The following contribution should demonstrate that new technologies allow us to exploit large data bases to a greater benefit. As an example we should look at a data set of advertising recognition scores, collected over a period of time. Normally it is rather tiresome to value recent scores against findings in previous surveys. However, new computer hardware and software developments, handling the enormous data volumes, let us create all sorts of cross examinations and evaluations of the collected scores. We can screen the advertisements by a large number of criteria, such as the line of business or product field, brand, format, used colour, split runs, recognition of the advertisement or brand, noted copy, and even some basic demographics of the respondents who claimed recognition. The only very difficult part is, to demonstrate the use of the new technologies on paper, by employing a technology which has been introduced by Gutenberg some 500 years ago. Therefore, the written contribution can only highlight the ease of the procedure by showing the different screens while the PC is doing an impressive and dynamic job with just a few key strokes.
Market research bureau Inter/View in Amsterdam has conducted a survey assigned by Weekbladpers, a Dutch publisher of weekly and monthly sports and culture magazines. In this survey an experiment was carried out to test the hypothesis of the contribution of media to recognition as an advertising effect. In a postal survey among SummoScanner respondents photographs of print advertisements and tv commercials of insurance companies were shown to the respondents who were asked to write down how often they had seen the advertisements and commercials. The recognition of advertisements was therefore detennined independent from the specific media titles. The recognition data were linked to the SummoScanner media data. The effectiveness of the media plans of three advertising campaigns was evaluated. A positive relation between campaign pressure and advertising recognition was found indicating the external validity of the indirect measure of recognition. We also found out that people who appreciate tv commercials for entertainment reasons, reach higher levels of commercial recognition. Another conclusion was that respondents who exercise other activities during commercial breaks, showed a poorer advertising recognition. With the results of this survey advertisers and their agencies can optimize media planning without direct measures of advertising recognition.