Marketing Thesis

Effectiveness of 15 seconds and 30 seconds Advertisements

Submitted By: Kuldeep Kashyap 08020241007 Avinash Venugopal 08020241066 Salar Bijili 08020241071 Ashima Lohia 08020241082

SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Symbiosis Infotech Campus, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, Hinjewadi,Pune-411057

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract....................................................................................................... 3 Introduction................................................................................................ 3 Methods....................................................................................................... 4 Results ......................................................................................................... 4 Discussion ................................................................................................... 7 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 9 References ................................................................................................. 10 Annexure .................................................................................................. 10

Abstract:
The TV advertisement industry, with poor quality assurance churns out inconsistent, ineffective ads that add cost to the organization. The ad industry, unlike the other industries has insufficient or no user testing and receives very little objective feedback. Measuring effectiveness through indicators and relating it to the length of ads is a challenge in such cases. Different attributes of communication would need different styles and length of ads. This research attempts to find out the effectiveness of 15 seconds and 30 second ads under different circumstances. A survey was conducted which, cumulatively, gave a picture of the factors that affect likeability, recall and suitability of ads of different duration for different circumstances. Ad storyline and emotional appeal were perceived to be most important factors in ads. Also the suitability of ad length seemed to vary for different situations and themes that the ad uses. The insights from this research would help business managers take informed decisions and optimize ad duration, thereby saving costs and enhancing ad effectiveness

Introduction
What if you paid for a 15 second ad and had the benefits of a 30 second ad? What if you knew all the right ingredients which can make it work? Television advertising is a major cost component of the advertising budget for mass marketed consumer product firms. Consequently, of great concern is the effectiveness of their advertising dollars or rupees in Indian context! Strangely, even after years of testing advertising we cannot tell by merely viewing a commercial whether it is any good. Sure, people have opinions, but they are almost not very accurate and time of viewing and context driven. A prominent barrier to better advertising is the belief that sales performance will tell if the advertising is working. Unless the sales response to the advertising is immediate and overwhelming, it is almost impossible to use sales data to judge the effectiveness of the advertising. As said by Jerry W. Thomas, President and Chief Executive Officer of Arlington (Texasbased Decision Analyst Inc.), in his paper on advertisements, Advertising has the power to persuade, the power to influence the mind and shape destiny. It has the power to change markets and improve profit margins. Advertising has short-term power (conveying new information, building awareness, enhancing credibility, etc.) and longterm power (conveying brand image, attaching emotional values to the brand, building positive reputation, etc.). The great power of advertising is seldom achieved in practice, but we cant give up. This thesis is done with respect to only 15 and 30 sec spots. It does not segregate the ad lengths based on different products. But at the same time the thesis will show a marketer the direction in which to go ahead for recovering the maximum benefit out of his TVC budget. He can choose the length of the ad depending upon the objectives of the advertisement design.

The thesis aims at studying the effectiveness of 15 second and 30 second TVCs. The length of the TVC has a lot of impact on recall and likeability. There are some factors like emotional appeal of an ads storyboard, the jungle used, celebrity in the TVC and many other factors which when put to effective use, even a 15 second TVC can have a better impact on the target audience, thus saving huge sums of money for the marketer, as well as creating a positive long lasting brand image.

Methods
The thesis progressed in three stages. First stage was the exploratory research which included the secondary data analysis, reading online research papers and articles on advertisements and effectiveness of the same. This stage also included conducting a focus group to have a better idea before designing a questionnaire. The second stage included designing the final questionnaire and administering the same. The survey for this thesis was conducted online, and the advertisements needed along with the questions were also sent to the respondents. Sample size was 100. Most of the questions had an option in front of the respondent to mark, but also there were a few questions like mentioning reasons for likeability, which had open ended answers. The third and the final stage of the survey was the analysis of the results and interpreting the important findings.

Results
The parameters that were measured using the questionnaire included last ad recall, factors that lead to dislike of an ad, effect of ad length in communicating various factors like emotional appeal, humor, kids/pets etc, and important factors in creating ads. The results are summarized as below. The most prominent ads in the question about last ad you remember Ad Airtel Reason for remembering The reason are the ad touches your emotional chord, it shows the romance, good selection of celebrities and great music (jingle) (zoo The reason for this ad is creativity used in the ads, humor appeal and cartoon characters (kuch The reason for this ad is nice story line and great music

Vodafone zoo) Cadbury khas hai) Surf excel (daag The reason for this ad is kids and emotional appeal ache hai) Pepsi (youngistan) The reason for this ad is freshness and Celebrity used(Ranbir, sharukh)

Emotional appeal ranked the most (30%). Catchy jingles and celebrity came next at 16% each. Tagline and mystery factor figures the least important reason for remembering the ad. The most prominent ads in the question about most favorite ad Ad Nirma Airtel Reason Jingle and its simplicity

Touches your emotional chord, it shows the romance, good selection of celebrities and great music(jingle) Vodafone Creativity used in the ads, humor appeal and cartoon characters Fevicol Creativity and humor appeal Surf excel(daag Kids and emotional appeal ache hai) Respondents were asked to choose factors that result in dislike of an ad. The most important reason that was perceived was too much use of verbose and information clutter (29%). Inappropriate humor stood second with 26% feeling that it makes them dislike an ad. 12% disliked ads that show Indian culture in poor light. To find out effectiveness among 15 second and 30 second ads, a question was framed that had an ad of each length but the length was not revealed to the target respondent. It was disguised as a question that puts forward factors and asks them to choose the ad that they feel is effective in communicating the feature. Factor Emotional appeal Longer ad shown Havells Cables ( Wires that dont catch fire) Bingo mad angles Shorter ad shown Result ICICI Prudential ( a 64% liked longer couple in a train with a crying baby 36% liked Shorter ZooZoo alerts cricket 30% liked longer 70% liked shorter 48% liked longer 52% liked shorter ali 53% liked longer 47% liked shorter

Humor Kids/Pets Informative content

Surf excel (daag Hutch ad(pug) acha hai) KFC crushers Lays ad(Saif khan)

Respondents were asked to choose which helps relate an ad to the product/brand it promotes. Showing the utility of the product in the ad Use of brand logo/symbol at the end of the storyline 54% 31%

Use of the brand name in the advertisement is sufficient 15%

Only a minority (15%) felt that its sufficient to have the brand name in the ad. But a majority (54%) felt that its required to show the utility of the product in the ad to better relate the ad to the product that it wishes to promote. To measure suitability of 15 second and 30 second ads in different circumstances, the respondents were asked to choose shorter or longer ads under different circumstances. Circumstance New brand launched in market Longer ad suitable 67% Shorter ad suitable 33%

New product of existing brand is 66% launched For offers and promotions Maintaining products awareness of 23% existing 12%

34% 77% 88%

Thesis also shows that for the majority, i.e. 65% of the target audience, it easier to remember a 15 second TV Commercial shown twice rather than a 30 second TV Commercial shown once.

Seven most important aspects of any advertisement

Weightage

Use of animation/mascots Celebrity Endorsements Jingles Product information in the ad Emotional Appeal Use of humor Storyline of the ad 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Weightage

Storyline of the ad came out to be the most important factor in any advertisement, no matter who the celebrity is. Use of humor and emotional appeal were very close factors and had almost equal importance. Rank 4 was given to Product Information which was of much lesser effectiveness as compared to the above 3 factors. Then come jingles, celebrity endorsements and use of animation/mascots for the last 3 ranks.

Discussion
As discussed in the introduction, the length of the TVCs matter a lot for the target audience with respect to a few major factors. These factors help them in recall, in creating brand preferences as a result of the likeability of the ad. Even the secondary research shows that recall of 15 sec spots is 75% of the 30 second spots. The research we conducted shows that even the target audience feels that watching a shorter ad twice makes it easier for them to remember it rather seeing a longer ad once. The researches in the past have shown that a memory stores an ad as a combination of 4 factors. Knowledge Action Emotion Brand

An ad gets stored in a viewers memory as per the above factors. Even if one of these is weak, the ad will not have a very strong impact on the audience. A major finding in the thesis shows that these 4 factors were ranked as most important. Also a marketer should know which are the factors which are least important to his audience, so that he can always validate in case he is over emphasizing or over spending on any one of them. The less prominent factors came out to be jingles, celebrities and use of animations/ mascots. Now the exceptions to this result would be Airtel, and zoozoo Vodafone ad. But at the same time, we should look at the fact that these both ads also made use of emotional appeal and humor respectively, which are very important for the audience. So if the action in the ad i.e. the storyboard and the emotional appeal is there, its unlikely that the ad will fail to create an impact. A 30 second TVC has 4 peak points and 15 second has only 3. As brand has to be a factor in the ad, one of the above 4 has to be missed out in 15 second ad. So thesis shows clearly that the factor left out should not be emotion. Knowledge or action can be left out based on the type of the product though. The present results of the thesis show in clear light that the most important factors of the bases for any good TVC are storyboard, use of humor and the emotional appeal. These if put to use effectively, can create a good recall value and the likeability of the ad, even in a frame of 15 seconds.

These findings are very important for any marketer to know the absolute essentials for any TVC to register itself positively in the minds of its target audience. Taking a look at these, a marketer can always have a cost benefit ratio, as to, should he design a 30 second TVC or given his product launch time, and objective of TVC, 15 second advertisement will suffice. This thesis can be used by companies to help them make important decisions regarding the most effective way to use the TVC spot time. Also in case of most favorite ad, Nirma was rated as the most favorite by many. Though nostalgia may be a possible factor in making it a memorable one, the ad was well known for its simplicity and a very catchy jingle. Kids are a major factor as they attract attention and aid in recall too. What puts off most of the viewers in ads is information clutter and inappropriate use of humor. With the TV ad space getting crowded day by day and consumers being bombarded with ads, its imperative that companies keep an optimal amount of information and ad duration. Many a times what looks and seems to be funny inside a boardroom may actually be crossing a thin line between being vulgarity or mockery, and humor. In a culturally diverse and sensitive nation like ours, we can ill afford to offend sentiments of some people. This may also backfire and generate bad publicity for the brand. For eg, there was an ad of Bingo mad angles that shows testing the pregnancy of a lady by offering her achar flavored chips. This could be unacceptable and perhaps disgusting for few of us. When it comes to effectiveness of 15 and 30 second ads, there was an observable tilt towards shorter ads where humor is the major factor. This could be attributed to liking for a crisp humorous ad rather than a longer one. But while emotional appeal comes into picture, the majority prefers a longer one that builds a storyline and shows the emotions in a nice manner. The longer ads score well in this factor. There was no significant difference between preference of long or short ads for showing kids/pets and informative content. Informative ads have to decide whether they go for a longer information filled ad sprinkled with some humor or emotional appeal or a shorter one only with information. By maintaining a fair mixture of these, they can bring effective ads to the table. Its seen that most people felt that showing the product utility in the ad is an effective way to relate the ad to the product. For e.g. they would not like a soap ad where the ad doesnt even show a actor using the soap. But in an era where teaser ads are the norm, this observation comes as a surprise. Teaser ads may work for new products or brands but the traditional view still holds sway in minds of the majority. Also the thesis results agree with secondary data and popular perception that launch of new brands or products generally use longer informative ads. Audience also feel that shorter ads are sufficient like when new promotions come in the market, or when the company only wants to maintain awareness regarding the existing products. A strong storyline with an emotional appeal and humor would strike a chord with the intended consumers because the thesis suggests that they are the most important features

in any ad. Companies may infer that instead of spending on tangible factors like animation and celebrities to endorse a product, its better to look at the intangible factors more as they, as per the study, hold more sway in consumer minds. This may again be a surprise for many of us who believe that flashy animation and celebrities could turn the table around for products. This is cost effective too. Just that the ad makers need some creative bent of mind to make this possible. Ad recall is an important factor in the buying process of an individual. Companies strive really hard to make the ad recorded forever in the hearts and minds of the consumers. The thesis suggests that majority felt its easier to remember a shorter ad shown twice as opposed to a long ad shown once. This reinforces the popular belief that a human mind can be conditioned and such ads serve the purpose. Quantitative inferences are now available to draw conclusions about the topic as a result of this research. We have also got insights about topics that were hitherto unanswered by secondary data. The overall impression made out of this thesis is that ads are effective when used in the right circumstances, with a good storyline, with the right driver (emotional, humor etc), repeatedly shown in short bursts showing product utility in the ad. The thesis, given the current competition for ad recall, efficiency and effectiveness is significant as it gives insights into relationships between ad durations and effectiveness. Mind share is the most treasured motive of any marketing manager and this research would aid in achieving it.

Conclusion
TV Advertisements, in shorter or longer duration, duly used in appropriate circumstances, play a major role in communication, effectiveness and ad recall. As per the thesis, shorter ads may be used in offers and promotions and longer ones in new launches. Also ads must avoid information clutter and inappropriate humor. Such practices would overcome the handicap of not having proper quality assurance, testing and objective feedback. Also this would optimize costs and enhance recall. Conditioning of the consumers minds with repeated smaller ads would be more effective than doing so with a longer one. What this study would imply for managers is that it would let them revisit their existing ad strategies and work on effective ones in line with the findings. A balanced approach with use of a good storyline with humor and emotional appeal coupled with an optimum duration would extract the most mileage out of the ad investment made. With lack of other strong indicators for ad effectiveness, its advisable for companies to do these basics right while making the ad.

References
1. 15 second marketing Charlie cook Marketing for success 2008 2. 15 Second Pre-Roll Video Ads Will Become The Standard - Dan Rayburn Streaming media.com 3. ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS, By Jerry W. Thomas 4. Context effects on memory for television advertisements- Claire Norrisuniversity of Leicester 5. The effectiveness and targeting of TV advertising Ron Shachar tel aviv university 6. Heating Up the 15- vs. 30-second Online Spot Debate OPA panel 7. Fame in just 15 seconds: TV advertising study - Kate Newstead and Jenni Romaniuk from the Ehrenberg Bass Institute for Marketing Science 8. TELEVISION VIEWERS' ATTITUDES AND RECALL OF 15 SECOND VERSUS 30 SECOND COMMERCIALS - Mid-Atlantic Journal of Business | April 1, 1989| Gould, James S 9. Why TV spotlength matters Charles young WARC.com

Annexure
Topic Questionnaire for primary research File
Questionnaire thesis

Graphs

Graphs

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