Developmental Advertising Research Methods - Innovative Approaches for Effective Campaigns

1. Chapter 7 Advertising and Promotion Research

2. Key Issues in Advertising and Promotion Research • Reliability: The research method produces consistent findings over time. • Validity: The information generated is relevant to the research questions being investigated. • Trustworthiness: Usually applied to qualitative data; does the data seem to make sense? • Meaningfulness: An assessment of limitations of the data. Ch 7: Research 2

3. Developmental Ad Research • Conducted early in the process • Purposes: • Idea Generation • Concept Testing • Audience Definition • Audience Profiling Ch 7: Research 3

4. Developmental Advertising Research Methods Focus Groups • Brainstorming session with 6 to 12 customers • May involve projective techniques • Allow consumers to project thoughts and feelings onto neutral stimuli • May also use association tests • Ask consumers to express thoughts or feelings after hearing a brand or seeing a logo Ch 7: Research 4

5. Developmental Advertising Research Methods Other methods include • Projective Techniques • Association Tests • Sentence and Picture Completion • Dialogue Balloons • Story Construction • Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) Ch 7: Research 5

6. Developmental Advertising Research Methods (con’t) Moremethods include • Field Work • Learn from the experiences of the consumer through direct observation • “Cool Hunts” • On the prowl for what is cool Ch 7: Research 6

7. Developmental Advertising Research Methods (con’t) • Internal company sources • Government sources • Commercial sources • Professional publications Ch 7: Research 7

8. Copy Research • Research on the actual ads • Used to judge the ads against a standard • Sometimes a source of agency conflict Ch 7: Research 8

9. Evaluative Criteria • “Getting It.” • Do consumers understand the ad? • Knowledge • Tests of recall and recognition • Attitude change • Determine where a brand stands • Feelings and emotions • Physiological changes • Changes in eye movements or respiration • Behavior • Will people buy the product? Ch 7: Research 9

10. What sort of “feelings and emotions” do you think research would uncover for this ad?

11. 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? Ch 7: Research 11

12. Copy Research Methods (con’t) • Recognition Tests • Do people remember seeing an ad or sponsor? • Attitude Change Studies • Measure attitudes before and after exposure • Physiological Tests • Eye tracking, psychogalvanometer, voice response analysis • Pilot Testing • Testing multiple versions of an ad Ch 7: Research 12

13. What sort of problems would these two ads create in the in the advertising research process?

14. Copy Research Methods (con’t) • Tracking studies • Assess performance of ads during or after a campaign launch • 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 • Frame-by-Frame Tests • Ask consumers to register feelings while viewing commercials Ch 7: Research 14

15. Account Planning versus Advertising Research Planning differs from traditional research in 3 ways: Ch 7: Research 15

16. Another thought on message testing • No single method is perfect • Researchers are employing more naturalistic methods to understand how people use media Ch 7: Research 16

17. What we need • Ad research could do with some changes • West coast agencies and British agencies have embraced qualitative methods • Ads are now often viewed as complex social texts rather than equivalent of high school debates Ch 7: Research 17

18. Audience definition is an important part of the advertising/promotion research process. Any ideas on the audience for this ad?