Maximising the impact of
Testing advertising effectiveness requires multiple measures. This is because ads inherently impact on both rational and emotional levels. What people say about the ad and what is unspoken and subconscious can be two different things.
We can test a static visual or textual ad, a banner ad, a digital ad, a pop-up ad, interactive ad, out-of-home ad, and ad concepts.
Testing advertising effectiveness requires multiple measures (Mehta & Purvis, 1997; Sutherland, 2020). This is because ads inherently impact on rational and emotional levels. For example, what people say about the ad (a subjective measure) and what is unspoken but can only be measured objectively.
We have tested many display ads, including those of Johnson & Johnson (Eye Care Division), Acor Hotels, Mothercare, Mederma, Santander, Danone, and more. This is often used alongside video ad tests.
We can test a digital movie ad, trailer, animatic, clip, ident, and similar.
Ads inherently impact on rational and emotional levels, and on what people can say about the ad and how it makes them feel. Emotions are notoriously difficult to measure in real time (Poels & Dewitte, 2006). However, they can be tested using a pre-post design, or they can be tested in using our IMPULSE test which is an implicit test overlaid on a video (Calvert, Trufil, Pathak, & Fulcher 2020).
Nationwide, Renault, Peugeot, Dave TV, UK TV, BBC idents, Channel 4, National Geographic, Sainsbury’s, Telecom Italia, Airwaves, Sky TV, Freeview, Shell UK, and more. This is often used alongside display ad tests.
Calvert GA, Trufil G, Pathak A, Fulcher EP. (2020). IMPULSE Moment-by-Moment Test: An Implicit Measure of Affective Responses to Audiovisual Televised or Digital Advertisements. Behavioral Sciences, 10(4):73. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs10040073
Mehta, A. and Purvis, S.C. (1997). Evaluating advertising effectiveness. In Measuring Advertising Effectiveness Through Advertising Response Modeling, W. D. Well (ed.). New York: Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315806099
Poels, K.; Dewitte, S. (2006). How to capture the heart? Reviewing 20 years of emotion measurement in advertising. Journal of Advertising Research, 46, 18–37. https://doi.org/10.2501/S0021849906060041
Sutherland, M. (2008). Advertising and the Mind of the Consumer: What works, what doesn’t and why (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003114833
Effective ads can improve brand recognition and create a positive brand image, which we can measure. Quality ads can, additionally, increase sales and build brand loyalty. We measure the effectiveness of the ad on the perception of the brand as well as the emotional impact of the ad.
To evaluate the impact of an ad on a brand, we use various metrics. For example, rational impression of the ad as well as the emotional, implicit aspect.
This implicit test measures feelings towards the brand before and after respondents view it. In the analysis, the rise and fall of attributes are plotted visually, like the chart above.
How should one choose the right celebrity to sponsor an ad?. Our implicit test can reveal the qualities of the candidate celebrities and the brand. The test will calculate the level of compatibility between each celebrity and the brand. The best match can make celebrity endorsement more effective and generate better results for a campaign.
The first 3 to 5 seconds of an ad are critical in capturing the viewer’s attention and interest. If the ad fails to engage the viewer within those initial seconds, there is a high chance that they will skip the ad or lose interest in the content. Therefore, having a compelling 5-second ad can make a significant difference in whether the viewer continues watching and engaging with the content or not.
Split Second has developed a novel implicit objective method to evaluate your ad moment-by-moment.
This method identifies which attributes fire or catch attention on a frame-by-frame basis. This enables us to optimise your ad and identify the best 5 seconds to use. This approach is particularly useful for advertising TV programs, films, and events.
Spillover effects on advertising refer to the impact of an advertisement on other brands beyond the intended target audience. These effects can be both positive and negative and occur when an ad for one brand influences the perception of another brand in the mind of the viewer.
One potential positive spill-over effect is when an ad creates a favourable impression of a particular product or service category. For example, an ad for a new energy drink may increase their interest in energy drinks in general. Ultimately, this could lead to an increase in sales for other energy drink brands as well.
However, spill-over effects can also have negative consequences for brands. For example, an ad for a product may negatively impact the perception of a competing product or brand. This can occur if the ad highlights a particular issue or problem with the competing product. It can also happen if the ad is perceived as being more appealing or superior to the competitor’s offering.
Moreover, in some cases, spill-over effects can be intentional. For instance, a brand may strategically position its product or ad next to a more popular or well-known brand. They can do this in the hope of benefiting from the spill-over effect of that brand’s popularity.
Updated July 2024 by Dr Eamon Fulcher PhD
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