Integrated ad units may impact branding more than ad size

A new Dynamic Logic study indicates that brand impact from online advertising may be less depending on ad size and more dependent on ad placement. This flies in the face of conventional knowledge, which has pushed for larger and larger ad units online.

Anyone using Google AdSense could tell you that AdSense, when integrated “into” the content tends to perform better on click-throughs (in part probably because less online savvy users simply aren’t aware the ad sense links are ads). But now the “integrated” unit will compete for brand dollars as well. This is common sense to an extent, but raises the logical question is this a question of “either or” or a question of “and”?  What is the impact of larger units on branding when they are better integrated into the content?