Information on the effectiveness of promotions and advertising is more and more indispensable for a successful brand. Advance in technology has given the chance to develop a tool which is required to measure the effects of advertising and promotion: the experimental micro test market system. Based on single source data, it allows to execute alternative marketing activities, analyse and quantify their effectiveness. Furthermore it makes evident the buyerâs behavior towards advertising and promotion. After the demonstration of the method, case studies will show the information, which both the producer and the retailer obtain by using this research tool. We are going to have a look at the different effects of TV-advertising and promotion on the one hand and of print advertising and promotion on the other. Besides that, weâll analyse promotion itself. The results make doubtful some beliefs of long standing on how advertising and promotion work. But - this can only lead to improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing activities.
We intend to explain the fundamental behavior of the Italian public with regard to "promotion", "sponsorship" and conventional advertising. The data mentioned in this report derive from: - several Eurisko motivational surveys - a 1990 survey on a substantial sample (2000 subjects), including both men and women, from the ages of 14 to 74; the survey types included structred, personal, and home interviews. We would like to thank UFA (Associated Advertising Subscribers) for the stimulating contribution they gave Eurisko in undertaking this research.
Historically the short term sales response to advertising has been the easiest to measure, giving rise to a mistaken belief that long term effects do not exist. As this became an issue in the ERA Advertising Effectiveness Awards, a new category was created for "longer and broader effectsâ of advertising. The resulting entries give an encouraging demonstration of long term effects and how they can be shown to exist.
It is rarely possible to study the effect of several marketing factors simultaneously. New media, however, may provide such opportunities. Teleshopping does so, because here sales is linked directly to product, price, advertising, media plans, etc. During four weeks of July, 1990 the Danish Television Channel 2 used most of its advertising time on a special campaign in order to assess the possibilities for teleshopping in Denmark. Twenty-three widely different products were marketed in this period, and the number of telephone calls for each product were registered. In total, about 16 calls were registered during the four-week period. On this background the television channel assesses the campaign to have been a success. This data material, consisting of daily registrations of the number of calls for each product, 460 observations in total, is the basis for our analysis of the number of calls. We propose a statistical model that describes 90 percent of the variation in data, making the number of calls a function of 1) a product-specific level, 2) the number of spots, 3) the number of viewers, 4) the time of day, 5) the day of the week, 6) the time of the month, and 7) price.
Coupons are one form of Sales Promotions which have experienced a dramatic growth in most countries during the past 10 years. Studies conducted by commercial market research companies such as AC Nielsen provide ample evidence of this trend. One characteristic of coupon is the redemption process ie. the specific behaviour required from the consumer in order to benefit from a special offer, often a price reduction. This special property allows a precise tracking of promotion sales number and was used in an experimental study conducted in 1990 in New Zealand in order to assess the sales effectiveness of a number of coupons for 3 grocery products. A copy of each coupon set is shown in the appendix. However, measuring sales alone could not provide any information about the characteristics of the consumers who redeemed the coupons. This is particularly unfortunate when one considers the bulk of the promotion literature dedicated to the study of the coupon-prone consumer. Numerous attempts were made at demographically describe the coupon-prone segment. A substantial number of studies were also devoted to the impact of consumer's past purchase behaviour on coupon redemption. A consumer survey was therefore organised in conjunction with the experimental study, utilising the same design and the same coupons, but asking consumers to state the probability that they would redeem a given coupon on their next purchase in the product category. Each respondent was also asked additional information about past purchase behaviour.
The first and central part of this work introduces the history of attitude-behaviour research, focusing upon the endeavour to conceptualize the relation between attitudes and behaviour. Without going too deeply into the particulars of the different methods of attitude-measurement reviewed quite often elsewhere, this paper will contribute to the basic understanding of the relation between attitudes and overt behaviour, which is important for the social sciences as well as for contemporary marketing. Reviewing this history of research leads to the conclusion that in the behaviour- intention model by Fishbein & Ajzen the concepmalization (through the model components "attitude toward the behaviour to the object", "percepted social norms", and "intention") of the attitude-behaviour relation is accomplished in the most adequate way. In order to prove the high relevance of social influence upon attitude-behaviour-consistency, empirical findings will be presented. An applied example from psychological marketing research will then be used to show how knowledge about the influence of social norms on purchasing can be transferred for practicle use. After a detailed explanation of the behaviour-intention model, which belongs to the multi-attributive models, the importance of a further analysis of the relation between social influence, personal attitude, and the intention, will be made clear through a comparison of this model with classificatory attitude-behaviour models. In the second part of this paper, the statements about conceptualization of the attitude-behaviour relation will be completed with a summary of other variables which are relevant for the attitude-behaviour consistency (such as qualities of the situation, attitude, and behaviour). After having pointed to the importance of precise knowledge about the attitude- behaviour relation for marketing (especially for the measurement of purchase intention, product positioning, and psychological market segmentation) some propositions will be made as to how the findings of the attitude-behaviour research can be applied to solve the question of "How ?" for the evaluation of advertising vs. promotion.
Press evaluation research has been dominated by readership surveys, which aim to identify audience size, composition and reading habits. This type of research provides information for media buyers, but provides little, if any, insight into overall campaign effectiveness. As press advertising begins to play a more important role in the marketing mix of many brands, there will be a greater need for "holistic" quantitative evaluation of campaigns, in terms of how the execution and medium work together in achieving the desired strategic objectives for the brand. This paper explores the possible nature of such an holistic research approach and highlights factors of importance to be taken into account when designing quantitative press campaign evaluation studies. These factors are based on the knowledge gained within Research International from developing and qual-testing press ads, and conducting pre and post press evaluation studies, as well as from findings from the first stage of an exploratory development project undertaken late last year. The paper is divided into three parts. Firstly, the paper illustrates the context within which press advertising may work. This in turn demonstrates the need for research techniques designed specifically for press campaigns. The second part of the paper summarises the main findings from the initial qualitative stage of development research, involving observation and depth interviews with readers defined as "active" in particular product areas. This research provided further understanding of how people read and perceive magazines/newspapers, and the impact that this has on their reactions to, and use of, press advertising. The final part of the paper puts forward an hypothesis on the relevance of the existing quantitative approaches used in press advertising evaluation and audience research, and details a new approach which will improve the relevance and reliability of evaluation data. The two conclusions of the paper are that, i) in many ways, press advertising represents a far more complex area for research than TV advertising, and consequently, one which justifies a more tailor-made approach than is currently the norm, and ii) both TV and press research methods currently undervalue (or under-address) the issues of media context and audience disposition.
This paper is in three parts. Part 1 introduces and describes the Strong and Weak theories. Outside observers (both protagonists and antagonists of advertising) and many practitioners believe in the Strong theory. This paper introduces facts suggesting the likelihood that the Strong theory is not universally or even generally valid. The paper hypothesizes that for "high involvement" products and for the small proportion of successful new brands in "low involvement" product fields, advertising works according to the Strong theory. By contrast, in the cases of established brands in "low involvement" product fields, advertising is more likely to operate according to the Weak theory. Taking account of the large but unquantified amount of advertising that has no effect at all, it is estimated very approximately that more than three-quarters of all advertising works (or fails to work) according to the Weak theory. Part II argues that the almost universal belief in the Strong theory has contributed to considerable waste. American universities are imbued with the Strong theory, so that most new entrants into the advertising business are indoctrinated with it. The resultant attitude and practice of over-promise and under-delivery have had malevolent effects. Part III argues that research has an important role in any evaluation of the Strong and Weak theories. Case-by-case study depends on our ability to relate advertising exposure to a longitudinal tracking of penetration and purchase frequency. This is a practicable albeit difficult procedure. A final point relates to advertising research. Quantitative copy testing employing measurements of intrusiveness, recall and persuasion - procedures widely practiced in the United States - is predicated on the implicit assumption that advertising is working according to the Strong theory. Qualitative creative development research (strongly associated with London agencies) is more harmonious with the Weak theory: and is often flexible enough also to give fair treatment to advertising that works as a strong force.
In this paper we go into the relations between Quality of Advertising, Brand Awareness, Perceived Quality and finally Brand Loyalty, on the basis of the large number of studies we did in this field. Our empirical evidence shows that advertising can produce brand awareness which is a necessary but of course not sufficient condition to have (a lot of) loyal buyers. A simple model is sufficient to describe these causal relations. We based on the strong empirical relationship between Brand Awareness and Brand Loyalty we further more derive the Brand Value Index. This shows both the value of the brand and functions as an overall measurement of advertising and other marketing effects.
In 1967 I gave a paper with the title "What do we know about how advertising works?" to an ESOMAR seminar on advertising research. That paper queried a number of assumptions about advertising which were then still prevalent: such as advertising as "converting" the consumer, step by step through a rational process leading from awareness to favourable attitudes to action, and the consumer as a passive receiver of information or as a learner. A more complex and human view based on modern research results in social psychology, and on experience of actual advertising research findings, was proposed instead. There seems little reason to change the basic conclusions of that paper of almost 25 years ago. However, much has changed over the period, affecting both the advertising environment, and available advertising research methods and data. Some recent thinking about advertising research and some important basic research results are reviewed in this paper, and summarized in the Conclusions section. The paper ends with a return to emphasis on fmcg advertising, and a discussion of short-term and long-term effects, with the suggestion that we can usefully think of two ways in which advertising works: in the short term, by enhancing the Presence of the brand; and in the long term, by enhancing its Presentation.
All too often there is a gulf between research theory and practice, and market place reality, in what constitutes effectiveness in marketing communications. However, importantly, in bringing the two closer together there are a number of basic principles about the way promotional communications work, and the way research can help to make communications perform better, which are universal. In practice, only about 1% of the average campaign spend actually works, largely because decisions on how to communicate are all too often made subjectively, or inadequately researched. The situation is not helped by the fact that there is still a wide-spread belief that advertising is about changing awareness and imagery' and sales promotion' is about changing behaviour (ie shifting product). But all communications have to change attitude' before they can expect to change behaviour, and it is only through appropriate research than one can obtain a reliable understanding of how successfully - or otherwise - a proposed or actual promotional campaign succeeds in âpre-disposing' people to respond. It is in this area, and understanding how more of the target market â might have beens' could have been persuaded to become converts', that research can be of immeasurable help. Much of the help here can derive from more enlightened' pre and post testing - with research demonstrating a better diagnostic understanding of, and attention to, target markets' susceptibilities (ie why people think and behave the way they do, and how they could be persuaded to think and behave differently). This is readily achievable, but to be of maximum help research needs to polish up both its image and its practice.