Research services: Ad & Campaign Effectiveness

Ad & campaign effectiveness research from DRG

This form of research can help ensure you’re getting a positive Return on Investment (ROI) and can inform future campaign planning.

Online methodology:

We frequently conduct pre and post stage research using an online methodology with respondents from our in-house consumer panel, Panelbase. This is generally a very cost-effective approach.

• Two waves of research (pre & post) allow us to measure shifts in key brand metrics. The main purpose of pre stage research is to establish benchmark metrics. With a larger sample size in the post stage we are to conduct more granular analysis amongst sub-groups etc. in order to measure ad and campaign effectiveness.
• If applicable we’re also able to explore the option of including mid stage research. A mid stage can be useful if the principal advertising ends before the full advertising period has ended.
• An online methodology enables you to capture the opinions of a specific audience and to ensure respondents can be prompted visually with an advertisement etc. This methodology allows us to collect large samples cost effectively by using our in-depth profiling to reach the specific target audiences in question.
• We can incorporate campaign material (visual, audio, or audio-visual) within an online interview to gain an accurate picture of advertising recall and an in-depth understanding of message takeout.
• We’re also able to test engagement with and enjoyment of an advertisement using our in-house engagement meter and analyser tool which is embedded within our online surveys. Our engagement meter involves survey participants registering their engagement throughout an ad through simple key presses on their keyboard.  The resulting engagement trace can be overlaid on the ad itself and allows peaks and dips in engagement to be measured. This feedback can be used to understand which aspects of the ad are particularly engaging to the target audience or between differing demographic groups within the overall target audience.
• We understand the importance of asking the right type of questions to measure campaign objectives effectively. We’ll work together with our client through an introductory meeting to develop an objective specific questionnaire.

The primary research objective is generally to evaluate the overall effectiveness of an advertisement or campaign across key brand metrics. For example more specifically:

• Unprompted brand awareness (Respondents awareness of brand x and competitors)
• Unprompted advertising awareness (Can respondents remember the campaign spontaneously)
• Media attribution
• Prompted brand awareness
• Prompted advertising awareness
• Advertising attribution (Where can respondents remember seeing the campaign)
• Prompted advertising recall through exposure to the advertisement used within the survey
• Creative likeability
• Key message take out
• Evaluate brand understanding and overall brand perception
• Demonstrate call-to-action generated by the campaign

Open-ended questions allow unprompted brand and advertising awareness to be measured, and provide qualitative insights which can then be categorised into a quantitative format, alongside highlighting revealing comments and producing a verbatim export.

Face-to-face surveys:

In order to increase levels of accuracy the sample size at each stage can generally be boosted by also using face-to-face interviews.

• The research audience will be similar to the campaign target audience. This however can be further refined by the client. If applicable, respondents will only be recruited from the region/s where an advertising campaign has been active.
• The client may provide a competitors’ list and brand statements that need to be tested, possibly based on previous research.
• Where appropriate we will compare key measures against our internal benchmarking database in order to assess the impact of a campaign and to put the evaluation data in context. This database draws together brand and advertising awareness data collected for public and private sector clients for more than 15 years. Key campaign benchmarks which aid the analysis of campaign success include ad recall and purchase consideration. In addition to benchmarking a campaign against all campaigns in our database, we can also compare them against industry specific data and include data from across a brand’s own previous campaigns where data is available.

Deliverables:

As with all aspects of our research, deliverables are entirely tailored to your needs. We are available to provide as much or as little support as you require to interpret the data.

• For each campaign evaluation pre and post stage data tables can be supplied in Excel with pre-agreed crossbreaks to include demographic sub-groups, as well as different groups from the survey questions.
• Following the completion of post stage research we can produce a full report in PowerPoint format. The report will focus of feeding back against the key campaign objectives, measuring campaign success and pulling out key insights in terms of changes in perceptions towards the campaign product/service. The report will begin with a brief recap of the approach to the research and sample composition before delving into the main findings and insights. It will then be divided into logical sections and will illustrate each question graphically or in tabular format, with analytical commentary on the data and any differences apparent within the variables of interest.
• Statistically significant differences between findings from important sub-groups will be highlighted and commented upon where appropriate. Sub groups of interest in the analysis may include those who re-call the advertising vs. those who don’t, those who have visited a website vs. those who plan to vs. those who don’t plan to, and numerous demographic groups. The report would conclude with a summary of all key insights, and can be presented in a debrief either by phone, web link, or face-to-face.