ADVERTISING RESEARCH
It involves decisions on-
The elements of an ad to be tested. (What should be tested?) Eg: TV, music, etc.
The method to be used. (When should they be tested?) Eg: Pre-test, post- test.
Whether they should be tested before or after the campaign. (How should they be tested?)
The question “what should be tested” refers to the specific elements of the campaign that are to be measured for their effectiveness- headlines, visuals, slogans, media and so on. Advertisers would like to measure each of these elements but it is not practically possible. Therefore the advertiser has to focus on those elements that may be measured with some degree of accuracy. The most common areas that are evaluated are the advertising messages and the media.
MESSAGE TESTING
This refers to testing the entire advertising campaign. Both the advertising strategy or what is said as well as the creative execution, or “how it is said”, may be tested for their effectiveness in terms of recall of the message, ability to induce action, or some other measure.
MEDIA TESTING
In testing, the media for their effectiveness in delivering a message, media types, media vehicles, as well as media units could be tested.
In addition to message and media, some other areas of advertising that may also be evaluated include:
MARKETS
Advertisers may want to test a particular strategy or a television commercial against various market segments, to determine their reactions. In this process, the advertisers may even decide to alter the strategy and to target the campaign to a different market.
MOTIVES
Advertisers may also be interested in knowing what product benefits appeal to consumers and what motivates them to buy, which helps to know whether the right appeals have been developed.
ADVERTISING BUDGETS
Advertising research can also help to determine the effectiveness of different levels of advertising spendings, in terms of sales generated.
SCHEDULING
Advertisers can also test consumer responses to a campaign during different seasons of the year, or days of the week. They can test whether frequent advertising is more effective than occasional or on-time insertions, or whether year-round advertising of say, a gift products, is more effective than advertising concentrated in the festival season.
Regarding “ when campaigns should be tested”, campaign evaluation can be done in two stages-before the campaign is run and after it has been run.
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