Evaluation of Advertising effectiveness: Pre-testing and Post-testing objectives – BMS Notes
The completion of an advertising campaign does not absolve management of their obligation in the field of advertising. Any good management effort is ultimately concerned with achieving objectives, and as such, it is always prepared to assess the outcomes.
The management process of comparing the advertising outcomes to the set performance standards and goals in order to determine the true worth of the advertising performance is known as evaluation of advertising or advertising effectiveness.
It is an effort to gauge if the time, skill, and money put into the creative endeavour have paid off in terms of the advertiser’s desire for maximum profit and the general public’s happiness.
It should go without saying that the marketer is the one who should evaluate the efficacy of their ads.
By definition, the goal of ad effectiveness assessment, a research activity, is to determine the cause and effect relationship between the efforts and the outcomes. Five categories may be used to evaluate the efficacy of this advertisement: markets, motivations, messaging, media, and overall outcomes.
It is important to assess each area’s advertising potential and accomplishments in relation to predetermined goals. Advertising testing is essential because it allows one to get to the bottom of things, make decisions about spending that prevent the mistaken belief that one must stay up to date with trends, sort sheep from goats, separate winning ideas from bad ones, and multiply the returns on investments made in rupees.
When should I take a test?
Any point along the advertising process may be used to test the efficacy of an advertisement. It may be carried out before to, during, or after the start of the advertising campaign. Pre-testing offers the highest level of safety as the least amount of data is lost; contemporaneous testing causes him to lose slightly more as the advertising process progresses.
If post-testing fails, he will suffer the worst loss possible since the whole show will end and he will get a post-mortem report detailing what went wrong. Until we are assured of the precision and dependability of the feedback the marketer receives from this kind of study, nothing can be guaranteed.
How should one test?
Thankfully, there is a large selection of testing procedures or methods to choose from for the purpose of assessment in the advertisement. When he plans to assess the efficacy of the advertisement will determine the tactics or approaches he will use.
As a result, three sets of techniques—pre-testing, concurrent testing, and post-testing techniques—can be used to satisfy his demands.
Pre-testing Methods
I Test using a checklist
A check-list is a set of desirable attributes that a successful advertising should have. A standard check-list offers a grading system or a foundation for classifying the advertisements according to their attributes.
These qualities might include integrity, attention to detail, readability, dependability, capacity for persuasion, capacity for sales, and similar traits. The best advertisement is the one with the highest score.
(ii) Opinion survey
An opinion test, also known as a consumer jury test, is a method used to determine a sample group’s preference for a portion of an advertisement that represents typical potential customers of the product or service. The jury members evaluate the advertisements based on their headlines, topics, graphics, and slogans via direct comparison.
It is preferable to get a juror’s choice over that of an ad expert or member of the general public.
The jury determines their choice by looking for responses to the following queries: which advertisement was seen first?
Which made the most sense?
Which caught my attention the most? And so on.
The ad that ranks highest is therefore chosen.
(iii) Portfolio and dummy magazine tests
To pre-test the advertisements under settings that approximate typical exposure, dummy publications are used. Standard journalistic content, control advertising that have previously been tested, and the ads that need to be tested are all included in a fake magazine. These magazines are sent to the sample houses, and recall scores are ascertained via the interviews that take place.
The only difference between a fake magazine test and a port-folio test is that the test advertisements are stored in a folder with control advertising. These files are sent to the responders for reading and commenting on. The interview determines the exam results. The top-scoring advertisement is considered the best.
(iv) Questionnaire
It entails experimenting with two or more limited-run advertisements to see which generates the most inquiries for the offered deals. Only copies, drawings, copy appeals, and other components are tested using these inquiry tests.
You may check any one of these components. To get the score, the point that has to be verified is adjusted while the other elements remain unchanged.
(v) Examinations using machinery
Unlike the previously described exam, these mechanical tests are objective in character. These aid in offering useful indicators of how respondents’ eyes and feelings are being reached by a particular advertising.
Methods for Concurrent Testing
I Coincident polling
This technique, also known as the coincidence telephone approach, involves selecting a sample of homes, calling them during the transmission of a programme, and asking the respondents whether their television or radio is on and, if so, what station or show they are listening to. The percentage of respondents to the programme or advertising is ascertained from the survey findings.
(ii) Customer notebooks
This approach entails providing individual or family diaries to the families who are preselected. It is requested of the chosen families and individual responders to document the specifics of the programme they watch or listen to. Periodically, the diaries are gathered to calculate the scores.
(iii) Hardware apparatus
Broadcast media tend to employ the mechanical devices more often for measuring the ad discrepancies simultaneously.
(iv) Traffic volume
The use of traffic counts to outdoor advertising is particularly relevant. Through traffic counts, a lot of information may be obtained. Independent, either public or commercial organisations are in charge of this counting. The advertising companies also work on this.
Techniques for post-testing
I Questionnaires
This is a field experiment that is under control. The efficacy of a communication medium or advertising material is measured in an inquiry test by counting the number of customer questions it generates.
Consequently, the measure of efficacy is the quantity of queries, which can only be generated when the advertisement content or the media is successful in drawing in and holding the interest of readers or viewers. The sponsor promises to provide the reader or viewer anything free of charge if they respond in order to promote inquiries.
(ii) Test of split-run
A split-run test is a method that enables testing of two or more advertisements placed in the same magazine and location, each with the assurance that it will be seen by a similar number of readers. The fact that the advertisement material is divided into components like the appeal layout headline and so forth makes it better than the inquiry test. Readers are also invited to respond to questions at the address provided or by keying in the number.
(iii) Tests of recognition
The process of recognising anything involves determining whether it has been seen or heard previously. The respondent’s recollection serves as its foundation. By counting the number of respondents who had previously read or seen the advertisements, it aims to gauge the efficacy of the commercials. Surveys of readers or listeners are used to determine the findings.
(iv) Tests of recall
When it comes to memory testing, recall is more difficult than recognition. Respondents are asked to provide answers based only on what they have read, seen, or heard. They are not permitted to see or hear the advertisement while they are replying.
This exam has several versions. The Triple Association Test is one such exam that gauges how well someone can replicate themes or phrases and assesses their memory.
(v) Tests of sales
Sales tests are a kind of controlled experiment in which real-world circumstances are encountered rather than just simulated ones. It looks for a clear connection between one or more factors and product or service sales. It makes it easier to test different ads and media against each other.
In summary, advertising effectiveness testing is essential to avoiding expensive errors, choosing the best option from a set of seemingly equal options, resolving disagreements, and expanding the body of information deeply affecting the efficacy and efficiency of advertising. Testing for ad efficacy may be place at three different stages: before, during, and after the advertisement is released