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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
VI. Monitoring, Evaluation,
and Control
19. Measuring the
Effectiveness of the
Promotional Program
5. Time. A final reason given for not testing is a lack of time. Managers believe they
already have too much to do and just can’t get around to testing, and they don’t want
to wait to get the message out because they might miss the window of opportunity.
Planning might be the solution to the first problem. While many managers are
overworked and time-poor, research is just too important to skip.
The second argument can also be overcome with proper planning. While
timeliness is critical, getting the wrong message out is of little or no value and may
even be harmful. There will be occasions where market opportunities require
choosing between testing and immediate implementation. But even then some testing
may help avoid mistakes or improve effectiveness. For example, after the terrorist
attacks on September 11, Motorola developed an ad designed to portray the quality of
its mobile phones by showing an FDNY fireman using one. While the ad may have
had good intentions, many people felt it was an attempt to capitalize on a tragedy. As a
result, much negative publicity was generated. The problem could have been avoided
had Motorola pretested consumers’ responses to the ad. In most instances, proper
planning and scheduling will allow time for research.
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
Conducting Research to Measure
Advertising Effectiveness
What to Test
We now examine how to measure the effects
of communications. This section considers
what elements to evaluate, as well as where
and how such evaluations should occur.
In Chapter 5, we discussed the components of the communications model (source,
message, media, receiver) and the importance of each in the promotional program.
Marketers need to determine how each is affecting the communications process. Other
decisions made in the promotional planning process must also be evaluated.
Source Factors An important question is whether the spokesperson being used
is effective and how the target market will respond to him or her. For example, Tiger
Woods has proved to be a successful salesperson for Nike and Buick. Or a product
spokesperson may be an excellent source initially but, owing to a variety of reasons,
may lose impact over time. For example, Britney Spears had been an effective
spokesperson for Pepsi, particularly with the teen market. The question was, Will she
be able to retain this relationship as she gets older? Apparently Pepsi thought not, as
her contract was not renewed. In other instances, changes in the source’s attractiveness
or likeability or other external factors may lead to changes in source effectiveness.
Pepsi pulled a TV sport featuring rapper Ludacris after Fox TV’s Bill O’Reilly
attacked the violent lyrics in Ludacris’s songs. 4
Message Variables Both the message and the means by which it is communicated
are bases for evaluation. For example, in the beer example discussed earlier, the
message never provided a reason for consumers to try the new product. In other
instances, the message may not be strong enough to pull readers into the ad by attracting
their attention or clear enough to help them evaluate the product. Sometimes the
message is memorable but doesn’t achieve the other goals set by management. One
study showed that 7 of the 25 products that scored highest on interest and memorability
in Video Storyboard Tests’ ad test had flat or declining sales. 5 A number of factors
regarding the message and its delivery may have an impact on its effectiveness,
including the headline, illustrations, text, and layout.
Many ads are never seen by the public because of the message they convey. For
example, an ad in which Susan Anton ate a slice of Pizza Hut pizza was considered too
erotic for the company’s small-town image. Likewise, an ad created for General Electric
in which Uncle Sam got slapped in the face (to demonstrate our growing trade
imbalance) was killed by the company’s chair. 6
Media Strategies Media decisions need to be evaluated. Research may be
designed to determine which media class (for example, broadcast versus print), subclass
(newspaper versus magazines), or specific vehicles (which newspapers or magazines)
generate the most effective results. The location within a particular medium
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Chapter Nineteen Measuring the Effectiveness of the Promotional Program