Evaluating an Integrated Marketing Program Chapter 15

What should be evaluated? Short-term outcomes (sales, redemption rates) Long-term results (brand awareness, brand loyalty) Product specific awareness (new product or extension, company) Awareness of the overall company Affective responses (liking the company, and positive brand image)

Evaluation Pretest measures Concurrent measures Post test measures

Message Evaluation Techniques Concept testing Copytesting Emotional reaction tests Cognitive Neuroscience On-line evaluation techniques Behavioural techniques Recall tests Recognition tests

Difficulties in Evaluating Advertising Influence of other factors on behaviour Delayed impact of advertising Consumers change their mind in the store Whether or not the brand is in evoked set Goal of ad may be to build brand equity, not increase sales so what you intend to measure is important to clarify.

Advertising Tracking Research Track ads after launch Nielsen IAG Millward Brown Monitors Brand performance Advertising effectiveness Specific time test Continuous tracking A common method of evaluation involves tracking an advertisement by one of the advertising research firms, such as Nielsen IAG or Millward Brown. These tracking services monitor an ad’s performance and measure its effectiveness. Tests can be performed at specific times or continuously. Nielsen IAG, for instance, offers a syndicated database of real-time brand and ad performance based on more than 210,00 television program episodes and 250,000 commercials. Nielsen conducts thousands of surveys daily measuring viewer engagement with TV programs and effectiveness of ads.

Concept Testing Aimed at content of a marketing piece. What is evaluated? Verbal messages Message and meaning Translations for international copy Product placement in ads Value of a sales promotional efforts Focus groups may be used Concept testing instruments: Comprehension and readability tests Reaction tests

Copytesting Used when marketing piece is finished or in final stages Portfolio test – print communication Theater test – television/mass media communication Methods used: Focus groups Can be mall intercept

Copytesting Copytesting can be used to determine if viewers comprehend this ad and what their reaction to it is.

Copytesting Criticisms of copytesting Support of copytesting Some agencies do not use them Can stifle creativity Focus groups may not be a good judge Support of copytesting Issue of accountability - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aXN8qaxPek Majority support copytesting because clients want support for ad decision

F I G U R E 1 5 . 2 Copytesting principles of Positioning Advertising Copytesting (PACT) Testing procedure should be relevant to objectives. Researchers should agree on how the results will be used in advance. Multiple measures should be used. The test should be based on some model or theory of human response to communication. Testing procedure should allow for more than one exposure. In selecting alternate ads to include in the test, they should be at the same stage in the process as the test ad The test should provide controls to avoid biases. Sample used for the test should be representative of the target sample. Testing procedure should demonstrate reliability and validity. Source: Based on PACT document published in the Journal of Marketing, (1982) ,Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 4-29.

What’s Happening? http://www.tvb.ca/pages/BroccoliCase_htm

Emotional Reaction Tests Used for material designed to solicit emotions. Difficult to measure emotions with questions. Warmth Meters are usually used as am instrument

Sample Graph from a Warmth Meter 30-Second TV Advertisement Ad section that elicited negative emotions

Cognitive Neuroscience Measures brainwave activity Better indicator of respondent’s true reaction Does not rely on self-reporting, like emotional reaction tests Companies experimenting with neuroscience EmSense, NeureoFocus, Sands Research Frito-Lay Power of cognitive neuroscience Reveals physiological reactions Understand how information is being processed Cognitive neuroscience measures brainwave activity and is the latest advance in advertising research. It is a better indicator of a person’s true reaction since it does not rely on self-reporting. A number of companies are experimenting with cognitive neuroscience. Frito-Lay used cognitive neuroscience to examine a particular ad that was rated inappropriate by a focus group. The neuroscience research showed women loved the ad. The power of neuroscience is that it reveals physiological reactions. It provides information on where the information is being processed in the brain and what consumers do with the information they receive. Instead of rely on self-reporting, cognitive neuroscience hopes to measure reactions accurately.

Online Evaluation Metrics Click-throughs primary measurement Length of engagement Dwell time Redemption rates Response rates Sales Web chatter The online environment provides a number of metrics that cannot be obtained with other media, especially so quickly. Web metrics can be obtained in almost real-time. The primary measure of online ads is click-throughs, which is the number of people who click on the ad and go to the Web site. Length of engagement is a newer metric that measures how long a person stays at a Web site, regardless of where they are on the site. Dwell rate measures the proportion of ad impressions that result in users engaging with an ad. Dwell time measures the amount of time users spend engaged with a particular ad. Redemption rates and response rates can be used to measure ad effectiveness, as well as sales. Companies can also monitor Web chatter to see how many times the brand name is being mentioned and what is being said about the brand.

Response rates to offers Test markets Purchase Simulation tests F I G U R E 1 5 . 4 Behavioural Measures Sales Redemption rates Response rates to offers Test markets Purchase Simulation tests

Direct marketing responses. Redemption rate of sales promotion offers. F I G U R E 1 5 . 6 Responses to Marketing Messages that can be Tracked Changes in sales Telephone inquiries. Response cards. Internet inquiries. Direct marketing responses. Redemption rate of sales promotion offers. Coupons, premiums, contests, sweepstakes

Test Markets Used to assess: Advertisements (different versions in different markets) Consumer and trade promotions Pricing tactics New products Cost effective method of evaluation prior to large-scale launch. Resembles actual situation. Design test market to model full marketing plan. Length of test market is a concern. Competitive actions must be considered

Purchase Simulation Tests Bias in purchase intention questions Simulated purchase tests Research Systems Corporation Does not rely on opinions and attitudes Another behavioral measure is purchase simulation tests. Purchase intention questions are biased with more people saying they will buy a product than actually do. Simulated tests are more accurate. Research Systems Corporation is a primary provider of simulation tests. It does not rely on opinions and attitudes. Research Systems Corporation uses a controlled lab and a simulated store to study consumer purchases. Subjects are given various scenarios or shown particular ads then asked to shop as they normally would at their store.

Recall Tests Day-after recall (DAR) Unaided recall Aided recall Factors affecting recall: Respondent’s age affects recall scores Medium used also plays a factor

Recall Tests - Items tested Product name or brand Firm name Company location Theme music Spokesperson Tagline Incentive being offered Product attributes Primary selling point of communication piece

Sample Recall Test 30-Second TV Advertisement for Pet Food

Recall Decay Magazine Ad vs. Television Ad Source: Magazines Canada’s Research Archive