Evaluation of Effectiveness Advertising Principles and Practices

Outstanding in the Field \ New Holland had to reinvent and reintroduce its tractor brand with sliding market share, a shrinking market, and limited budget. The campaign positioned New Holland as the better choice of an empowered consumer, and drove traffic to its Web site. Sales grew by 9%, market share by 21% and 36% for low and high horsepower categories, Web site visits were 68,000 over the campaign period. 19-2Prentice Hall, © 2009

19-3 Types of Evaluation Testing—to predict results –Sample ads are tested before they run. Monitoring—to track performance –Performance is tracked to see if anything needs to be changed. Measurement—to evaluate the results –The results, or actual effects, are measured after the campaign runs.

Prentice Hall, © Stages of Evaluation 1.Developmental research Pretesting to see if an idea will work, or another is better 2.Concurrent research Tracking studies and test marketing to see how campaign is unfolding and how messages and media are working 3.Posttesting research Comparing the impact of campaign after it’s over against a benchmark, baseline, or other starting point 4.Diagnostic research Taking apart an ad to see what elements are working and which aren’t; examine frame by frame or piece by piece

Prentice Hall, © Facets: Measuring Responses It’s difficult to measure advertising’s effect on sales: –Other factors affect sales (e.g., pricing, distribution, competition), making it hard to isolate impact. –Effects are delayed; it’s hard to link sales to advertising. Communication effects an be measured as surrogate measures for sales impact: –Awareness of the advertising, purchase intention, preference, liking. Principle: Good evaluation plans, as well as effective promotional work, are guided by a model of how people respond to advertising.

Prentice Hall, © Effect Perception Awareness/Noticed Attention Recognition (Aided ) Relevance Emotion Liking/Disliking Desire Cognition Interest Comprehension/ Confusion Recall (Unaided) Brand Recall/ Linkage Differentiation Table 19:1Effectiveness Research Questions Research Questions What ads do you remember seeing? Which ads were noted? What caught your attention? Did the ad stand out among the other ads and content around it? What stood out in the ad? Have you seen this ad/this campaign? Sort elements into piles of remember/don’t remember. How important is the product message to you? Does it speak to your interest and aspirations? What emotions did the ad stimulate? How did it make you feel? Do you like this brand? This story? The characters (and other ad elements)? What did you like or dislike about the brand? The ad? Do you want this product or brand? Did you read/watch most of it? How much? Did it engage your interest or curiosity? Where did your interest shift away from the ad? What thoughts came to you? Do you understand how it works? Is there anything in the ad you don’t understand? Do the claims/product attributes/benefits make sense? Do you have a need for this brand or can it fulfill a need for you? What happened in the commercial? What is the main message? What is the point of the ad? What brand is being advertised in the ad? (In open-ended responses, was the brand named?) What’s the difference between Brand X and Y?

Prentice Hall, © Effect Persuasion Attitude Preference Intention Argument/Counter Argument Believability/Conviction Trust Association Personality/Image Self Identification Table 19:1Effectiveness Research Questions Research Questions Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the brand? The ad? How excellent or weak is the brand? The ad? Do you respect it? In Category X (or product set), which brand would you choose? (Usually a pre- or posttest question) What brand do you prefer? Do you want to try or buy this product/brand? Would you put It on your shopping list? What are your reasons for buying it? Or for not buying it–or its competing brand(s)? How does it compare to competitor’s brands? Do you argue back to the ad? Do you believe the reasons, claims, or proof statements? Are you convinced the message is true? The brand is best? Do you have confidence in the brand? When you think of this brand, what (products, qualities, attributes, people, lifestyles, etc.) do you connect with it? Do you link this brand to positive experiences? What is the personality of the brand? Of whom does it remind you? Do you like this person/brand personality? What is the brand image? What does it symbolize or stand for? Can you see yourself or your friends using this brand? Do you connect personally with the brand image?

Prentice Hall, © Copy Testing Companies that conduct research and perform diagnostic methods to identify an ad’s strong and weak points: –Ameritest –ARS –Diagnostic Research –IPSOS-ASI –Mapes & Ross –Millward Brown –RoperASW

Prentice Hall, © Message Development Research Concept Testing –Compares the effectiveness of various message strategies and their creative ideas (the big idea). Pre-testing –Helps marketers make final go/no-go decisions about finished/nearly finished ads using photoboards or animatics. Diagnostics –Designed to diagnose strengths and weaknesses of ideas to improve work still in development or to learn more in order to improve subsequent advertisements. Principle: Advertising effects are too complicated to be reduced to a single score.

Prentice Hall, © During Execution: Concurrent Testing Coincidental Surveys –In broadcast media, random calls to target market determine stations choices, ads they’ve seen/heard, brand perceptions Tracking Studies –Every 3 to 6 months, measure top-of-mind brand awareness –Brand tracking tracks the performance of the brand Test Markets –Evaluate product variations, campaign or media elements –Generally, two or more markets with markets as controls

Prentice Hall, © Posttesting: After Execution Research Breakthrough: Attention—interest, enjoyability, liking Engagement Tests—eye-tracking as readers scan ads Memory Tests—recognition test, recall tests, unaided recall, aided recall Emotion Test—MRI measures brain activity Likeability Tests—relevant, important, enjoyable, entertaining, fun Persuasion Tests—intention to buy, motivation, Inquiry Tests—measures number of responses to an ad Scanner Research—tally up purchase and collect consumer buying info Single-Source Research—advertising and brand purchase data come from the same households, linking advertising to sales

Prentice Hall, © Media Evaluation Evaluating Audience Exposure –How did each media vehicle perform? –Do outdoor, traffic counts equal exposure? –For Web/Internet advertising, what is measured and how does it compare to traditional media: hits, click-throughs, minutes spent? Advertising ROI and Media Efficiency –Return on investment –Wearout –Media optimization

Prentice Hall, © Key MessageSurrogate EffectsMeasuresCommunication Tools PerceptionExposureAdv Media; PR, PoP AttentionAdv; Sales Promo, Packaging; PoP InterestAdv; SP; PR, Direct; PoP RelevanceAdv; PR; Direct; PoP RecognitionAdv; PR, Pkging; PoP, Specialties CognitiveUnderstandingAdv; PR; Sales; Direct RecallAdv; SP; PR, PoP, Specialties Adv; PR; Pkging Affective Emotions & LikingAdv; Sales Promo, Pkging; PoP AppealsAdv; PR; Sales; Events/Spnsrshps ResonateAdv; PR; Events/Spnsrshps PersuasionAttitudesAdv; PR; Direct Preference/IntentionAdv; PR; Sales; Sales Promo CredibilityPR ConvictionPR; Sales; Direct MotivationAdv; PR; Sales; Sales Promo Brand Assoc Brand ImageAdv; PR, Events/ Spnsrshps ActionTrialSP; Sales; Direct, PoP PurchaseSP; Sales; Direct Repeat PurchaseAdv; SP; Sales; Direct, Specialties Table 19:2Message Effectiveness Factors

Prentice Hall, © Direct Response The objective is to generate an immediate behavior response (transaction, buy). Use toll-free numbers, mail- in coupons, Web site or address, an offer in the copy. Response is easy to measure in terms of effectiveness and ROI. –Total responses divided by total mailed = Response per thousand (RPM)

A Sales Promotion Breakeven Analysis At the breakeven point, where 30,000 premiums are delivered at a cost of $45,000, the sales revenues exactly cover, but do not exceed, total costs. Below and to the left of the breakeven point (in the portion of the diagram marked off by dashed lines) the promotion operates at a loss. Above and to the right of the breakeven point, as more premiums are sold and sales revenues climb, the promotion makes a profit Prentice Hall, © 2009

19-16 Public Relations Measure the success in getting out the message in terms of output and outcomes –Output: materials produced and distributed); how many press releases ran –Input: acceptance and impact of materials; changes in public opinion Content analysis: Was coverage favorable? Public opinion studies: Have attitudes, behaviors, or knowledge changed?

Prentice Hall, © Web Site Evaluation Traffic volume –Page views –Site visitors Click-through rates –Ads sold as pay-per click Cost per lead –An attempt to measure ROI using a conversion rate (percent of visitors who complete desired action)

Prentice Hall, © Special Advertising Situations Retail advertising B2B advertising International advertising Objective: Generate store traffic –Simple counts of people at promotions and events Objective: Visibility –Participation counts at events, or “how-to” classes –Sign-up and fill-out forms Objective: Loyalty –Participation in frequency clubs or loyalty programs

Prentice Hall, © Special Advertising Situations Retail advertising B2B advertising International advertising Objective: Generate response/sales leads –Lead count based on calls, s, and cards returned to the advertiser Objective: Conversion rates — number of leads who make a purchase

Prentice Hall, © Special Advertising Situations Retail advertising B2B advertising International advertising Difficult to evaluate because of the number of markets, distance, cost, and variety of cultures Evaluation should focus initially on pretesting to help correct big problems (due to unfamiliarity with the culture, language or consumer behavior) before they occur

Prentice Hall, © Campaign Evaluation It’s difficult to evaluate and estimate the impact of synergy. Brand tracking can measure campaign effectiveness by adding and taking away ingredients, and studying the effects of those changes. The challenge: look at the big picture rather than individual pieces and parts. Advertisers seek an evaluation method that brings all the individual metrics together to efficiently and effectively evaluate and predict communication effectiveness.

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