Advertising & Promotion Research

1. 7 Advertising & Promotion Research

2. Objectives • Purpose/Methods of Ad Research • Secondary Data Sources (Yahoogle?!) • Purpose/Methods of Copy Research

3. Key Definitions • Advertising & Promotion Research: Any research that helps in the development, execution or evaluation of advertising & promotion. 2. Account Planning A broader view than traditional research that introduces data earlier in the development process & relies on a wider variety of research techniques.

4. 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

5. Key Issues in Advertising & Promotion Research • Reliability: The research method produces consistent findings over time • Validity: The information generated is relevant to the research questions being investigated • Trustworthiness: Usually applied to qualitative data; does the data seem to make sense? • Meaningfulness: An assessment of limitations of the data

6. 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

7. 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

8. An Interesting Focus Group I like the Green Bottle- it speaks to me. It’s not easy being green. I think the bottle should be more yellow.

9. Developmental Advertising Research Methods Other methods include • Projective Techniques • Association Tests • Dialogue Balloons • Story Construction • Sentence & picture completion • Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET)

10. 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

11. Developmental Advertising Research Methods (con’t) • Internal company sources • Government data sources • Commercial sources • Professional publications • The Internet

12. Copy Research • Research on the actual ads • Used to judge the ads against a standard • Sometimes a source of agency conflict

13. 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

14. Check your Spelling. Twice.

15. 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?

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

17. 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?

18. 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

19. 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

20. Account Planning versus Advertising Research Planning differs from traditional research in 3 ways:

21. Another thought on testing • No single method is perfect • Researchers are employing more naturalistic methods to understand how people use media (& products)

22. 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

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

24. Review/?s • Purpose/Methods of Ad Research • Secondary Data Sources (Yahoogle?!) • Purpose/Methods of Copy Research