Is Your Advertising Effective?

What is good advertising? There are emotional ads, funny ads, serious ads, extravagant ads, low-budget ads...it's virtually all been done. But just what makes for a “good” ad? The one that works. An ad can win many awards for its cleverness, but if it does not produce the desired results, it is a failure.

Good advertising is effective advertising -- advertising that helps achieve the marketer's goal, whether it be customer traffic, inquiries, or brand recognition.

5 common research methods for determining an advertisement's effectiveness.

Memory tests Memory tests are qualitative tests used to determine what is remembered about any particular ad, either through recall tests (i.e., “do you remember anything about a soda ad during Seinfeld yesterday?”), or through recognition tests (i.e., showing the interviewee the ad and asking what parts are recognized).

Strengths: Reliable, measures ad's impact on consumer.
Weaknesses: Remembering an ad doesn't guarantee purchase.
Common Uses: TV commercials, newspaper and magazine advertising.

Persuasion tests Persuasion tests take memory tests one step further and try to determine whether or not a consumer's mind was changed about a product as the result of an advertisement. Interviewees are questioned about their views on a product, shown an ad, and then retested to see if a new attitude has been developed.

Strengths: Attempts to measure change in attitude as a direct result of an ad.
Weaknesses: Can be expensive.
Common Uses: TV commercials.

Actual response (inquiries) Common among smaller advertisers, direct tests measure customer responses that occur directly from an advertisement. Examples include counting calls received on a toll-free line aired in a commercial, or a count of inquiries or coupons redeemed from a print ad. Lack of results cannot always be attributed to a poor ad since many factors influence action. Perceptions about need, pricing, timing, and availability can all affect response. In other words, you can have the perfect ad... but it probably still won't sell snowmobiles in Hawaii.

Strengths: Validity, inexpensive.
Weaknesses: Not necessarily measuring the advertising's effectiveness.
Common Uses: Magazine advertising; TV, radio, and newspaper advertising.

In-market tests Measurements of sales, like actual responses, are very concrete. Again, it is difficult to isolate the advertisement's effect because a change in sales can be predicated on a variety of factors -- a strong sale price, competition closing, bad weather, etc.

Strengths: Validity, inexpensive.
Weaknesses: Not necessarily measuring the advertising's effectiveness.
Common Uses: New product testing.

Physiological tests These measure body changes in response to an ad message, such as heart rate, brain waves and pupil dilation. The drawback here is that reactions may be due to any number of reasons, and it's often difficult to pinpoint an ad as the singular factor.

Strengths: Good for controversial topics, where reaction is hard to gauge otherwise.
Weaknesses: Can be expensive.
Common Uses: TV, radio, print advertising.

In the real world, advertisers are quick to credit or blame advertising for response or sales results. But remember, advertising is communications, and as such should be tested using communications criteria such as awareness and purchase intent. It's important to keep your advertising accountable to these realistic criteria.

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