Marketing Communications

304 CHAPTER 9 ADVERTISING RESEARCH

exposure and recall measurement. Recall scores are nearly 100% immediately aft er exposure,

but studies indicate that they drop to about 25% the day aft er and to about 10% two days aft er

exposure.^15 Rational mass appeals are recalled better than complex and/or emotional appeals,

certainly aft er one exposure. Recall is, in a number of cases, an irrelevant indication of adver-

tising eff ectiveness. Th e only thing recall tests measure is whether the ad has been able to

draw attention. Especially in cases in which it is suffi cient for a consumer to recognise a

picture or a brand in a shop to be inclined to buy the product, recognition tests are a much

more valid and relevant measure of ad eff ectiveness than recall measurements.

Advertising campaign evaluation research

Contrary to post-tests in which the eff ectiveness of only one ad is assessed, campaign evalu-

ation research focuses on the eff ectiveness of a whole advertising campaign. Campaign

evaluation research tends to become increasingly more relevant than post-tests. Integrated

marketing communications imply that it is very diffi cult or even irrelevant to assess the eff ects of

one single medium or ad. Rather, the eff ects of the whole communications mix should be assessed.

In campaign evaluation tests, not ad-related responses but brand-related eff ectiveness

measures are the focus. As in post-tests, a before or control measurement is necessary to

assess adequately the eff ect of a particular campaign. Again, communications eff ects as well

as behaviour eff ects can be measured.

Communications eff ects measurements can be structured following the hierarchy-of-

eff ects logic: awareness, knowledge, attitude and intention to buy. Top-of-mind awareness

(TOMA) measurement is an unaided awareness telephone test in which the consumer is

asked which brand of a specifi c product category is the fi rst one that comes to mind.

Subsequently, the consumer is asked if he or she can name other brands in the same product

category (again unaided awareness). Finally, a number of brands are mentioned, and the

consumer has to indicate the ones he or she knows ( aided awareness ). Th e advertising cam-

paign is not mentioned but, by comparing the awareness before and aft er a campaign, its

eff ect on brand awareness can be assessed. Furthermore, brand awareness rates of competi-

tive products are also measured, and can serve as a control measurement or benchmark.

Attitude change or the change of the brand’s image can also be measured. Oft en a cam-

paign aims at changing the target group’s opinion about certain aspects or attributes of a

brand. Scale techniques can be used to measure this change in image components.

In one European country,^16 the mobile phone operator market was dominated by three competitors with a combined

market share of almost 100%. The two largest companies had a combined market share of about 90%. The market was

divided into two important segments, namely pre-paid and post-paid. In terms of the number of clients, the pre-paid

segment had experienced much more rapid growth than the post-paid segment. Initially, 100% of the market was

post-paid. By 2002, two-thirds of the customers used pre-paid cards. In 1996, the market leader had a relatively

weak position in the pre-paid segment, and a very strong post-paid position. An image campaign was launched to

build top-of-mind awareness, brand preference, emotional bonding and trust. Reliability and superior product quality

(network, sound, number of clients, etc.) were stressed. Throughout the campaign, the results were monitored.

Chart 1 shows top-of-mind brand awareness of the three competing brands. Chart 2 shows brand preference evolution.

BUSINESS INSIGHT

Testing an image campaign for a telecoms operator

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