Advertising & Promotion Research

7

Objectives

1. Purpose/Methods of Ad Research2. Secondary Data Sources (Yahoogle?!)3. Purpose/Methods of Copy Research

Key Definitions

1. Advertising & Promotion Research:Any research that helps in the development, execution or evaluation of advertising & promotion.

2. Account PlanningA broader view than traditional research that introduces data earlier in the development process & relies on a wider variety of research techniques.

Advertising & Promotion Research• Used to assist in determining market segments• Plays a key role in helping creatives understand the

audience• Used to make go/no go ad decisions & when to pull

ads• Used to evaluate agency performance

Key Issues in Advertising & Promotion Research

1. Reliability: The research method produces consistent findings over time

2. Validity: The information generated is relevant to the research questions being investigated

3. Trustworthiness: Usually applied to qualitative data; does the data seem to make sense?

4. Meaningfulness: An assessment of limitations of the data

Purposes of Developmental Advertising Research

• Idea Generation. An agency often invents new, meaningful ways of presenting a brand to a target audience

• Concept Testing seeks feedback designed to screen quality of new ideas or concepts

• Audience Definition. Once a target segment have been identified, planning proceeds with developing a meaningful message

• Audience Profiling. Creatives need to know as much as they can about the people to whom their ads will speak

Developmental Advertising Research Methods

Focus Groups• Brainstorming session with 6 to 12 customers• May involve projective techniques

– Allow consumers to project thoughts & feelings onto neutral stimuli

• May also use association tests– Ask consumers to express thoughts or feelings after

hearing a brand or seeing a logo

An Interesting Focus GroupI like the Green

Bottle- it speaks to me. It’s not easy

being green.

I think the bottle should be more

yellow.

Developmental Advertising Research Methods

Other methods include• Projective Techniques• Association Tests• Dialogue Balloons• Story Construction• Sentence & picture completion• Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique

(ZMET)

Developmental Advertising Research Methods (con’t)

More methods include• Field Work

– Embedded consumption: Learn from the experiences of the consumer through direct observation

– Creative brief: outline of essential creative ideas

– “Cool Hunts”

• On the prowl for what is cool

Developmental Advertising Research Methods (con’t)

• Internal company sources

• Government data sources

• Commercial sources

• Professional publications• The Internet

Copy Research

• Research on the actual ads

• Used to judge the ads against a standard

• Sometimes a source of agency conflict

Motives & Expectations in Copy Research

• Account team wants assurance that the ad does what it is supposed to do

• The client wants to see how well an ad scores against average commercial of its type

• Creatives don’t like message testing because it creates a report card & “artists” resent getting report cards from people in suits (Who wouldn’t?)

• Despite the politics involved, message-testing research is a good idea most of the time--it can yield important data that management can use to determine the suitability of an ad

Check your Spelling. Twice.

Evaluative Criteria in Copy Research• “Getting It”

– Do consumers understand the ad?• Knowledge

– Tests of recall & recognition• Attitude change

– Determine where a brand stands• Feelings & emotions• Physiological changes

– Changes in eye movements or respiration• Behavioral intent

– Do people say they will buy the product• Actual Behavior

– Did people buy the product?

What sort of “feelings & emotions” do you think research would uncover for this ad?

Copy Research Methods• Communication Tests

– Are consumers getting the message?

• Resonance Tests– To what extent does the ad ring true?

• Thought Listings– Determine the thoughts that occur during exposure

• Recall Tests– How much does the viewer remember from the message?

Copy Research Methods (con’t)

• Recognition Tests– Do people remember seeing an ad or sponsor?

• Attitude Change Studies– Measure attitudes before & after exposure

• Frame by Frame tests– Tracks emotional responses within an ad

• Physiological Tests– Eye tracking, psychogalvanometer, voice response analysis

Copy Research Methods (con’t)

• Pilot Testing– Split cable, split run, split list

• Direct Response– Track consumer inquiries or direct responses

• Single Source Data– Use UPC product codes to track behavior from the TV to the

checkout counter

Account Planning versus Advertising Research

Planning differs from traditional research in 3 ways:

Account Planner Ad Researcher

An account planner works with an account executive

Research handled by the ad research department

Researchers put in more prominent role

Researchers involved when needed

Emphasize qualitative & naturalistic research

Emphasize quantitative research

Another thought on testing• No single method is perfect

• Researchers are employing more naturalistic methods to understand how people use media (& products)

What we need• Ad research could do with some changes

• West coast agencies & British agencies have embraced qualitative methods

• Ads are now often viewed as complex social texts rather than equivalent of high school debates

Audience definition is an important part of the advertising/promotion research process. Any ideas on the audience for this ad?

Review/?s

1. Purpose/Methods of Ad Research

2. Secondary Data Sources (Yahoogle?!)

3. Purpose/Methods of Copy Research