[Digital Today reporter Lee Ji-young (이지영)] Toss Ads, the advertising service of Viva Republica, the operator of Toss, has for the first time applied an analysis method that measures differences in user awareness beyond exposure and clicks for public service ads.

Toss Ads said on Sept. 16 it took part in expanding advertising for the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Institute’s “Don’t just cut down, quit now” campaign.

The campaign was set up to highlight the risks of e-cigarettes and raise awareness about quitting smoking. After running ads targeting users with high relevance to the campaign message, Toss Ads surveyed awareness differences depending on whether the ads were shown.

The company said it was the first time it designed and applied separate awareness survey questions in line with the purpose of a public service ad.

The survey compared responses between a group exposed to Toss Ads and a group not exposed. Among those exposed, 67.2 percent said it helped them understand the risks of e-cigarettes, 10.5 percentage points higher than the unexposed group.

The share who said they knew about the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s e-cigarette smoking cessation campaign was also higher among the exposed group, at 49.1 percent compared with 40.6 percent for the unexposed group, a difference of 8.5 percentage points.

A Toss official said, “Public service ads differ by campaign in the message and goals they aim to deliver, so ad execution and analysis suited to the purpose are important.” The official added, “We plan to provide advertising solutions tailored to various campaigns by government and public institutions.”