Abstract:

A user reports on the problems encountered in analysing the international advertising campaigns of a major industrial concern, and the solutions that were found. Increased export trade and the growing importance of worldwide production (and its associated business activity) demand an identical advertising approach in many countries. A comparative study of advertising effectiveness and acceptance at the international level poses difficulties. National studies affording no basis for comparison are of little help. What is needed is a method of coordinating and fusing data from different countries so that the "worldwide effectiveness" of campaigns can be assessed. In post-testing international institutional and product advertising, eight key problem areas in the concept and implementation phases of research were identified from the user standpoint. The article delineates in detail the now practice proved solutions and methods of procedure which overcame these difficulties. Several core requirements for the immediate future are enumerated and a plea is made for the creation of internationally acceptable and workable standards for testing the effectiveness of worldwide campaigns .