Marketing communication: principles and practice

ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS
The Knowability Paradox: The less we have known about
how advertising and the media work, the more advertising
and media there have been.
(Rothenberg, 1998)
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Most discussion of evaluation is centred on advertising because it is the
most tangible of marketing communication activities in our general
experience. Examination of advertising evaluation will provide us with a basis
for considering the wider need for judging the most appropriate mode of
communication and the effectiveness and efficiency of subsequent activities.
Although it has long been believed that the aim of advertising effort is to
increase sales, sustained growth is apparently rare. Jones (1998), for example,
suggests that short-term results are the exception and long-term results are
no more than a lottery. The scope for strongly persuasive advertising, in
reality, to persuade people to make a purchase seems very limited or even
nil due to competition. As for the future, see Box 16.2.
Evaluation may be carried out formally or on an ad hoc basis as part of the
management process. The control of resource use is essential if planned
communication is to have a desirable impact among a diverse group of
stakeholders. Review and evaluation also provides an opportunity for
learning, problem-solving, development, and refinement. Managers primarily
evaluate communication activities and programmes to check that communi-
cation objectives have been met and that communication strategies deployed
have had the desired effect(s) – see Figure 16.9. Secondarily, evaluation
ensures a check on the efficiency with which resources have been used.
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BOX 16.2