The missing study
Platapode
Every brand lift study says the brand went up. Awareness, recall, how much people liked it. Something always went up. Usually "consideration".
Statistically, some campaigns must do nothing. So somewhere there should be a pile of studies saying the campaign made no difference at all.
Nobody's found that pile. Either those studies don't get run, or they get run and quietly filed. Either way, the only reports doing the rounds are the ones with good news in them.
Up on paper, flat in enrolments
Education campaigns are a good example. A brand lift report can come back glowing, awareness up, consideration up, while enrolments look exactly like last term. Whether it's online courses, universities, TAFEs, RTOs or tutoring, the number that matters is the one on the student list.
It's the easiest research to trust. It agrees with everyone.
