7
Advertising &
Promotion
Research
Objectives
1. Purpose/Methods of Ad Research
2. 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 Planning
A 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 Group
I 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
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•
•
•
•
•
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