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Advertising ResearchBy Jerry W. ThomasA growing share of consumergoods media spending isshifting away from traditionaladvertising media (television,radio, print, and outdoor). Theproliferation of new mediaalternatives (online advertising,YouTube, social media, mobile,search engines, apps, etc.) isattracting money once spent ontraditional media.Traditional Media vs.New Mediafrom the hard work of building effectiveadvertising campaigns.This decline of traditional mediaadvertising in many consumer-goodscompanies is creating an opportunity forcompanies that appreciate the power oftraditional advertising.Mastery ofthe traditionalmedia—especiallytelevision, radio,and outdooradvertisingSocial media, online, search, and mobileis a far wiseradvertising all grab the headlines andstrategy thanattract marketing executives like moths toaggressivethe flame, but we should not be dazzledpursuit of theor awed by the new media. They havenew media.their advantages and can be a part of theTraditional media are also suffering froma long-term trend toward promotionalexpenditures consuming a larger share ofthe marketing budget. Many consumergoods companies are spending less onadvertising in total, as their executivesstrive to please Wall Street with improvedshort-term profits. The hope that one’sads might “go viral” and accomplishadvertising miracles on a low budget addsto the upheaval and distracts executives1.817.640.6166 or 1.800. ANALYSIS www.decisionanalyst.comCopyright 2013 Decision Analyst. All rights reserved.

media mix, but are probably still a distant“second fiddle” to traditional media.Think of mediaadvertisingas the longrange artilleryIndeed, we would argue that masteryof the traditional media—especiallytelevision, radio, and outdoor advertisingis a far wiser strategy than aggressiveTelevision AdvertisingNot only does the term “televisionadvertising” refer to a commercial withcolor, motion, and sound like those yousee on television, it also refers to thosepursuit of the new media.same types of commercials you might seeMedia Choicesor on Facebook.bombardmentThe most important concept is strategic-Thusly defined, television advertisingto takeinvestment spending in media advertising.is still the gold standard and the mostpossession ofThink of media advertising as the long-effective of all media for consumerthe consumer’srange artillery of marketing. Your goalproducts. Television commercials havemind andis a long-term bombardment to takethe greatest impact and tend to movepreferences.possession of the consumer’s mind andawareness numbers up swiftly—withpreferences. A brand may have to takesufficient media weight. Generally, thefinancial losses for a year or two whileequivalent of 100 GRPs (Gross Ratingit builds awareness, tells its story, andPoints) per week is the lower limitcrafts a brand image. This is the priceof spending level if you hope to seeof marketing success. Media choice is ameasurable increases in advertisingdaunting task in a world of infinite mediaawareness. Also, television commercialschoice, so here are some guidelines.(like all advertising) would be moreof marketing.Your goal isa long-termon the web, in social media, on YouTube,effective if a higher share were testedamong consumers before airing.Radio AdvertisingRadio commercials can be as effectiveas television commercials, based onsales return per dollar spent on media.However, radio commercials seldomachieve their true potential becausethey tend to be inferior to televisioncommercials in content and productionquality. Typically, radio budgets are2Decision Analyst: Advertising ResearchCopyright 2013 Decision Analyst. All rights reserved.

much less than television, and radiocommercials are rarely tested amongconsumers. If you plan to use radio,Ads andpretest the commercials to make surecommercialsthey work.intended forPrint Advertisingonline deliveryPrint advertising tends to work moredistributionslowly than television or radio. Therefore,operate by thean especially long period of time (or ansame rulesespecially heavy media schedule) isas all otherrequired to fully evaluate the total effectsadvertising.of print advertising. Print is an importantarrow in the media quiver, however,because a share of the population tendsto be heavy readers. You won’t reachthem with television, radio commercials,YouTube, or sponsorships of tractor races.Outdoor AdvertisingOutdoor advertising (also called out-ofhome or OOH) is especially effective asan advertising media, if used properly.First, the message must be (a) on strategyand (b) expressed in few words.Outdoor advertising is great at extendingor reinforcing the key theme of atelevision or radio campaign. If some ofthe visual elements and the key themeof a television or radio campaign canbe condensed and shown via outdooradvertising, the awareness-build oftelevision can be accelerated. OutdoorCopyright 2013 Decision Analyst. All rights reserved.or social mediaadvertising can add a visual element toa radio campaign (e.g., show the retailpackage), and it can help boost theawareness-build of a print-advertisingcampaign.Social Media AdvertisingSocial media continues to grow inimportance and reach. Its ultimate valueas an advertising media remains to beseen. Ads and commercials intendedfor online delivery or social mediadistribution operate by the same rules asall other advertising. Television-testingtechniques, for example, can be appliedto commercials that look like televisioncommercials, regardless of where thosecommercials are aired. Static bannerads are similar to print ads and can beevaluated by those metrics. Many socialmedia and online ads and commercialsDecision Analyst: Advertising Research3

Advertisingcannot competewith salespromotion anddirect-marketingactivities ingeneratingshort-term saleseffects.fall in between these extremes, andrequire some adjustments in measuringtechniques. What’s important is thatthese ads go through the same researchAdvertising EffectivenessAdvertising for new products tends tobe more effective than advertising forprocesses as other commercials do.established products (it’s the “news value”Strategyeasier to create effective advertising forof the new product). In other words, it’snew products than it is for establishedAdvertising is primarily a strategicproducts.weapon, as previously noted. It’s theheavy, long-range artillery. Its total effectsGiven the greater effectiveness of newmust be evaluated in the context of years,product advertising, one of the mostnot weeks or months. Advertising cannotcommon marketing mistakes is failure tocompete with sales-promotion and direct-take advantage of this inherent benefitmarketing activities in generating short-(i.e., the failure to fully exploit the newterm sales effects. But in the long term,product advertising advantage).the cumulative force of strategically soundmedia advertising can achieve results thatcannot be equaled by sales promotion orother marketing activities.4Decision Analyst: Advertising ResearchPerhaps up to half of all advertising forestablished products is not effective,or is only minimally effective, based onDecision Analyst’s research. PerhapsCopyright 2013 Decision Analyst. All rights reserved.

no other industry has a failure rate asattitudes. This is one of the simplest andhigh as the advertising industry (with themost effective ways to make sure thatexception of the promotion industries,your advertising is doing its job.direct-marketing industries, telemarketingUltimate truthRecall of specific messages fromis elusive.traditional advertising).advertising is not a very good indicatorAdvertisingof advertising effectiveness, and someeffectivenessThe persistently high advertising-failurevery effective commercials producecannot berate results primarily from the lack of anlittle measurable message recall.determinedaccurate feedback mechanism—a lackMessage recall is a positive factor, butby any oneof testing and evaluation. If an agencyits importance should not be overstated.measure, suchdoesn’t know when its advertisingBrand registration, however, is alwaysas persuasion oris bad or why it’s bad, how can theimportant (as opposed to message oragency possibly improve its advertising?element recall).industries, and other alternatives toMarketing research can provide thisfeedback, but it’s often too expensive forthe typical advertisement or commercial.Among commercials that are effective, thedegree of sales effectiveness can varygreatly from one commercial to the next.One commercial might be several timesrecall.Brand RegistrationIf consumers don’t remember the brandname, the effectiveness of the advertisingis correspondingly reduced. Failure toregister the brand name is one of themost common advertising mistakes. Themore effective than another. This indicatesthat the quality of advertising tends tobe more important than the quantity ofadvertising. Nevertheless, the quantityof advertising (i.e., the media weight)must achieve a threshold level for theadvertising to have any positive effects.Limited online surveys or telephonetracking research (that can even be donewith modest budgets) can monitor thecumulative effects of advertising uponawareness, brand image, and consumerCopyright 2013 Decision Analyst. All rights reserved.Decision Analyst: Advertising Research5

number of important variables must beexamined in concert to judge the potentialeffectiveness of advertising.Advertising that offends the viewer, or isin poor taste, is almost always ineffective.The only exception to this rule is thecommercial that presents a lot of relevantnews, where the message is so importantthat how it is said doesn’t matter much. Ifviewers like a commercial, its chances ofbeing effective are improved. Likeability,however, is not sufficient in and of itself toensure advertising success.next time you review your advertising,If viewers likea commercial,its chances ofbeing effectiveare improved.Likeability,just make sure that the brand name isclearly stated and clearly shown in thecommercial. If your brand name is noteasy to remember, then more emphasismust be placed on the brand name incommercials.however, isUltimate truth is elusive. Advertisingnot sufficienteffectiveness cannot be determined byin and of itselfany one measure, such as persuasionto ensureor recall. Recall is a good measure foradvertisingsome commercials, but not for others.success.Persuasion scores don’t work very wellfor brands with high market shares andcannot be relied upon for brands in poorlydefined product categories.Purchase intent works reasonably6From the marketer’s perspective, whatare the “secrets” to achieving everycompany’s goal—advertising that reallyworks? There is no simple “success”formula, unfortunately, but here are someguidelines:Advertising works in the arms ofsound strategy. What role is advertisingto play in the brand’s marketing plan?What messages must the advertisingcommunicate? What images shouldthe advertising project? These arestrategy issues, and they bring us to thisconclusion: without sound strategy, thechances of advertising success are verylow. Several research techniques areavailable to identify and resolve strategywell for new products, but not so wellissues before creative developmentfor established products. A largebegins.Decision Analyst: Advertising ResearchCopyright 2013 Decision Analyst. All rights reserved.