This is an excerpt from an article with which I absolutely agree. In online campaigns it is very easy to measure clicks, but this not represent if campaign is successful or not. CTR has dropped to 0,1% which is not much, but studies show that online advertising if effective for branding and sales. Display ads also help search advertising succeed and vice versa.

“Several comScore studies have confirmed that online campaigns drive offline sales, according to Fulgoni. In the first study, comScore took four categories, 53 brands and 200 of the most trafficked sites. The company looked at people exposed to display advertising and what they did in the month following. Findings reveal that 18% searched on the brand advertised and 29% went to the advertisers’ sites. Consumers who were exposed to the display advertising spent 55% more time than the average visitors to these sites the next month. The rise in time spent is matched by a similar increase in page views — about 51%.”

Source: MediaPost