Marketing Communications

PRE-TESTING OF ADVERTISING 297

Th e subject may be asked to rate each ad on a number of scales, to order them on the basis

of a number of criteria or to pairwise-compare them on the basis of these criteria. Th e most

important disadvantage of the direct rating method is that individuals are exposed to ads in

a very unnatural environment. Th erefore, they may be inclined to approach the ads too

rationally compared with a real-life situation of ad exposure. Th ey may even start to act and

rate as ‘instant experts’, i.e. rating the ads from a professional advertiser’s point of view, as they

perceive it. Th is phenomenon is also known as the ‘consumer jury eff ect’.

A campaign can be pre-tested and subsequently adapted to the desired profile. In the following test, this procedure

is carried out for a bank commercial. A consumer jury is randomly selected and assembled in a room. A video is

shown with a new commercial for the bank. After registering a number of characteristics of the respondents (age,

income, gender, education, profession, clientship of banks, etc.), the following questions are asked:

BUSINESS INSIGHT

A pre-test for a bank commercial

Many ad testing scales have been developed. Most of them test at least three dimensions by means of various

items: the affective reaction, the perception of informativeness and the clarity of the ad. In the following scale, for

instance, all statements have to be scored on five- or seven-category scales (completely disagree–completely

agree):

RESEARCH INSIGHT

Direct opinion measurement of the attitude towards the ad

This ad appeals to me. It is clear what this ad tries to say.

This ad gives useful information. It is not immediately clear who the sender of the

message is.

This ad is interesting. The baseline is easy to understand.

This ad is beautiful. You have to look at the ad a long time before you

understand what it is about.

This ad is believable. This ad is confusing.

This ad draws the attention. This ad is remarkable.

This ad tells me something new. I think this ad is well made.

This ad fits the brand. I think this ad is original.

This ad is boring.

This ad gives me a positive impression of the brand.

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