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Advertising Research; The Complete Ad Campaign

Through research an advertiser can better understand what will be useful in an


advertisement and increase the probability of making good choices. Marketing research
is defined as the systematic gathering, recording, and interpretation of information related
to all marketing mix variables. Advertising research is a specialized form of marketing
research that focuses on the planning, preparation, and placement of advertising and is
conducted by an ad agency.

There are several points at which research can assist the process: assisting the marketer in
determining which segment of the market to target; determining which segment of the
market to target; helping creatives understand the audience members to whom the ad will
speak; making a go or no-go decision to determine whether to run an ad or pull it and
perhaps even evaluate the performance of the agency.

Critics of the process are concerned with that fact that much research does not consider:
reliability (that is if the methods generate consistent findings over time), validity (the
information generated is relevant to the research questions being investigated),
trustworthiness (can data collection process be trusted), and meaningful (what does the
research mean).

Early in the process, developmental advertising research is used to generate advertising


opportunities and messages. This helps the creatives and account team determine the
target audience’s language/profile and provides critical information used by creatives in
the production phase. One of the key methods is focus groups, a brainstorming session
with 4 to 8 target customers and a monitor. From such research came the small sized
Jell-O cups as well as the tag line “ring around the collar”. Projective techniques allow
customers to project thought and feelings in an indirect way. Most common of these are
association tests and sentence of picture completion but trustworthiness and validity of
such techniques are in question. Concept tests seek feedback designed to screen the
quality of a new idea using consumers as the judge. Sometimes these are part of the
agenda of a focus group to get quick feedback on a new product or ad idea.

Another form of research, idea generation, is designed to assist in developing new ways
of presenting a good or service. It may be a repositioning strategy (i.e., Disney
positioned theme parks as adult vacation alternatives for couples whose children have
grown up). Often times these ideas come from qualitative research involving
observation of customers, brainstorming with customers, extended interviews of
customers, as well as customer complaints.

Environmental analysis generates information on the uncontrollable variables in the


business environment and tries to assess the potential influence of social/cultural trends,
economics, how politics/economics may influence the consumer and environment into
which ads will be used.
Information gathered includes: demographic characteristics (i.e., population density, age
distribution, household size and composition, ethnicity); social and cultural
environmental values such as the value placed on health and fitness has given rise to a
multibillion dollar industry of spa and fitness centers. These may evolve slowly but have
an enormous effect on goods and include such changes as the importance of time and
convenience, changing gender roles, the growing concern for our natural environment,
economic factors effecting the successfully marketing and advertising of goods
(including the gross domestic product, interest rates, inflation – all of which influence the
ability and desire of consumers to spend.

Some industries are more sensitive to economic conditions, such as automobile and
tourism while conversely, basic packaged goods, pharmaceuticals suffer little. Political
and regulatory restrictions imposed on marketing and advertising practices both
governmental and nongovernmental effect practices of the advertising industry.
Technological changes effect not only the products a firm markets but the values and
behavior of a society (with the information superhighway it is feasible to communicate
with consumers on an individual interactive format which is changing the nature of
advertising. Competitor activities effect marketing and advertising planning and
responding to competitive maneuvers is important (i.e., indirect effects such as those on
the airline industry of teleconferencing).

Audience definition determines the marketing segment, one of the most important
marketing decisions to be made, to identify the consumer group that is sought for the
firm’s offering. New market opportunities can be discovered (i.e., in 1993 the National
Hardware Trade Association discovered that almost half the purchase of tools needed for
simple repairs, plungers, ladders were made by women. Now retailers run ads targeting
women in such publications as Family Circle, House Beautiful and Better Homes and
Gardens.

Audience Profiling helps the creatives understand the people to whom their ads will
speak. This research is done in many ways and one of the most popular is through
lifestyle research, AIOs (attitudes, interests and opinions) in which survey data is
amassed from consumers who answer a wide array of questions about their AIOs.

For a campaign to be successful, a message must be designed that engages the consumer
and gives them a reason to believe in the brand. Message research is done in two ways:
pretest occurs before an ad is placed and posttest is done after an ad is placed. These
tests generate a report card of sorts with grades. Many feel that these grades are
misleading and misapplied to increase Day After Recall (DAR) numbers. Certain
strategies may be applied, such as superimposing the brand name at the end of the tag
along with a voice over reading of the brand name and working in a couple of additional
mentions in the dialogue of the brand. However these mentions/supers are often
awkward as they are natural and people simply don’t talk like that. In fact, high DAR
scores may hurt the campaign causing quick wear out and annoyance.
Dimensions for message assessment: impart knowledge to generate thoughts which at
some point influence purchase (may use techniques such as tag lines, jingles, or general
focus on recognition of a brand); shape attitudes to influence what people feel about a
brand and create preference; attach feeling and emotions to the brand; legitimize the
brand through a resonance test to determine to what extent the message resonates/rings
true with the target audience members.

Tools used for the pretest message research include:


1.communications tests to see if the message is actually communicating what is
desired and that no unexpected interpretation of the ad exists; magazine dummies
are vehicles that are mocked up to contain both editorial content and test ads –
consumers are asked to take the magazines home and read them there, for a sense of
realism, and then the consumer is asked questions about the content – this approach
is excellent for comparing different message options t
2. theater tests are done in small theaters where the audience have an electronic
device through which they can express how much they like or dislike the ad shown
but the problem with this is that it is difficult to determine how authentic these
feelings are since the environment is unrealistic and artificial
1. thought listings are the thoughts that a finished ad generates in the mind of the
consumer and these responses are captured immediately following the
reading/screening of the ad – simple percentages of word counts are often used,
such as how often a person makes a self-relevant connection like “this would be
good for me” or “this is something I would like” – these are tallied and compared
2. attitude change studies use a before and after ad exposure where recruits are
polled for their before exposure attitudes towards a brand as well as a
competitor’s brand and then exposed to the test ad along with dummy ads – this is
followed by a remeasuring of attitudes – these are often conducted in a theater and
done with a sum measurement scale where the subject is asked to divide a sum
(i.e., 100%) among several brands – that is, how likely they would be to purchase
certain products – again, reliability is questionable since exposure is generally to a
single ad and is done in an unnatural viewing environment – repetition is
important for commercials, usually 3 or 4 viewings are needed for successful
communication and retention – print ads can be left at participants’ with test ads
inserted and then the researcher can call the next day for an interview and are told
that compensation for the tests will be to be entered into a drawing – the subject is
then asked to indicate their preferences on a wide range of potential prizes – the
next day the interviewer may say that their original preference forms were
misplaced and are asked to fill out another so as to get the subject’s post exposure
measurements
3. there are a number of psychological measures that detect how the consumer reacts
to messages based on their physical responses (i.e., eye-tracking systems that
monitor eye movements across print ads – with one system respondents may wear
goggle-like devices that records pupil dilations, eye movements and the length of
viewing of a sector within a print ad – another is a psychogalvanometer which
measures galvanic skin response, perspiration, arousal to certain stimulus as well
as a voice response analysis that uses inflections in the voice when discussing an
ad to indicate states – but all psychological measures suffer from the same
drawbacks and that is that we can detect physiological responses to an ad but
there is no way to determine if the response is to the ad, to the product or to the
talent. Though it is provocative to think of wiring people up, this really tells us
little beyond the simple degree of arousal that is attributable to an ad

There are services that conduct such pretests in conjunction with the ad agency as well as
full-service companies (i.e., Research System Corporation who employs 800-1200
respondents in several market are3as who view ads embedded in programs and this is
done either before or after testing. Three days after a subsample is called for recall.
Gallup and Robinson InTele Test uses in-home viewing of videotaped programs with 6
test spots and 6 normal spots. This is done in different cities with 150 male/f3emals
respondents and telephone interviews. Video Storyboard Tests (VST) tests rough
versions of ads that are prepared from storyboards with music sound tracks added. One-
on-one interview are conducted. There are also print pretesting services such as
Perception Research Services and Video Storyboard Tests.

Before committing to the expense of a major campaign, often a message-test program is


taken into the field in a pilot test. There are 3 forms: split-cable transmission allows
testing of two different versions of ads through direct transmission to 2 separate samples
of similar households within a defined market area. This is beneficial because it is in a
natural setting and there can be repetition as well as controlled timing; split-run
distribution uses the same technique just discussed but in print where 2 different versions
of the ad are placed in every other copy of the magazine; split-list experiments tests the
effectiveness of various aspects of direct mail advertising by preparing and mailing
multiple versions of a direct mail piece. The version that pulls the best is deemed
superior.

Posttest message tracking assesses the performance of an ad during and after the launch
of the campaign and measures the ads performance on recall, recognition, awareness and
attitude and purchase behavior.

Recall testing is the most common method of research to see if an ad is remembered on


the premise that if it is remembered it is most likely to work. In television generally a
group of individuals are recruited from the target market and watch a certain channel
during a certain time on the test date. The individuals are asked to participate by
watching the show and then are called the next day for day-after exposure determinations.
Questions begin with general statements like “do you remember seeing an ad for a
laundry detergent and if so, do you remember the brand” and if not further aids/’prompts
are given. The interview is taped and recorded and the verbatim is coded into categories
representing levels of recall in a percentage. In print a consumer recruited from the target
market, generally at a shopping mall, is given a magazine to read. Often it is an advance
issue and at other times it is fictitious only constructed for testing. The ads are inserted
and the subject is phoned the nest day and asked questions, with aided recall. Their
responses are assessed including product category cues (do you remember seeing an ad
for…).

Some research indicates there is little relation between recall scores and sales
effectiveness.

Recognition tests ask the reader/viewer whether they remember having seen particular
ads and whether they can name the company sponsoring the ad. For print, the actual ad is
shown and with television, a script with accompany photos is shown. This is an easier
recall task since the respondents are cued by the very stimulus they remember. During
the interview they are asked if they saw enough of the ad to notice the brand name and
how much of the copy they have read. The biggest problem is the yea= saying bias
where people say they recognize an ad whenin truth they do not.

Awareness and attitude tracking measure the change in an audience’s brand awareness
and attitude before and after an ad campaign starts. This common type of research is
almost always conducted as a survey where the target market is surveyed on a regular
basis to detect changes. The changes are attributed to the advertising, rightly or wrongly,
and the problem with these tests are their inability to isolate the effects of advertising on
awareness and attitude amid a myriad of other influences (i.e., media reports,
observation, friends and competitive advertising).

Behavior based evaluation offer an audience the opportunity to place an inquiry or


respond directly through reply card or toll-free number, like 1-8900, and if they generate
a high number of inquiries or responses, they are considered successful.

With single-source tracking measures research firm are now able to engage in research to
document the behavior of individuals in a respondent pool by tracking their behavior
from the television set to the checkout counter. With UPCs (universal product codes)
information about brand purchases and grocery store scanner data are combined with
devices attached to the households’ televisions (peoplemonitors) that monitor viewing
behavior, and measure the impact of advertising/promotions on actual purchases.
However the exact aspect of the ad that has the positive effect is not calculable.

Posttesting Serviices are conducted by such companies as Gallup & Robinson magazine
Impact Research Service (MIRS) in which ads appear in selected issues of major
magazines and respondents who have read at least two of the last four issues are recruited
in ten metropolitan areas. The magazines are delivered to the participants, interviewed
by phone the next day and 15 different brand and product categories are examined. Print
Plus samples 5 test markets by informing subjects that they are in a public opinion survey
of the magazine and then measures attitudes before exposure, then postexposure to
measure brand preference.

No method is perfect and reliable and valid. Trustworthiness and meaningfulness are
difficult to determine as we don’t read a magazine or watch television the way we read a
Shakespearean drama or Orson Wells.

There are secondary sources for obtaining information such as governmental sources.
The government generates data on factors such as population and housing trends,
transportation, consumer spending and recreation activities in the US. Many of these
statistics are easily accessed via the web. Some census information includes: population
including age, gender, race, marital status and is published every 10 years. There is a
census of housing that provides information on housing sizes based on the number of
inhabitants, type of fuel used, number and type of major appliances and condition and
value of structure and is published every 10 years. A census of retail trade provides
information on retail activity including the number of retail outlets, total sales and
employment and is published in years ending 2 and 7. A census of service industries
identifies service providers by category and geographic area and indicates sales,
employment and number of units taken in and is published in years ending in 2 and 7.
The census of transportation identifies 3 major transportation models – cars, trucks and
buses – and includes trips, number of persons taking trips, duration of trips, means of
travel and destination and is also published in years ending in 2 and 7. The survey of
current businesses is published monthly by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the
Department of Commerce and provides information on general business indicators, real
estate activity, commodity prices, personal consumption expenditures and income and
employment by industry.

There are commercial sources from which information can be purchased. Such sources
include: Dun and Bradstreet market Identifiers lists 4.3 million businesses and is updated
monthly. It can be used to identify markets, build mailing lists and specify media. The
Nielsen Retail index provides inventory turnover data from 1,600 grocery stores, 750
drugstores and 150 mass merchandise outlets as well as information on retail prices and
local advertising and is available by store type and geographic location. SAM/Burke
report is similar to the Neilsen index except that sales volume figures are based on
warehouse withdrawals rather than retail sales. The Nielsen Television Index provides
estimates of the size and characteristics of the audience for television programs gathered
through electronic devices attached to participating households’ sets. The Roper Starch
Advertisement Readership tracks readership of more than 70,000 ads appearing in 1,000
consumer publications, newspapers and business periodicals. More than 100,000
interviews are coneducted each years.

Professional publications often contain secondary data for advertising planning and
include such publications as Adweek, Ad Age, Chain Store Age, and Progressive Grocer.
The Complete Campaign

A marketing plan should combine four elements – identify, attract, defend and strengthen
brand loyalty. Marketers perceive of their brands as living entities brought to life through
communication, that is the advertising campaigns. These campaigns consist of a series of
ads that run over time, with the average length of a national campaign being 17 months,
sometimes far longer (i.e., DuPont in 1929 began “Better Things for Better Living
Through Chemistry” and in 1984 the “through chemistry” was dropped. This is an
example of a well built brand equity where the message remains true to the original
campaign. Sometimes the campaign too tightly limits the usage (i.e., Grey Poupon is
used only for special occasions) and needs to be changed.

A situation analysis is “the part of the advertising plan that answers the questions: Where
are we today and how did we get there? It deals with the past and present,” (p. 649,
Kleppner’s). Products are analyzed for strengths and weaknesses, prime prospects for
customers are determined in order to be profitable, and a review of the competition is
conducted.

Once these are determined, then advertising themes to appeal to the target audience are
developed and the copy strategy is outlined to indicate how the plan will accomplish the
marketing goals.

Most ads designed within a campaign should be similar, using similar typefaces or
layouts, so that the consume can recognize the advertiser by glancing at the ad. Even
thought the treatments vary, a similar feeling pervades the campaign. Also certain words
are used frequently and become associated with certain brands (i.e., “You’re Love the
Way We Fly for Delta, “It’s everywhere you want to be – Visa). Other classic campaign
strategies include: Aren’t you glad you use Dial? Don’t you wish everybody did? ,
You’re in good hands with Allstate, American express – Don’t leave home without it.

The same familiarity can be developed through music or jingle or even an announcer’s
voice can build continuity, even sound effects (ie., Avon’s doorbell became associated
with “Avon Calling”, and Maxwell House used a coffee perking sound for Master
Blend).

The media strategy is the planning of the ad media buy, with the identification of a target
audience and the media vehicles and appropriate times to reach these prospects.

Finally the complete campaign, that is the advertising, the media schedule, the sales
promotion materials and costs for everything must ultimately be approved by the client.
Objectives are identified and used to indicate how the campaign will increase sales or
increase the company’s share of the market.

And, as just explored, the final part of a campaign entails the testing of the materials to
determine just how successful the campaign has been.

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