INTRODUCTION TO ADVERTISING RESEARCH

Advertising is bringing a product (or service) to the attention of potential and current customers.
Advertising is focused on one particular product or service. Thus, an advertising plan for one
product might be very different than that for another product. Advertising is typically done with
signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, etc.
Promotion keeps the product in the minds of the customer and helps stimulate demand for the
product. Promotion involves ongoing advertising and publicity (mention in the press). The
ongoing activities of advertising, sales and public relations are often considered aspects of
promotions.
Advertising research is better defined by history and practice than anything else. Research comes
into the advertising process at several points. Early in the process, it is sometimes used to help a
marketer determine which segment of the market to target.
Throughout, research plays a role in helping the creatives (the people who actually make the ads)
understand their audience members. Later, it is sometimes used to make go/no go decision, to
estimate the effect of an ad campaign, and to evaluate the performance of an ad agency.
Unfortunately, it is also commonly misused.
It is the role of the advertiser to measure the effects of communication. The component of
communication model should be studied thoroughly and evaluation should be made on their
effectiveness. The components of communications are – a) Source factors, b) Message variables,
c) Media strategies and d) Receivers of the message.
The advertising research is to be conducted to measure the advertising impact or the result of the
effort with the help of detailed study on advertising objectives, product appeals, copy testing, and
media effectiveness. The objectives of the research should concentrate on – i) the optimum
utilisation of advertising budget; (ii) the choice of media in implementing an advertisement
campaign; (iii) the effect of advertisement on the target audience; (iv) to bring cost-effectiveness
in advertising.
The formulation of advertising objectives and budget of expenditures are to be considered in
setting the goals and the objectives should be streamlined in order to determine the tasks to be
performed.
The effectiveness of an advertising campaign should be studied at different stages and from
different perspectives.
Types of researches conducted:

Type # 1. Product Appeal Research:

The attitude of the target group towards a particular product or brand is of importance to study
the consumer behaviour. This attitude is known as the Product Appeal.
Generally, there is a stability of a set of attitude towards salient features of a product. A
consumer compares and evaluates a brand with this set of attitude, which is also known as “back
group”. It is important to study these salient characteristics of a product and the perceptions of
the consumer at different segments.
The product appeal is to be designed, considering the favourable factors of a product. It will be
the task of the marketer to change the unfavourable image of target group towards the product or
the brand presented, into a favourable one.
The features of a product should be highlighted cautiously, considering the attitudes of the
consumers. The salient features of attraction may be different in different segments of market.
An attempt should be made to reinforce the salient features in the product advertisement.

Type # 2. Advertising Message Research:

Message of the advertisement is of great importance to create an impact and to project the
product in the market.
Consumers’ attitude and the effect of message may be identified and measured. The advertiser
should locate salient characteristics of a particular market segment and should design the product
appeal and the relevant message accordingly. Instead of critising the competitor’s brand, the
advertiser should highlight the positive features of the brand advertised, through well directed
message.
The techniques like depth interviews and projective tests may be conducted to estimate and
measure the spontaneous and emotional responses. Various methods of testing techniques may
be adopted to measure the effectiveness of the message.

Type # 3. Advertising Media Selection Research:

The decision making process in media selection is based on the following fundamental
issues:
i. Choice of a particular medium or combination of media viz. T.V., radio or print.
ii. Selection of national, regional or local level media.
iii. The periodicity or the interval of the media use.

Type # 4. Advertising Effectiveness Research:

There can be various alternative strategies for varying degree of effects on the target audience.
Different statistical models may be applied to measure the scale of effectiveness and generation
of motivational attitude among the prospective consumers.

COPY RESEARCH

Copy Research is a type of survey method used to test the effectiveness of an advertising
message based on consumer reaction. This method can be used for all kinds of advertisement
channels : broadcast (TV, Radio), Print (newspapers, magazine), social media and Internet.

It is conducted in two phases:

• Pre-testing: This explores the technical aspects, product claims, target audience and other areas
before or at the beginning of the advertisement campaign.

• Post-testing: It explores the effectiveness of the advertisement in communicating the message

at the conclusion of an advertisement campaign.

Copy research is an important part of the creative development process and is used to choose
among multiple advertisements based on the impact it has on the consumer and whether the
advertisement was able to communicate the intended marketing strategy. For copy research to be
effective, the consumers should be from the target group of the advertisement.
CONCEPT TESTING

Whether you’re in the early stages of vetting new product ideas, or are deep into a product
development cycle, you may want to consider testing your concept. With concept testing, you
can test your ideas with customer segments and collect valuable insights into whether your
product idea will be a winner or a flop.

A concept testing survey helps teams evaluate product development, an ad campaign, or even a
message or claim, by getting feedback from customer segments who make up the target market.
Whether you want to test a single concept, or compare different concepts with an A/B test, taking
the time to test before you execute can help you avoid mistakes, tailor products for potential
customers, and arm you with data to sell your ideas throughout your company.

Using a concept testing survey makes it easy to get accurate feedback from respondents. You can
use an online panel to select a demographic that would be your ideal customer segment. Then
create a questionnaire that reveals what you want to learn about your idea.

Purpose of the study:

Concept testing is mainly used for go/no-go decision for a new product. This decision itself may
have several aspects. Below are some examples of situations in which this study finds its usage:

 Reaching out to a new market segment

  Ranking and selecting the best potential product concepts, brand name, packaging, logo,
etc
 Determining the optimal pricing point for new products
 Testing customers’ trial experiences to see if product or communications adjustments
should be made.
 Benchmarking
 Forecasting demand

LOGO TESTING

Need to understand how customers might respond to your new logo? Or, trying to figure out if
your new logo communicates a benefit (like trust, innovation, or fun)? Online surveys are a great
way to test different creative concepts and designs—to ultimately come up with a logo that best
visually communicates your brand.

To help you brainstorm your survey questions, check out our survey-methodologist
approved Logo Testing Survey Template.

Don't want to create your own logo testing survey? Learn more about how SurveyMonkey's
Logo Design Analysis makes it simple to get fast, impactful feedback about your logo designs.

NAME TESTING

The name of your company or product has a big impact on its success in the target market. It tells
them what you offer, the benefits they can expect to receive, and can even elicit certain feelings.
To help you test brainstorm the right questions for testing either company or product names
SLOGAN TESTING

Logo & Tagline Testing

Measure the effectiveness of alternative logos, taglines and value propositions with their target
audiences. This type of research is an important step in ensuring these brand elements correctly
reflect your desired market position, personality, and attributes. To ensure you can effectively
differentiate yourself from the competition, we gather market feedback on areas such as:

 First impressions of the logo

 Perceived meaning of tagline phrasing
 Unintended associations with visuals and wording
 Clarity and relevance of message
 Effectiveness of supporting desired brand personality

COPY TESTING METHODS & MEASURES

i. Copy testing – The purpose of this test is to appraise the degree of communication effect of
the advertisement to the consumer. The motivation of the consumer to purchase the product is
another objective of this test.

ii. Pre-testing – Before the advertisement is released for full run in a medium, these tests are
conducted to make modifications or improvements.

iii. Portfolio tests – In this method a number of dummy advertisements are put in a folio along
with the advertisement to be tested. The views and impression on the advertisement copies
shown are collected from selective respondents.

iv. Consumer-jury tests – In this method a panel of jury is formed, comprising hypothetical
consumers. The members of jury are asked to respond on the advertisement copy placed before
them. They are requested to give their ratings on the same, starting with the best and coming
down to the worst one. It tends to separate the very weak advertisement from the very strong
advertisement.

v. Rating scale – It provides a list against which the advertisements are rated. It helps to single
out good and bad elements of an advertisement.

vi. Simulated Sales Test – In this method, different advertisement copies are displayed at
different stores. The volume of increase in sales will be considered as the indicator of effective
advertisement.

vii. Psychological Tests – These tests undertake various research methodology like word
association, sentence completion, depth interviewing etc.

PRE-TESTING

Pre-testing, also known as copy testing is a form of customised research that predicts in-market
performance of an ad, before it airs, by analysing audience levels of attention, brand linkage,
motivation, entertainment, and communication, as well as breaking down the ad’s Flow of
Attention and Flow of Emotion. (Young) Pre-testing is also used on ads still in rough form – e.g.,
animatics or ripomatics. Pretesting is also used to identify weak spots within an ad to improve
performance,

Consumer Jury Test:

Few consumers form a group and act as jury to show their preferences for one or two ads out of
several being considered. The jury members rank the ads and respond to the questions like which
was the most impressive ad or which ad provoked you most to go ahead and buy the product or
which ad did you notice first and so on.

This test is conducted by two methods namely Order of Merit Rating and Paired Comparison
test. In the Order of merit rating test the jury the jurors rank the advertisements as per their
preference. The consensus emerges about the best ad copy at the end. But the best may be the
best amongst the worst ones.

In the paired comparison test at a time two ad copies are compared one-to-one. Every single ad is
compared with all others. Sources are recorded on cards. They are summed up. The winner gets
the highest score. This technique is easier than order of merit. Till ten copies, there is good
accuracy; which later decreases.

PORTFOLIO TEST

Along with the regular advertisements some dummy copies are kept in a folio. Then the
consumer-sample sees the folio. The consumer is then asked about what he has seen in each ads.
The ad giving minimum playback is considered the best. But then it is necessary to observe
whether the chosen advertisement is dummy or regular. If found dummy the actual one is
improved on the same lines.

Mock Magazine Test:

Unlike the above method of keeping the advertisements in a folio, test ads are introduced in a
real magazine to an experimental group to read. The control group is also exposed to the same
magazine, but is without test ads. Later a recall test is conducted to assess the effectiveness о I
test ads.

Direct Questioning:
A consumer jury is formed and either the whole ad or its different elements are tested by asking
direct questions. Sometimes there is one single question only and sometimes an elaborate
questionnaire is prepared to assess attention strength, read-through strength, affective strength
and behaviour strength of the ad. For each component the copy is allotted some points. Each ad
is rated from the best to the worst.

Perceptual Meaning Studies (PMS):

In this method the respondent is exposed to test the ads for a limited time period. Tachistoscope
is an instrument that may be used in this test. After the respondent sees the advertisement, he is
subjected to a recall test for the product, brand illustration and the main copy.
IN HOME PROJECTION TESTS

A movie projector screen is installed at consumer’s home to show him the test commercials. He
is questioned before and after the exposure to the advertisements. The questions are related to the
ad and the change it causes after exposure. The strong and weak points of the ads can be
assessed.

Trailer Tests:
Two groups of customers are considered. Both are given discount coupons to purchase the brand
under consideration and are invited to shop in a real life shopping environment, a departmental
store, a shopping centre etc. The prospects are invited to the display their products. Now one
group is shown the test ads whereas the other group is not. The redemption rate of coupons is
measured for both groups which may give an idea about the effectiveness of test ads.

Theatre Test:
A group of people who could be a captive audience for an entertainment programme is
considered and a questionnaire is sent to them. The free tickets are later sent to them for the
programme where the test ads are run. On viewing these, they are asked to fill up another
questionnaire. It assesses product, brand and its theme.

LIVE TELECAST TESTS

The advertisements are put on air either by narrow casting or live telecasting. These ads are test
ads, and not the regular ads. Later, viewers are interviewed to know their reactions.

Sales Experiment:
Before a product advertisement is launched nationally, a small ad campaign of one or more
advertisements is run. Two or more test centres are selected to do so. The ads are run for a fixed
period say one to four months and then the sales responses are noted. It is a very useful and
effective measure for FMCG items and those ads who aim to motivate buyers to take an
immediate sales action.

Direct Mail Tests:

A group of prospects are selected from the mailing list randomly and are sent different test ads.
Then to measure the response, the orders against each lot are noted.

Physiological Testing:
In this test, rather than what respondents say, what is considered more important is the
physiological reaction of the respondents. Three principal instruments to do so are:

Eye Movement Camera:

It measures how the eye moves over the layout of test ads. The route taken by the eye and also
the pauses are noted so that the areas of interest and attention can be judged.

Galvanometer:
It measures skin responses to ad stimuli like perspiration by gland activity through palm. More
perspiration decreases the resistance and faster current passes. The tension is generated. The
greater it is, the more effective the ad is. The technique is of limited use for ads of a very
sensitive nature.

Perceptoscope or Pupilometric Devices:

They record changes in pupils dilatation. Dilatation indicates reading and attention. Contraction
shows dislike of the respondent to what is being read. It evaluates interesting appealing visual
stimuli. It is developed by Eekhard Hess and James Polk. Left eye is photographed to record
dilatation.

POST-TESTING

Post-testing or Ad tracking, as otherwise known, can be customised or syndicated. Tracking

studies provide either periodic or continuous in-market research monitoring a brand’s
performance, including brand awareness, brand preference, product usage and attitudes.
Advertising tracking can be done by telephone interviews or online interviews—with the two
approaches producing fundamentally different measures of consumer memories of advertising,
recall versus recognition.
Purpose of Post Testing:
The purpose of ad tracking is generally to provide a measure of the combined effect of the media
weight or spending level, the effectiveness of the media buy or targeting, and the quality of the
advertising executions or creative. Some newer forms of online tracking, separate the issues of
the quality of the creative component from the quality of the media buy and instead focus on the
relative performance of ads versus the competitive ads that are airing at the same time. All forms
of tracking data are used to provide inputs to Marketing Mix Models which marketing science
statisticians build to estimate advertising return on investment (ROI).

DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES OF POST-TESTING

Among the various post testing techniques used most common ones are:

i. Penetration tests: Recognition/recall

ii. Progress tests or Sales Effects Tests.

Apart from this, perceptions, image and attitudes can also be measured to assess the effectiveness
of ads. The attitude measurement may be used in combination with penetration (recall) tests.

Penetration Tests:
Daniel Starch had given the details of this test for the first time in his book Principles of
Advertising (Chicago- A W Shaw, 1923). These tests are also known as Recognition/Readership
Viewership tests. They are aided recall tests dating back to 1923. Since then they have been
conducted in the US by the Daniel Starch Organisation. Here, the respondents are shown the
issues of magazines they claim to have read. They are asked to recognise the ads, asked whether
they have read them. The results are put into three categories:

(i) Noted (N): A person who only remembers having seen the ad in the issue under study

(ii) Seen-Associated (A). A person who not only remembers seeing it but also claims to have
seen or read some part of it. He may even associate the ad with the product or advertiser

(iii) Read-Most (RM). The person who has read half or more of the written material in the ad.
Gallup-Robinson Impact Test:
Gallup- Robison is a commercial research firm which has formulated standardised aided recall
tests to survey advertisement impact. A respondent is shown a magazine cover and is asked
whether s/ he has read the issue. If yes, then s/he is asked to describe anything s/he remembers
seeing in that issue. S/he is then given a deck of cards with brand names on them which appeared
on the issue and is asked to indicate which ones s/he remembers seeing in the issue.

Recognition Vs Aided Recall:

i. In the aided recall method, the test issue is kept closed, and the respondent is required to
answer, entirely on the basis of his memory, whereas in the recognition method, respondents first
qualify as readers of a particular issue.

ii. The aided-recall method has a more exacting requirement; in effect, it eliminates many
persons of “less desirable” characteristics from the audience which is not the case with the other
one.

iii. Studies in USA have revealed that the recognition method gives an average advertisement
score that is six times the average PNR score.

iv. The aided-recall advertisement readers are younger, and have a lower educational,
occupational and income status.

v. A Printed Advertising Rating Methods (PARM) study has concluded that the aided-recall
method gives much lower ratings, which are sensitive to such methodological factors as the lapse
of time before the interview, the competence of the interviewers and the type of the sample.

Unaided Recall Tests:

This is a kind of recall test where the respondents are not given any clue to recall the ad. This
proves to be more demanding than the aided recall, as respondents recalling the brands without
help shows a greater degree of penetration of the ad.
Types of Unaided Recall:
Day-After- Recall (DAR):
One day after the advertisement appears the readers or viewers are questioned after that.

Total Prime Time (TPT):

Here the main item of research is viewer’s television viewing time.

Triple-Association Test (TAT):

This test measures how much a viewer or reader has learnt about the brand from the
advertisement. The respondent is told about some product feature or benefit and he is to find the
brand name for that. For example if a respondent is asked that which toothpaste ad shows that it
has salt in it and the respondent says Colgate active salt we understand that the learning objective
of the advertisement is successful.