Ad Tracking

Ad tracking, also known as post-testing or ad effectiveness tracking is continuous in-market research that monitors a brand’s performance including brand and advertising awareness, product trial and usage, and attitudes about the brand versus their competition.

Depending on the speed of the purchase cycle in the category, tracking can be done continuously (a few interviews every week) or it can be “pulsed,” with interviews conducted in widely spaced waves (ex. every three or six months).

Since the researcher has information on when the ads launched, the length of each advertising flight, the dollars spent, and when the interviews were conducted, the results provide an accurate rear-view mirror look at the marketplace and how it was affected by the advertiser’s marketing messages and decisions. (Young, p. 191)

Purpose of Ad Tracking

The purpose of ad tracking is generally to provide a measure of the combined effect of the media weight or spending level, the effectiveness of the media buy or targeting, and the quality of the advertising executions or creative. Some newer forms of online tracking, separate the issues of the quality of the creative component from the quality of the media buy and instead focus on the relative performance of ads versus the competitive ads that are airing at the same time. All forms of tracking data are used to provide inputs to Marketing Mix Models which marketing science statisticians build to estimate advertising return on investment (ROI).

Methodology

Some ad tracking studies are conducted by telephone while others are conducted on the Internet. The two approaches produce very different measures of advertising awareness because the interviews tap into consumer memories of advertising using fundamentally different measures, recall versus recognition.

For example, with an Internet study, the respondent can be shown a few memorable, de-branded still images from the TV ad or a de-branded version of a print or Internet ad and then answer three significant questions.
# Do you recognize this ad? (recognition measure)
# Please type in the sponsor of this ad. ( measure)
# Please choose from the following list, the sponsor of this ad. (s measure)

A telephone survey does not allow for visuals. Verbal descriptions are very difficult to provide for mural ads or for a campaign that has several ads featuring the same character(s) in the same situation with only slight changes. Telephone is not considered a flexible enough methodology to be used in all situations.

Measures

Here is a list of some of the data a post-test might provide:
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*Brand trial
*Repeat purchase
*Frequency of use
*Purchase intent
*Price perceptions
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*Unaided advertising message recall
*Aided advertising message recall
*Aided commercial recall
*Ad wear out
*Promotion awareness and usage
*Market segment characteristics
*Media habits
*Lifestyle/Psychographics
*Demographics

ee also

*Advertising
*Advertising Research
*Brand management
*Marketing research
*Web analytics

References

* http://www.orcinternational.com/taiwan/ad/tracking.aspx ORC International
* http://www.calltracks.com/calltracks_solution.php Call tracking and reporting
* Young, Charles E., "The Advertising Research Handbook", Ideas in Flight, Seattle, WA, April 2005, ISBN 0-9765574-0-1
* http://kingofadvertise.blogspot.com/
* http://www.VanguardTracking.com Online Website Ad Tracking Service

Relevant Terms

*Advertising
*Ameritest
*Advertising Research
*Branding
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*Global Advertising
*marketing
*marketing research
*motivation