Advertising Testing Among Hispanics
Category: Retail
Methods: Advertising Research, Hispanic Research
Summary
A large retailer, Retailer B, wanted to evaluate television, print, and radio ads among Hispanics in the United States. Its goal was to grow its share in the Hispanic segment.
Strategic Issues
As the Hispanic population in the U.S. grows, so does its buying power and viability as a separate target market. Our client, Retailer B, noticed that Hispanics were increasingly part of their target market. Recognizing the revenue opportunities that the Hispanic market represents, Retailer B wanted to increase its market share among Hispanics and to develop advertising campaigns targeted toward Hispanics.
Our client, Retailer B, wanted to create an advertising campaign to communicate that it understands Hispanic needs and that its stores offer a wide variety of products that fulfill Hispanics’ needs.
Marketing Research Objectives
The objectives of the research were to accomplish the following:
- Measure the overall effectiveness of the advertising among Hispanics, both acculturated and unacculturated
- Determine any differences between ads by acculturation level
- Evaluate the cultural relevance of the ads
- Determine what messages were communicated and what images were projected
- Identify how the ads might be strengthened or improved
Marketing Research Design and Methods
Decision Analyst’s CopyTest® system was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the ads, including metrics for persuasion, attention value, and store name remembrance. The research was conducted via mall-intercept interviews in 10 key U.S. Hispanic markets. Interviewers were of Hispanic or Latino descent and were fluent in Spanish.
The testing was done monadically; that is, respondents either viewed and/or listened to only one ad. The ads targeted toward Hispanics that were tested included two 30-second TV commercials, one print ad, and one radio commercial.
Respondents completed a proprietary sequence of key metrics and several diagnostic batteries, such as persuasion, brand reinforcement, potential increase in usage, attention value, brand registration, and brand remembrance.
The results were entered into Decision Analyst’s proprietary SellingPower™ analytical model to calculate overall advertising effectiveness. Based on historical normative data for Retailer B and for Hispanics, the results predicted the effectiveness of each ad and what needed to be changed to improve the advertising.
Results
The results of the advertising research showed there were differences among acculturation segments on key advertising measures. As a result of the research, Retailer B incorporated recommended areas of improvement in the ads to better communicate with the target segment. These areas of improvement:
- Identified a better spokesperson than originally offered in the ads.
- Made ads more relevant among Hispanics by using more culturally relevant situations in the storylines.
- Discovered that the ads were “too aspirational” for the main Hispanic target, and the ads made them feel negatively toward the company. The ads were revised to be “in line” with aspiration levels.
- Identified some ads that did not perform as well as hoped among unacculturated Hispanics, and modified them to perform better.
Overall, the advertising research gave the client specific suggestions for making the advertising more culturally relevant to Hispanics, resulting in a stronger connection between the consumer and the brand.
Analytical Consulting Services
If you would like more information on our Analytical Consulting Services or would like to discuss a possible project, please contact Jerry W. Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, (jthomas@decisionanalyst.com), or Tom Allen, Senior Vice President (tallen@decisionanalyst.com), or call 1-800-ANALYSIS (262-5974) or 1-817-640-6166.