrick Wyatt, Head of Business Intelligence, released in July 2012
© Criteo — September 3rd, 2012 5/8

8. Search and Performance Display: Better together
Win-Win #2
Increased Search Activity
+ 28% SEO clicks
from exposed visitors
According to Nielsen, users who have seen such ads
click on natural (non-paid) branded search results "Visitors to advertiser
28% 8 more frequently than do non-exposed visitors. sites, exposed to
It can be said that Search and Display are highly Criteo ads, make
complementary to users in the middle of a shopping 28% more SEO clicks
experience. Users start with a generic search, then a than do unexposed
more specific search, before visiting a site to investi- visitors."
gate products and being shown ads that correlate to
those products
SEM only with
Win-Win #3
Lower Paid Search 105
for Advertisers 100
- 5% SEM clicks 95
Interestingly, the same Nielsen research also revea-
led that those exposed to personalised messages 90
click on paid search results 5% less often than do
85
non-exposed visitors. This can result in significant sa-
vings for the marketer. It also demonstrates that ex-
80
posed visitors are more directed towards purchases
of specific branded products. 75
Win-Win #4 Non Exposed
Visitors
Exposed
Visitors
Enhanced Branding Effect
+50% more branded queries
According to Nielsen, when advertisers display per-
sonalised, graphic ads to potential buyers, including
the very product the consumer is looking for, users
demonstrate higher purchase intent as they click on
branded search ads 50% more frequently 9.
8, 9 . Source : Nielsen, France, August 2011, Research Study on Major European retailers.
6/8 © Criteo — September 3rd, 2012

9. Search and Performance Display: Better together
+25 pts of brand awareness
According to the same Nielsen Studies, Brand awa-
reness increases by 25% for exposed users. For pro-
duct-related marketers interested in driving brand
awareness, search advertising provides very little
branding effect. Typical brand marketing KPIs like
awareness, interest and demand can hardly be in-
creased through Search, a purely performance-dri-
ven channel. On the other hand, Display solutions
allow for a greater branding effect as consumers are
more likely to do a branded search after they have
been exposed to a display ad 10.
Non-Exposed Exposed
Users Users
Conclusion
The convergence of Search and Display comes at Enhanced Branding Effect. Exposed users
the right time for the online advertising industry. The make 50% more branded queries, and have a 25%
slowdown in growth of the Search Marketing space, higher brand awareness.
with market saturation, higher prices and lower mar-
gins, has enabled the rise of Performance Display. This is all proof that the combination of Search and
The combined effect – marrying the best elements targeted Display delivers great results, at scale, for
of Search Marketing (keyword-based, biddable, sca- direct marketers.
lable, measurable and driven by user intent) with Dis-
play advertising – has created a powerful new set of Looking ahead, it will be data, properly captured and
strategies for direct marketers. Performance Display, integrated, that will enable the correct segmentation
when combined with Search Marketing, has driven of audiences based on intent. Channel proliferation
tangible benefits to advertisers: will require advertisers to develop effective marketing
strategies wherever the customers are – be it online,
Extending Performance Display to the offline, or on a mobile device. The way to achieve
Entire Funnel. By leveraging interest, intent and this will be with a completely user-centric approach.
engagement data, the combined performance of
Search and Display allows marketers to address the
entire funnel.
Increased Search Activity: According to Niel-
sen studies, when Performance Display is combined
with Search, organic searches (SEO) increase by
28%.
Lower Paid Search for Advertisers: users
exposed to performance display ads click on paid
search results 5% less often than do non-exposed
visitors.
10 . See note 8.
© Criteo — September 3rd, 2012 7/8

10. Search and Performance Display: Better together
Main sources Nielsen Methodology -
Branding effect of Performance Display
& related studies
Ad effectiveness is a study combining observed
data (médiamétrie/NetRatings) and post-test results
— Deloitte, international study called “Vox Populi : based on questionnaires (access panel Research
State of The Media Democracy Survey” published in Now) which allows advertisers to check if they have
May 2012 the right balance between exposure campaigns and
— Emarketer and ZenithOptimedia, March 14 2012, user experience and brand image
worldwide forecast for Display and Search.
Two campaigns ran for 2 of the European online lea-
— comScore US, panel and research figures collec-
ders in electronics, clothing and house decoration.
ted since June 2011
Campaign periods: August 2010 and June 2011.
— Nielsen US, panel and research figures collected
Ad Effectiveness, how does that work?
since September 2011
— Forrester Research, “Interactive Marketing Fore- Combination:
casts, 2011 to 2016”, August 2011 • Observed data: Panel of Médiamétrie // NetRating
— Benchmark Search based on Kenshoo Data – • Released data - 2 post-tests “Access panel Re-
2011 – Comparison of Search and Performance dis- search Now”: 1600 users interviewed (4x400)
plays for Top retailers.
Nielsen measured the impact of Criteo on different
steps of the conversion funnel through 2 studies:
Criteo Sources:
These were two “Ad Effectiveness Studies“ (Nielsen
— Ad Effectiveness Studies: Nielsen measured the
Médiamétrie referent studies) conducted by Nielsen/
impact of Criteo on different steps of the conversion
Médiamétrie and CRITEO during a 1-month cam-
funnel through 2 studies: These were two “Ad Ef-
paign.
fectiveness Studies” (Nielsen Médiamétrie referent
PROTOCOL / Impacts measuring of a Criteo cam-
studies) conducted by Nielsen/Médiamétrie and CRI-
paign in 2 steps:
TEO during a 1-month campaign.
Step 1 – Measurement calculated through a repre-
— Value of Clickers: A common belief persists among
sentative panel of 25000 internet users (panellists
marketers: very few people click on online display
have a Nielsen tracker on their Web browser). It al-
ads, and those who do are not the kind of people
lows to track visted urls by the panellists.
worth advertising to anyway. This leads to the conclu-
Step 2 – Question Poll a.k.a. “Post-Test” on 2 inter-
sion that the efficiency of Display campaigns should
net users samples exposed vs non-exposed to Criteo
be measured not with clicks, but rather by whether an
banners (2x800 persons). It allows the collection of
ad was displayed (so-called “view-through”).
declarative data such as banners, brand perception,
This Criteo research paper aims to show that the
buying intentions…
bias against clicks is misguided. We have reviewed
over $10B of e-commerce sales and have learnt that Presented data came from 2 aggregated studies
the audience that clicks on timely, relevant ads is ex- conducted with a total of 8.2 million internet users
tremely valuable. exposed to Criteo. Post-tests are conducted online
over 1600 internet users (800 exposed / 800 non-ex-
posed).
1 – Brand awareness (Calculated through step 2 –
Post-test questionnaire). Following this questionnaire,
Nielsen observed a positive impact (+25 points) on
the advertisers’ brand awareness amongst internet
users exposed to Criteo banners.
3 – SPECIFIC BRANDED CLICKS (Calculated
through step 1 - Observed Data): Nielsen observes
that internet users exposed to Criteo banners are 1.5
times more likely to have made a click on a request
containing the advertiser’s name.
8/8 © Criteo — September 3rd, 2012

11. 9 / 8 © Criteo — September 3rd, 2012

12. About Criteo
Criteo is the global leader in Performance Display. Thanks to Criteo, advertisers
can reach more customers with the same return-­ n-­nvestment as they get from
o i
search marketing. Every day Criteo generates millions of high-­ uality leads
q
through dynamically generated ads which are personalized with the products and
services that consumers are searching for.
Criteo is measured purely on its post-­ lick performance and offers a turnkey pay-­
c
per-­ lick model including extensive real-­ime bidding tools, category and product
c t
level optimization and an in-­ ouse creative studio.
h
Criteo partners with over 3,000 leading ecommerce brands and operates in 30
countries across America, Europe and Asia.
For more information, please visit http://www.criteo.com
About Nielsen
Nielsen is a global marketing and advertising research company, and one of the
world’s leading suppliers of marketing information (Nielsen Consumer, formerly
ACNielsen), media information and TV ratings (Nielsen Media Research), online
intelligence (Nielsen Online) and mobile measurement (Nielsen Mobile). Nielsen
is active in over 100 countries, and employs some 32,000 people worldwide. On
the global scale, Nielsen online Audience ratings and research solutions compete
mostly with comScore.
For more information: www.nielsen.com
© Criteo — September 3rd, 2012