Establishing a Program for Measuring Advertising Effects

Although interactive advertising is not new, its scale, scope and immediacy has
increased substantially with the diffusion of new technologies such as the
Internet. The growth of interactive advertising highlights the role of the
consumer in the determining the effects and effectiveness of advertising, while
challenging traditional assumptions about how advertising works. The active
role of the consumer in determining the effects of advertising has important
implications for how the effects and effectiveness of advertising are measured
and how various measures are interpreted.
Application of structuration theory to interactive advertising would involve the
identification of the ways in which consumers shape the production,
reproduction, and transformation of the advertising message, future products
and services and relationships with marketers and other consumers. This
interaction can, in turn, shape the actions taken by advertisers. Concepts can be
used to examine how marketers and consumers appropriate interaction rules to
influence the effectiveness of advertising and other jointly beneficial outcomes.
Following structural & rational terminology, interactive advertising may be
regarded as a social institution that is produced, reproduced, and modified when
consumers engage in interactive communication. As a social institution,
advertising both shapes and is shaped by consumer preferences.
Establish communications objectives. Except for a few instances (most
specifically direct-response advertising), it is nearly impossible to show
the direct impact of advertising on sales. So the marketing objectives
established for the promotional program are not good measures of
communication effectiveness. For example, it is very difficult (or too
expensive) to demonstrate the effect of an ad on brand share or on sales.
On the other hand, attainment of communications objectives can be
measured and leads to the accomplishment of marketing objectives.
Use both pretests and posttest. From a cost stand pointboth actual cost
outlays and opportunity costspretesting makes sense. It may mean the
difference between success or failure of the campaign or the product. But
it should work in conjunction with posttests, which avoid the limitations
of pretests, use much larger samples, and take place in more natural
settings. Posttesting may be required to determine the true effectiveness
of the ad or campaign.
Use multiple measures. Many attempts to measure the effectiveness of
advertising focus on one major dependent variableperhaps sales, recall,
or recognition. As noted earlier in this chapter, advertising may have a
variety of effects on the consumer, some of which can be measured

through traditional methods, others that require updated thinking (recall

the discussion on physiological responses). For a true assessment of
advertising effectiveness, a number of measures may be required.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Other Program Elements

Measuring the Effectiveness of Sales Promotions: A number of
organizations measure sales promotions. Schnucks (St. Louis),
Smittys Super Valu (Phoenix), and Vons (Los Angeles) have all used
pretests with effects mea- sured through scanner data. Others have
employed this methodology to examine brand and store switching,
alternative promotions, price discounts, and merchandising techniques.38 Other advertisers use awareness tracking studies and count
the number of inquiries, coupon redemptions, and sweepstakes entries.
They also track sales during promotional and non promotional periods
while holding other factors constant.
One recent technological development designed to track the
effectiveness of sales promotions at the point of sale is offered by
Datatec Industries. This automated sys- tem, called Shopper Trak,
places sensors in the store that track whether a person is coming or
going, calculate the shoppers height (to differentiate between adults
and children), and gauge traffic patterns. The system helps retailers
evaluate the effective- ness of promotions or displays located
throughout the store.
Measuring the Effectiveness of Sponsorships: Exposure methods.
Exposure methods can be classified as those that monitor the quantity
and nature of the media coverage obtained for the sponsored event and
those that estimate direct and indirect audiences. While commonly
employed by corporations, scholars have heavily criticized these
measures.
Tracking measures. These measures are designed to evaluate the
awareness, familiarity, and preferences engendered by sponsorship
based on surveys. A number of empirical studies have measured recall
of sponsors ads, awareness of and attitudes toward the sponsors and
their products, and image effect including brand and corporate images.