What responses will the intended advertisement/commercial receive? What thoughts, feelings and moods does it evoke in the receiver and to what extent does it comply with the message intended for the target group? Which type of advertisement and which concrete ad is the most effective – which is worth using as a means of marketing communication?
What result has the advertisement campaign had? What percentage of the target group have you managed to address and reach? How does the effect of the advertisement campaign appear in the acquaintance with the brand/product and its use and image?
Advertisement tests can be divided into two groups basically: advertisement pretests carried out prior to the launch of the advertisement campaign to prepare and establish the campaign and posttests which measure the effectiveness of the campaign.
Advertisement pretests
Advertisement pretests aim to measure the expected reception and effectiveness of an advertisement – prior to the actual launch of the campaign. Pretests are also suitable to determine the type of advertisement or a concrete ad which is the most suitable for the target group and the message.
An advertisement pretest is usually a so-called in-hall test, where a smaller or larger sample recruited from the target group, after seeing the advertisement, assesses different elements of the campaign by filling out a standard questionnaire. In-hall tests can be combined with focus group discussions, in which participants can state their views and share their thoughts and feelings about the advertisement. The focus group technique can supplement the numerical data derived from in-hall tests, but it can also be applied as a separate method.
NRC, as a specialist of online surveys, substitutes in-hall tests by online advertisement tests in every case where the target group is properly available via the internet. Advertisement tests based on NRC’s online panel (NetPanel), which are quick, cost-effective and survey larger samples than offline methods, can be applied in case of any type of advertisement (billboards, press ads, commercials), not only in case of internet ads.
Advertisement posttests
Advertisement posttests aim to survey efficiency of campaigns completed recently. Posttests are generally questionnaire surveys carried out with members of the target group and provide quantitative data. Questioning can take place in person, over the phone or online – the method recommended depends on the target group and other parameters of the research.
Advertisement posttests primarily examine the success of the campaign therefore the contents of the questionnaire and the features of the questions depend on the aims of the campaign completed; in the survey we can study the size of the sample reached, variations in acquaintance with and use of the brand/product and the test can focus on changes in the image of the advertising company as well.
Besides measuring the effectiveness of internet campaigns NRC recommends online data collection in every other case as well where internet penetration among the basic population examined exceeds 50 per cent (young people, those with high status, users of certain products/services) and the use of internet itself cannot cause bias in answers. In these cases online research can be just as reliable as other techniques of data collection furthermore, due to its quickness and cost-effectiveness it is significantly more beneficial for the commissioner.
