The London Transport Executive is a very important media owner. Gallup, who had previously worked with the LTE on commercial evaluation of posters, was asked if it could assess the extent to which posters shocked or offended the public. A form of hall test was developed, in which adults were invited to express their views of a set of posters chosen to be near the borderline. This indicated guidelines by which posters could be assessed. The experiment was repeated at a London comprehensive school using some posters already tested with adults and some new ones to get the reactions of school children. The findings were somewhat different from those expected. Children were far more sensitive than adults thought in some areas, and less in others. The paper illustrates the findings in the four areas surveyed, namely: Pregnancy and abortion, underwear, sex/comedy films, and violent films.
This paper describes the results of an experiment which examines the reliability and validity of qualitative research. Two studies of the same marketing problem (a pack test) were conducted and compared: one a qualitative study (6 group discussions), and the other a hall test (550 respondents interviewed by questionnaire). The costs of the qualitative research were approximately half of the quantitative research. The background to the experiment is the tendency in several countries to use more qualitative research, sometimes at the expense of quantitative research. Data on the losses or gams in quality by using qualitative research is limited, however, and this research was done to provide a basis for evaluating it.
The results of the poster research described in this paper have been important in helping Australian marketing and media managers judge the cost-effectiveness of outdoor advertising campaigns, where formerly, they lacked the necessary information. Over the period, 1970-77, during which the three media surveys described in this paper were conducted, and two others by the Outdoor Advertising Association into public attitudes to their medium, the outdoor advertising share of Australian media budgets increased from 8.91 to 10.9%. The total value of Australian outdoor advertising in 1977 was close to $100 million.
The value for money issue is not a new topic, it is as old as Market Research (MR) itself. It has taken different shapes over time however, conditioned as it is by two sets of factors which have clearly followed a certain time path. The first set of factors which is involved, can be regarded as internal to MR, it relates to competitive conditions among practitioners, the state of their technical skills and competence, their capacity to establish a clearly profiled image of market research as a tool of management and the establishment of generally accepted professional standards. The second set of factors, to be regarded as external to MR, relates to the environment in which MR is operating.
This paper presents a detailed case history of the 1976/77 advertising campaign to persuade people in Britain against drinking and driving. It deals firstly with the background to the campaign and the role of research in its development. The main body of the paper then deals with the evaluation of the campaign covering general considerations, the research methodology, research results and accident statistics, and the impact of the research on the 1977-78 campaign. Following this there is a detailed discussion of a methodological experiment on quota versus random sampling techniques that was incorporated into the research design. A short final section points conclusions to be drawn from this case history in relation both to aspects of the evaluation of campaigns of social persuasion.
Survey research has played a central role in the development of the Thomson Holidays brochure style. This paper looks in detail at research conducted at two stages in this development when the approach to the brochure design was reviewed and will describe the differing aims of the research in the context of the marketing constraints of the time. As background, we shall examine briefly firstly the development of the package holiday industry and its consequences for the holiday brochures. Secondly, we shall describe the role of the brochure in the marketing of package holidays and some of the many constituent parts which need to be researched in order to ensure that the brochure is successful.
The studies we want to speak about are: Firstly, a continuous quantitative observation of performance indicators from 1970 to 1975 mainly aimed at monitoring trends. The sample consisted of 400 representatively-selected radio and television dealers in Germany, Secondly, a more comprehensive study, mainly directed at a better description of the actual situation, which was carried out in 1976. This study was based on 300 dealers, selected in the same way we have just mentioned. Finally, qualitative research of the background of the actual situation carried out in 1977. The key objective: To enable us to make recommendations for future actions. This study was based on 50 dealers obtained by the typical selection method we outlined earlier.
The studies we want to speak about are: Firstly, a continuous quantitative observation of performance indicators from 1970 to 1975 mainly aimed at monitoring trends. The sample consisted of 400 representatively-selected radio and television dealers in Germany, Secondly, a more comprehensive study, mainly directed at a better description of the actual situation, which was carried out in 1976. This study was based on 300 dealers, selected in the same way we have just mentioned. Finally, qualitative research of the background of the actual situation carried out in 1977. The key objective: To enable us to make recommendations for future actions. This study was based on 50 dealers obtained by the typical selection method we outlined earlier.
The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of centralised telephone interviewing, in particular in comparison with conventional decentralised personal interviewing. Centralised telephone interviewing provides real benefits in terms of quality control, easily replicated and accurate sampling, speed and flexibility, but suffers from a number of perceived disadvantages with regard to respondent cooperation, interview length and design, and the non-representativity of telephone samples. The paper describes experimental studies and other practical experience that demonstrate that most of these perceived disadvantages are without practical foundation.
The case study summarizes the basic conceptions, advantages, risks and most important facts of the cooperation of ICI and a Hungarian company, TVM. After stressing the importance and sketching the types of international industrial cooperations, the Hungarian company is introduced and its main strategic aims are presented. New marketing methods have been used by the Hungarian company in the "selecting the partner" phase of the cooperation as well as in the phase of "detailed discussions with the potencial partner". Data about the contract and the realization are followed by the enumeration of experiences gained during the period 1974-78 and by the possibilities of the development of the ICI-TVM cooperation in the 80s. By this the efficiency of an east-west cooperation and of the used marketing methods are jointly proved too.
The UK is well served by data sources dealing with audience/readership and by others showing comparative sales performance. But most marketing companies look to advertising to perform in several intermediate areas, short of sales. They then measure campaign performance via do-it-yourself surveys. It is suggested that there should be added to the syndicated media research and syndicated sales research already in place a syndicated advertising performance monitor. This would simultaneously evaluate advertising performance on a brand by brand basis and measure the influence of different media patterns, both between brands and between areas within brands. The existence of a syndicated advertising performance monitor allows the researcher to be more efficient in measuring the contribution made by advertising to changing the image character.