Chapter 6: Source, Message and Channel Factors

The Persuasion Matrix

The persuasion matrix helps marketers to see how each controllable element of the communication process interacts with the consumer’s response process.  The matrix has two sets of variables.  

Independent variables are the controllable components of the communication process while dependent variables are the steps a receiver goes through in being persuaded.   The numbers in the cells represent decisions that can be evaluated using the persuasion matrix that are discussed in the next slide.

Promotional Planning Elements

This above diagram presents specific decisions that correspond to the numbers in the cells of the persuasion matrix that were presented earlier.  These include:

• Receiver/comprehension – can the receiver comprehend the ad?  Consideration must be given to whether the target audience can understand and comprehend a message. 
• Channel/presentation – which media will increase presentation?  How effective is a particular media vehicle in reaching the target audience?
• Message/yielding – what type of message will create favorable attitudes or feelings?  Marketers try to create messages that will lead to positive feelings toward the product.
• Source/attention – who will be effective in getting consumers’ attention?  Marketers select sources that will be effective in gaining the attention of the target audience such as celebrities, athletes, or attractive models.

Source Attributes and Receiver Processing Modes

The three basic source attributes and processing modes associated with each are as follows:

• Credibility – the extent to which the recipient sees the source as having relevant knowledge skill or experience and trusts the source to give unbiased, objective information. 
• Internalization – the process by which a receiver adopts the position advocated by the source because it is perceived as accurate and makes it part of his or her belief system
• Attractiveness – refers to the similarity, familiarity, and/or likeability of the source
• Identification – the process by which an individual is motivated to seek some type of relationship with the source and thus adopts similar beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors.
• Power – refers to the ability (real or perceived)  of the source to administer rewards or punishment to the receiver 
• Compliance – the process by which the receiver accepts the position advocated by the source to receive rewards or avoid punishment

Source Credibility

There are two important dimensions to source credibility, expertise and trustworthiness.  Marketers recognize that expertise is extremely important and choose spokespersons who have knowledge, skill, or experience with a particular product or in a service area.  Endorsements from individuals or groups recognized as experts, such as doctors or dentists are common in advertising.  While expertise is important, the target audience must find the source believable.  Trustworthiness relates to the source’s objectivity, honesty, and believability.

Source Attractiveness

The various components of source attractiveness include similarity, familiarity, and likeability.  

A brief of each characteristic follows:

• Similarity - resemblance between the source and the recipient of the message.  Marketers recognize that people are more likely to be influenced by a message coming from someone with whom they feel a sense of similarity (e.g. similar needs, goals, interests, lifestyles).
• Familiarity – knowledge of the source through exposure.  Familiarity is enhanced through repeated or prolonged exposure.
• Likeability – affection for the source as a result of physical appearance, behavior, or other personal traits.  Consumers can admire physical appearance, talent, and/or personality even if the source is not well known or a celebrity.

Risks of Using Celebrities

Although celebrities can be effective in gaining attention and influencing consumers, there are some factors that must be considered before deciding to use them.  

These are:

• Overshadowing the product – advertisers should select a celebrity spokesperson who will attract attention and enhance the sales message, but not overshadow the brand.
• Overexposure – consumers can become skeptical when a celebrity endorses too many products or companies and becomes overexposed.
• Target audiences’ receptivity – it is important for marketers to select a celebrity endorser who matches and is well received by the advertiser’s target audience.
• Risk to the advertiser – the advertiser needs to select an endorser who will not embarrass the company.  Researching the celebrity’s personal life and background to reduce this risk is becoming common. 

Meaning Movement and the Endorsement Process

The meaning movement and endorsement model illustrates why celebrity endorsements are effective.  It is based on the premise that credibility and attractiveness do not sufficiently explain how and why celebrity endorsements work.  According to the model, a celebrity’s effectiveness as an endorser depends on the culturally acquired meanings he or she brings to the endorsement process.  

There are three stages of meaning movement:

• Stage 1 – celebrities draw these meanings from the roles they assume in their television, movie, military, athletic, and other careers.  Each new dramatic role brings the celebrity into contact with a range of objects, persons, and contexts.
• Stage 2 – celebrities bring their meanings and image into the ad and transfer them to the product they are endorsing.
• Stage 3 – the meanings the celebrity has given to the product are transferred to the consumer.

Source Power

Source power depends on several factors. The source must be perceived as being able to administer positive or negative sanctions to the receiver (perceived control) and the receiver must think the source cares about whether or not the receiver conforms (perceived concern). The receiver’s estimate of the source’s ability to observe conformity is also important (perceived scrutiny).

Recall and Presentation Order

Message structure is very important to overall communication effectiveness.  A basic consideration in the design of a persuasive message is the order of presentation of message arguments.  Research on learning and memory generally indicate that items presented first and last are remembered better than those presented in the middle.  This chart shows that the strongest arguments should be placed at the beginning or end of the message, but not  in the middle.  

Message Appeal Choices

One of the advertiser’s most important creative strategy decisions involves the choice of an appropriate appeal.  

There are two broad categories of message appeals:

• Rational – focus on consumer’s practical, functional, or utilitarian needs
• Emotional – focus on consumer’s social and/or psychological needs or feelings

Many believe that the most effective advertising combines the practical reasons for purchasing a product with emotional values.

Message Appeal Options

There exists various advertising message appeal options that can be used in an advertising message.  These include:

1. Comparative Ads – directly or indirectly naming competitors in an ad and comparing one or more specific attributes. 

Characteristics of comparative advertising include:

• FTC advocated this type of advertising in 1972 to give consumers a more rational basis for making purchase decisions.
• Useful for new brands to get in the evoked set of the consumer 
• Often used for brands with small market share
• Used frequently for political advertising

2. Fear appeals – evokes an emotional response of danger and arouses individuals to take steps to remove the threat. 

Characteristics of fear appeals include:

• May stress physical danger (drugs) or social rejection (mouthwash)
• Have both facilitating and inhibiting effects 

3. Humor appeals – evoke an emotional response by making people laugh or feel good about a company or brand.

Characteristics of humorous appeals include:

• An effective way to attract and hold attention
• Put consumer in positive mood
• Can wear out once the receiver get the joke or punch line

Fear Appeals and Message Acceptance

The above chart depicts the relationship between fear levels and message acceptance.  This chart suggests the relationship between the level of fear in a message and acceptance or persuasion is curvilinear.  This means that message acceptance increases as the amount of fear used rises, but only to a point.  Beyond that point, acceptance decreases as the level of fear rises.  The relationship between fear and persuasion can be explained by the fact that fear appeals have both facilitating and inhibiting effects.

Low levels of fear can have facilitating effects which attracts attention and interest in the message and may motivate the receiver to act to resolve the threat.  Thus increasing the fear from low to moderate can result in increased persuasion.

High levels of fear, however, can produce inhibiting effects whereby the receiver may emotionally block the message by tuning it out, perceiving it selectively or denying the arguments outright.

Pros and Cons of Using Humor

Although, humorous ads are some of the best known and most memorable of all advertising messages, not every product or every marketing situation lends itself to humor.  Advertisers should consider these pros/cons in their decisions regarding the use of humor to attract attention and gain awareness for their products.

Self versus External Paced Media 

The final controllable variable of the communications process is the channel or medium used to deliver the message to the target audience.  There are basic differences in the manner and rate at which information from various forms of media is transmitted and can be processed. 

The two broad classifications of media are:

• Self-paced – readers/viewers process the ad at their own rate.  Self-paced media include print media such as newspapers, magazines, and direct mail as well as the Internet. 
• Externally-paced – the transmission rate is controlled by the medium. Externally- paced media include radio and television.

Chapter 5: The Communication Process

Communication has been variously defined as the passing of information, the exchange of ideas, or the process of establishing a commonness or oneness of thought between a sender and a receiver. These definitions suggest that for communication to occur, there must be some common thinking between two parties and information must be passed from one person to another For many products, it is not the actual words of the message that determine its communication effectiveness but rather the impression or image the ad creates. The communication process is often very complex. Success depends on such factors as the nature of the message, the audience’s interpretation of it, and the environment in which it is received. The receiver’s perception of the source and the medium used to transmit the message may also affect the ability to communicate, as do many other factors.

Following is the basic model of communication, which depicts its various elements.

To illustrate this, with the help of an example, the sender is usually the company promoting the brand. The communication process begins when the source selects words, symbols, pictures, and the like, to represent the message that will be delivered to the receiver.

For instance, in the following advertisement, McDonalds uses its logo as symbol which is widely recognized throughout the world.

The encoding could be verbal, graphic, animation or musical. For instance, the following Vodafone ad uses animation to convey the message.

The encoding process leads to development of a message that contains the information or meaning the source hopes to convey. The message may be verbal or nonverbal, oral or written, or symbolic. Messages must be put into a transmittable form that is appropriate for the channel of communication being used. In advertising, this may range from simply writing some words or copy that will be read as a radio message to producing an expensive television commercial. For many products, it is not the actual words of the message that determine its communication effectiveness but rather the impression or

image the ad creates.

For instance, the following ad of Chanel depicts the lifestyle that Chanel provides, without using any words in the ad.

The channel is the method by which the communication travels from the source or sender to the receiver. At the broadest level, channels of communication are of two types, personal and non-personal. Personal channels of communication are direct interpersonal (face-to-face) contact with target individuals or groups. Non-personal channels of communication are those that carry a message without

interpersonal contact between sender and receiver.

Decoding is the process of transforming the sender’s message back into thought. The receiver is the person(s) with whom the sender shares thoughts or information. Generally, receivers are the consumers in the target market or audience who read, hear, and/or see the marketer’s message and decode it. For instance, the following ad of Nano tries to depict the affordability, but it is encoded as a cheap car by the audience.

Throughout the communication process, the message is subject to extraneous factors that can distort or interfere with its reception. This unplanned distortion or interference is known as noise.

The receiver’s set of reactions after seeing, hearing, or reading the message is known as a response. Marketers are very interested in feedback, that part of the receiver’s response that is communicated back to the sender. Feedback, which may take a variety of forms, closes the loop in the communications flow and lets the sender monitor how the intended message is being decoded and received.

Traditional Response Hierarchy Models

The AIDA model was developed to represent the stages a salesperson must take a customer through in the personal-selling process. This model depicts the buyer as passing successively through attention, interest, desire, and action. The salesperson must first get the customer’s attention and then arouse some interest in the company’s product or service. Strong levels of interest should create desire to own or use the product. The action stage in the AIDA model involves getting the customer to make a purchase commitment and closing the sale.

This can be illustrated with the example of Indigo’s marketing campaign. The following ad tries to catch the attention of the consumers:

The following campaign arouses the interest of the consumer:

The following ad depicts the international crew, and thus creates a desire amongst the fliers.

The hierarchy of effects model shows the process by which advertising works; it assumes a consumer passes through a series of steps in sequential order from initial awareness of a product or service to actual purchase.

For instance, the following ad provides information about the new Audi car and is descriptive and informative in nature.

The innovation adoption model represents the stages a consumer passes through in adopting a new product or service. Like the other models, it says potential adopters must be moved through a series of steps before taking some action (in this case, deciding to adopt a new product). The steps preceding adoption are awareness, interest, evaluation, and trial. For instance, the sampling ad of Garnier encourages trial of the new product.

The information processing model assumes the receiver in a persuasive communication situation like advertising is an information processor or problem solver. The series of steps a receiver goes through in being persuaded constitute a response hierarchy. The stages of this model are similar to the hierarchy of effects sequence; attention and comprehension are similar to awareness and knowledge, and yielding is synonymous with liking.

For instance, Steve Jobs launched the Iphone 1 with the following presentation.

Alternative Response Hierarchies

In many purchase situations, the consumer will go through the response process in the sequence depicted by the traditional communication models. This is termed as a standard learning model, which consists of a learn → feel → do sequence. Information and knowledge acquired or learned about the various brands are the basis for developing affect, or feelings, that guide what the consumer will do (e.g., actual trial or purchase). In this hierarchy, the consumer is viewed as an active participant in the communication process who gathers information through active learning.

For instance, the following of Toshiba laptop provides lots of details to the consumer:

The following ad of Nikon, too illustrated this concept.

The Dissonance/Attribution Hierarchy is a response hierarchy where consumers first behave, then develop attitudes or feelings as a result of that behavior, and then learn or process information that supports the behavior. This dissonance/attribution model, or do →feel →learn, occurs in situations where consumers must choose between two alternatives that are similar in quality but are complex and may have hidden or unknown attributes. Dissonance reduction involves selective learning, whereby the consumer seeks information that supports the choice made and avoids information that would raise doubts about the decision.

For example, the ad reinforces consumers’ decisions to purchase Nikon camera by showing the number of awards the brand has received for customer satisfaction.

The low-involvement hierarchy, is the response hierarchy in which the receiver is viewed as passing from cognition to behavior to attitude change. This learn → do → feel sequence is thought to characterize situations of low consumer involvement in the purchase process. This hierarchy tends to occur when involvement in the purchase decision is low, there are minimal differences among brand alternatives, and mass-media (especially broadcast) advertising is important. For instance, Maggi has dominated the instant noodles market for over 20 years, and the following ad reinforces that.

FCB Planning Model

The informative strategy is for highly involving products and services where rational thinking and economic considerations prevail and the standard learning hierarchy is the appropriate response model. The following ad illustrates this concept.

The affective strategy is for highly involving/feeling purchases. For these types of products, advertising should stress psychological and emotional motives such as building self-esteem or enhancing one’s ego or self-image. The following video commercial of Tata Nano portrays the joy of owning a vehicle, and thus stresses on the emotions of building self-esteem and enhancement of status.

The habit formation strategy is for low-involvement/thinking products with such routinized behavior patterns that learning occurs most often after a trial purchase. The response process for these products is consistent with a behavioristic learning-by doing model. For instance Raymond’s as a brand is established since 1925, and thus conveys the information, that Raymond’s is a routine buying choice for the consumers.

The self-satisfaction strategy is for low-involvement/feeling products where appeals to sensory pleasures and social motives are important. Again, the do → feel or do → learn hierarchy is operating, since product experience is an important part of the learning process. The following ad of Chivas Regal appeals to the sensory pleasures of the consumer.

Chapter 6 : Message Factors

Message factors :
Conclusion Drawing - Implicit vs. Explicit

Message Sidedness - One Sided vs. Two Sided

Refutation -

Verbal vs. Visual Messages -

Comparative Advertising :
Pepsi's Spoof in response to Akshay Kumar's Thumbs Up ad

Fear Appeal -

Humour Appeal -

Sources and Spokespersons

Source

Source means the person involved in communicating a marketing message, either directly or indirectly. A direct source is a spokesperson who delivers a message and/or demonstrates a product or service, like tennis star Andre Agassi who endorses Head tennis rackets. An indirect source, say, a model, doesn't actually deliver a message but draws attention to and/or enhances the appearance of the ad. Marketers try to select individuals whose traits will maximize message influence. The source may be knowledgeable, popular, and/or physically attractive; typify the target audience; or have the power to reward or punish the receiver in some manner.

Various sources in advertisements can be:

• Celebrities
• CEOs
• Experts
• Typical Persons

Of all listed above celebs are typically the most common. Celebs help create emotional bond with the products. For e.g. Sachin Tendulkar has been the favorite brand ambassador for many brands due to his connect with the people. 

Whenever it comes to excellence, only a few names come up to demonstrate the dominance in their respective fields. The case is same with BMW and Sachin Tendulkar too. The carmaker has always excelled in whatever it brings into the market, while the latter needs no introduction for his contribution and success in the world of cricket. Now both the names are coming together in a spirit of partnership. 

Instead of celebs advertisers can use a CEO as the spokes person or source. Below ad shows Dave Thomas featuring in Wendy's ad.

Expert Sources includes physicians, lawyers, accountants and financial planners. These tend not to be famous but they provide backing for testimonials, serve as authoritative figures, demonstrate products and enhance the credibility of informative advertisements. The below ad of Sunsilk shows the credibility of experts from all over the world in creation of New Sunsilk Shampoo. 

Final category is the typical person sources. They can either be paid actors or models or typical everyday people used in advertisements. Below shown is Hero Honda ad campaign featuring Indian citizens displaying there pride for Hero Honda.

Source Characteristics

Herbert Kelman developed three basic categories of source attributes: credibility, attractiveness, and power. Each influences the recipient’s attitude or behavior through a different process. 

Credibility 

It is the extent to which the recipient sees the source as having relevant knowledge, skill, or experience and trusts the source to give unbiased, objective information. There are two important dimensions to credibility, expertise and trustworthiness. A communicator seen as knowledgeable—someone with expertise—is more persuasive than one with less expertise. But the source also has to be trustworthy—honest, ethical, and believable. The influence of a knowledgeable source will be lessened if audience members think he or she is biased or has underlying personal motives for advocating a position (such as being paid to endorse a product)

For example the below Cadbury ad uses both knowledge and trustworthiness to convince the customers of the quality of the Cadbury's brand

Using Trustworthiness

Using Expertise

Intel Ad showcasing the expertise of Employees at Intel who have helped developed the robustness of the product that Intel has

Using Corporate Leaders as Spokespeople

The above ad shows Michael Dell testifying for Dell and focusing on Dell Commitment for customers

Attractiveness 

A source characteristic frequently used by advertisers is attractiveness, which encompasses similarity, familiarity, and likability.Similarity is a supposed resemblance between the source and the receiver of the message, while familiarity refers to knowledge of the source through exposure. Likability is an affection for the source as a result of physical appearance, behavior, or other personal traits.

Applying Similarity

Applying Likability: Using Celebrities

Applying Likability: Decorative Models

Advertisers often draw attention

to their ads by featuring a physically attractive person who serves as a passive or 

decorative model rather than as an active communicator.

Source Power

The final characteristic in Kelman’s classification scheme is source power. A source has power when he or she can actually administer rewards and punishments to the receiver. An indirect way of using power is by

using an individual with an authoritative personality as a spokesperson.

The ad below shows Amir Khan a popular movie star advocating respect and safe environments for tourists in India as part of Athithi Devo Bhav Campaign

Chapter 19 - Measuring the Effectiveness of the Promotional Program

As marketers spend their communications dollars in numerous media, the need to determine the effectiveness of these expenditures becomes increasingly important. In this chapter, we discuss some reasons firms should measure the effectiveness of their IMC programs, as well as why many decide not to. We also examine how, when, and where such measurements can be conducted. While evaluative research may occur at various times throughout the promotional process (including the development stage), it is conducted specifically to assess the effects of various strategies.

Reasons to Measure Effectiveness -
1) Avoid costly mistakes -  If the program is not achieving its objectives, the marketing manager needs to know so he or she can stop spending (wasting) money on it. Just as important as the out-of-pocket costs is the opportunity loss due to poor communications.
2) Evaluating alternative strategies - Companies often test alternate versions of their advertising in different cities to determine which ad communicates most effectively. They may also explore different forms of couponing.
3) Increasing the efficiency of advertising in general - Sometimes as advertisers know what they are trying to say, they expect their audience will also understand. Conducting research helps companies develop more efficient and effective communications.

4) Determining if objectives are achieved - In a well designed IMC plan, specific objectives are established. If objectives are attained, new ones need to be established in the next planning period.

Reasons not to Measure Effectiveness -

1) Cost - Perhaps the most commonly cited reason for not testing (particularly among smaller firms) is the expense. Good research can be expensive, in terms of both time and money. Many managers decide that time is critical and they must implement the program while the opportunity is available. Many believe the money spent on research could be better spent on improved production of the ad, additional media buys, and the like. However, spending more money to buy media does not remedy a poor message or substitute for an improper promotional mix.

2) Research problems - A second reason cited for not measuring effectiveness is that it is difficult to isolate the effects of promotional elements. Each variable in the marketing mix affects the success of a product or service, and thus it is often difficult to measure the contribution of each marketing element directly.

3) Disagreement on what to test - The objectives sought in the promotional program may differ by industry, by stage of the product life cycle, or even for different people within the firm.

4) The objections of creative - It has been argued by many (and denied by others) that the creative department does not want its work to be tested and many agencies are reluctant to submit their work for testing. This is sometimes true. Ad agencies’ creative departments argue that tests are not true measures of the creativity and effectiveness of ads; applying measures stifles their creativity; and the more creative the

ad, the more likely it is to be successful.

At the same time, the marketing manager is ultimately responsible for the success of the product or brand. Given the substantial sums being allocated to advertising and promotion, it is the manager’s right, and responsibility, to know how well a specific program—or a specific ad—will perform in the market.

5) Time - A final reason given for not testing is a lack of time. Managers believe they already have too much to do and just can’t get around to testing, and they don’t want to wait to get the message out because they might miss the window of opportunity. Planning might be the solution to the first problem. While many managers are overworked and time-poor, research is just too important to skip.

Conducting the Research : What to Test

Source Factors - An important question is whether the spokesperson being used is effective and how the target market will respond to him or her.

Message - Both the message and the means by which it is communicated are bases for evaluation. In some cases, the message never provided a reason for consumers to try the new product. In other instances, the message may not be strong enough to pull readers into the ad by attracting their attention or clear enough to help them evaluate the product. Sometimes the message is memorable but doesn't achieve the other goals set by management.

Media Strategies - Media decisions need to be evaluated. Research may be designed to determine which media class (for example, broadcast versus print), subclass (newspaper versus magazines), or specific vehicles (which newspapers or magazines) generate the most effective results. Another factor is the vehicle option source effect, “the differential impact that the advertising exposure will have on the same audience member if the exposure occurs in one media option rather than another.” A final factor in media decisions involves scheduling.

Budget Decisions - A number of studies have examined the effects of budget size on advertising effectiveness

and the effects of various ad expenditures on sales. Many companies have also attempted to determine whether increasing their ad budget directly increases sales.

When to Test

Virtually all test measures can be classified according to when they are conducted. Pretests are measures taken before the campaign is implemented; post-tests occur after the ad or commercial has been in the field. Some of the testing methods are as given below -

Where to Test :

The tests may take place in either laboratory or field settings. In laboratory tests, people are brought to a

particular location where they are shown ads and/or commercials. The testers either ask questions about them or measure participants’ responses by other methods—for example, pupil dilation, eye tracking, or galvanic skin response. The major advantage of the lab setting is the control it affords the researcher. The major disadvantage is the lack of realism. Perhaps the greatest effect of this lack of realism is a testing bias.A second problem with this lack of realism is that it cannot duplicate the natural viewing situation, complete

with the distractions or comforts of home.

Field tests are tests of the ad or commercial under natural viewing situations, complete with the realism of noise, distractions, and the comforts of home. Field tests take into account the effects of repetition, program content, and even the presence of competitive messages. The major disadvantage of field tests is the lack of control.

How to Test :

Our discussion of what should be tested, when, and where was general and designed to establish a basic understanding of the overall process as well as some key terms. In this section, we discuss more specifically some of the methods commonly used at each stage. First, however, it is important to establish some criteria by which to judge ads and commercials. Consider the one below :

PACT (Positioning Advertising Copy Testing)

Testing Process :

Concept Generation and Testing :

One of the more commonly used methods for concept testing is focus groups, which usually consist of 8 to 10 people in the target market for the product. Companies have tested everything from product concepts to advertising concepts using focus groups.

While focus groups continue to be a favorite of marketers, they are often overused. The methodology is attractive in that results are easily obtained, directly observable, and immediate. Avariety of issues can be examined, and consumers are free to go into depth in areas they consider important. Also, focus groups don’t require quantitative analysis. Unfortunately, many managers are uncertain about research methods that

require statistics, and focus groups, being qualitative in nature, don’t demand much skill in interpretation. Weaknesses with focus groups are shown below -

Rough Art, Copy and Commercial Testing 

Rough tests must indicate how the finished commercial would perform. Some studies have demonstrated that these testing methods are reliable and the results typically correlate well with the finished ad. 

Rough Testing Terminology -

Popular tests include comprehension and reaction tests and consumer juries.

1. Comprehension and reaction tests - One key concern for the advertiser is whether the ad or commercial conveys the meaning intended. The second concern is the reaction the ad generates. Obviously, the advertiser does not want an ad that evokes a negative reaction or offends someone. Comprehension and reaction tests are designed to assess these responses. There is no one standard procedure as such. Personal

interviews, group interviews, and focus groups have all been used for this purpose, and sample sizes vary according to the needs of the client; they typically range from 50 to 200 respondents.

2. Consumer juries - This method uses consumers representative of the target market to evaluate the probable success of an ad. Consumer juries may be asked to rate a selection of layouts or copy versions presented in pasteups on separate sheets.

Pretesting of Finished Ads :

Pretesting finished ads is one of the more commonly employed studies among marketing researchers and their agencies. At this stage, a finished advertisement or commercial is used; since it has not been presented to the market, changes can still be made.

Pretesting of Finished Broadcast Ads :

Physiological Measures A less common method of pretesting finished commercials involves a laboratory setting in which physiological responses are measured. These measures indicate the receiver’s involuntary

response to the ad, theoretically eliminating biases associated with the voluntary measures reviewed to this point.

1) Pupil Dilation

2) Galvanic Skin Response

3) Eye Tracking

4) Brain waves : Electroencephalographic (EEG) measures

Market Testing of Ads

PostTesting of Print Ads - 

Inquiry Tests Used in both consumer and business-to-business market testing, inquiry tests are designed to measure advertising effectiveness on the basis of inquiries generated from ads appearing in various print media, often referred to as “bingo cards.” The inquiry may take the form of the number of coupons returned,

phone calls generated, or direct inquiries through reader cards. More complex methods of measuring effectiveness through inquiries may involve (1) running the ad in successive issues of the same medium, (2) running split-run tests, in which variations of the ad appear in different copies of the same newspaper or

magazine, and/or (3) running the same ad in different media. Each of these methods yields information on different aspects of the strategy. The first measures the cumulative effects of the campaign; the second examines specific elements of the ad or variations on it. The final method measures the effectiveness of the medium rather than the ad itself.

Recognition Tests Perhaps the most common posttest of print ads is the recognition method, most closely associated with Roper ASW. The Starch Ad Readership Report lets the advertiser assess the impact of an ad in a single issue of a magazine, over time, and/or across different magazines. But many researchers have criticized other aspects of the Starch recognition method (as well as other recognition measures) on the basis of problems of false claiming, interviewer sensitivities, and unreliable scores.

Recall Tests There are several tests to measure recall of print ads. These recall tests are similar to those discussed in the section on pretesting broadcast ads in that they attempt to measure recall of specific ads. In addition to having the same interviewer problems as recognition tests, recall tests have other disadvantages. The reader’s degree of involvement with the product and/or the distinctiveness of the appeals and visuals may lead to higher-than-accurate recall scores, although in general the method may lead to lower levels of recall than actually exist (an error the advertiser would be happy with). Critics contend the test is not strong enough to reflect recall accurately, so many ads may score as less effective than they really are, and  advertisers may abandon or modify them needlessly.

PostTests on Broadcast Commercials - 

Factors that Make or Break Tracking Studies