A TEST OF COMMAP FOR PRE-TESTING DIRECT MAIL (DM) PIECES IN FUNDRAISING. Margaret Faulkner and Rachel Kennedy University of South Australia

Transcription

1 A TEST OF COMMAP FOR PRE-TESTING DIRECT MAIL (DM) PIECES IN FUNDRAISING Margaret Faulkner and Rachel Kennedy University of South Australia Track: Political, Social and Not-for-Profit Marketing Key Words: direct marketing, pre-tests, fundraising Abstract Advertisers have long used pre-tests successfully to predict winning ad campaigns. Here we applied a pre-test tool, based on a theory of advertising, COMMAP (Communication Style Mapping), to a new arena Fundraising DM letters to see if the theory can be extended. The results give initial support for extending the theory to DM and using the COMMAP tool in this setting. Further modifications are required for the tool to predict winners from losers. Introduction The advertising industry has benefited from pre-tests for advertising for many years. There has been validation that such tests are predictive of an advertisement s success such as by the American Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) with their Copy Research Validation Study (Haley and Baldinger, 1991) and many studies published by pre-testing and other interested parties (Appel, 1992, Biel, 1990, Cramphorn, 1992, du Plessis, 1994, Greene, 1992, Jones, 1995, Polsfuss and Hess, 1991, Spaeth et al., 1990, Stapel, 1994, Thorson, 1991, Walker and Dubitsky, 1994). Thus advertisers can be guided as to which ads are going to work for them prior to a launch and get a better return for their advertising dollar. Such pre-testing is not standard practice in other areas that could similarly benefit from it (Phillips, 1999). One such area is fundraising which spends heavily on direct mail (DM) in order to appeal for donations. This paper outlines a methodology and some initial results for developing a pre-testing tool for fundraising DM. The specific pre-testing tool that is being investigated is based on the COMMAP (Communication Style Mapping) pre-test developed by du Plessis (du Plessis, 1994). This tool draws on theories of advertising effectiveness and relevant factors (Schlinger, 1979, Wells et al., 1971, Aaker and Bruzzone, 1981, Moldovan, 1985, Aaker and Stayman, 1990). It measures the likeability of ads (L A ) along with other components of ad effectiveness (ie relevance, ability to entertain, etc). Thus it can make recommendations on which of a series of ads to use and or how to improve an ad grounded in theory. This model has been independently supported (Kennedy et al., 1995). Correspondence analysis of results collected using the pre-testing tool resulted in the following plot, or diagrammatic representation of the COMMAP model (Map 1). This process effectively put Schlinger's seven factors into a spatial relationship with L A scores. Political, Social and Not-for-Profit Marketing Track 1956

2 Brand Reinforcing Relevant News Familiarity Empathy High L A Low L A Map 1. COMMAP Model Confusion Alientation Entertainment The COMMAP model provides a picture that relates the viewer response of each ad to each factor to the main L A scale. Du Plessis (,, 1994) theory of L A can be explained as follows: When a standard X-Y axis is drawn on the plot, the horizontal axis is likeability (a measure of effectiveness); Likeability does not equate with entertainment (or humour). Likeability can be created by either high entertainment, or empathy or relevant news. Likeability is negatively influenced by familiarity (boredom); confusion, or alienation; Entertainment is the opposite of familiarity. Entertained viewers will not be bored; Relevant news and confusion are opposites. Little will be learnt from a confusing commercial; Empathy and alienation are opposites. Viewers are unlikely to empathise with alienating ads; Relevant news and empathy correlate. Relevance is frequently supported by empathy; Alienation and confusion correlate with each other. Confusing ads often irritate people; and Brand Reinforcement measures the attitude of the respondents to the advertised company. People's reactions to a brand influence what they think about an ad. COMMAP attempts to explain the performance of ads through their L A. Likeability is the extent to which the objective of entertainment, empathy or relevant news is achieved without confusion, alienation or familiarity. The model is dynamic, recognising that the way people view a commercial will change over time (i.e., ads wear out and become boring over time). The intuitive sense of this model and its success in pre-testing in other areas led to this research which is looking to see if it can be applied to test DM pieces and to determine what modifications may be required to enable it to be used as a pre-testing tool for fundraisers using DM. Objectives The core objective of the research is to determine if the COMMAP model and tool explains how people respond to DM. Another objective is to see if a version of COMMAP can be developed and used as a predictive tool for fundraising practitioners. Methodology As an initial test into how COMMAP could be applied to fundraising DM it was decided to apply it to a series of current DM pieces on which basic effectiveness data was known. The ANZMAC 2003 Conference Proceedings Adelaide 1-3 December

3 aim was to see if the output of the model was constructive. Respondents used a pick any approach to select those applicable from an inventory of all statements in the COMMAP tool. This is in-line with the methodology used for developing ad pre-tests (Aaker and Stayman, 1990). Some feedback questions were included to enable respondents to say how easy it was to perform the ratings on this new medium and highlight areas they believed were not relevant. The intent was to limit modifications of the tool as much as possible in the first instance. However following 20 interviews with fundraising practitioners and a review of literature in the area of what makes a good fundraising DM appeal, two statements were added to the standard COMMAP battery. They were: Easy-to-read and It touched me. Stone (,, 2001) stresses the need for letters to always look attractive (already in COMMAP) and be easy to read. Stone also talks about the need for creativity to stimulate emotions that can evoke a response. Greenfield (,, 1994) stated people give to charities because they are touched, angry or saddened and want to do something to help. The statement touched was chosen as it described a wide range of emotions. The statement a Good Brand was changed to For a Good Cause. Thus the final specific pickany measures that are used in the pre-testing tool are summarised in Table 1. Table 1: COMMAP tool used by donors to describe DM. Modified items shown in bold. Well Done Clever Worn-out Gentle Effective Original Easy to Forget Warm Convincing Amusing An Old Format True-to-Life Worth Remembering Imaginative Irritating It Involved Me Believable Seen-a-lot Pointless It Touched Me Confusing Appealing Silly For a Good Cause Told Me Something New Lively Phony Easy to Read Dull Sensitive Sample of respondents and DM pieces Two separate groups of people were invited to participate in this research: elderly donors of a medical research foundation and University students. Apart from the age difference the students also differed in that they do not necessarily donate by DM to a charity and were less likely to have seen any of the letters tested. We included questions to control this, which have not been analysed in this short paper. The study assessed the tool using seven different DM pieces. To maximise the number of pieces rated and avoid respondent fatigue the seven pieces were divided into two groups. Version A contained three pieces, version B four pieces, order effects were minimised by reversing the list of statements for half of each version. The groups were randomly allocated to one of the four versions. For this pilot we received 34 returned questionnaires, giving 107 ratings across 7 DM pieces. The DM pieces were selected to include a range of different approaches (ie use of animals, a story, etc) and pieces that had different levels of success. The letters rated varied in their actual response rates from.06% to 14%. Some of this variation is due to the quality of lists used in DM that makes matching their performance with the model a complex task that we are still tackling. The study included four different letters sent to previous donors of the same charity enabling us to compare them in terms of fundraising performance, without impacting effects due to differing charity/cause effects. Political, Social and Not-for-Profit Marketing Track 1958

4 Results Of the 30 statements that respondents could rate the specific DM pieces all but two were used. They were: Pointless and Silly. Pointless is likely to highlight campaigns for unimportant causes or DM where the request for funds goes unnoticed, we did not include either type in our sample. It is possible that fundraisers do not use silly approaches and this statement may be obsolete in this setting, though the use of red noses, different coloured socks and the like in broader charity appeals may occasionally also impact on DM making it a necessary statement. Stage two of our project asks households to collect their DM over a period of time and tests the tool on their own DM pieces. This will provide greater understanding of our pilot results and confirm the factors important to effective fundraising DM are contained in the tool. Table 2: Most frequently marked COMMAP statements, modified items shown in bold: For a Good Cause (56%) Appealing (30%) Believable (29%) Told Me Something New (27%) Easy to Read (25%) Effective (23%) Well-done (23%) Worth Remembering (21%) It Touched Me (21%) True to life (21%) Sensitive (20%) It Involved Me (20%) Table 2 shows that at this basic level the core of the advertising pre-testing statements appear relevant to a fundraising DM setting. The results also show the need for additional statements in COMMAP relevant to fundraising DM as the three introduced statements were among the most used statements to describe fundraising letters. Further testing is required to check if other words/factors are required in the model to capture what is effective for fundraising DM. Missing data in the questionnaires from elderly donors suggests it may be too much effort for respondents to read a DM piece, rate it on such a large battery of statements, and then repeat this process several times. Our results showed the version that contained four letters returned a lower response rate but this difference was not statistically significant for our sample sizes. A COMMAP map that compares the performance of the 7 DM appeals from the test is shown as Map 2. The results give initial support for the use of the COMMAP tool in this setting, though how it relates to actual donations requires further investigation. The horizontal axis does represent likeability, as would be expected. The most liked of the DM appeals was Milly with a score of 3.6, the least liked Patch at 2.3 on the 5-point likeability scale. This is the same scale the ARF highlighted as being a useful predictor of advertising sales performance. The two tax letters (tax and no tax) were a split control test which were the same basic letter yet one included a brief reference to tax. As different people rated these here, their similar positions and liking scores was pleasing to see. How people responded to the communications also appears to be consistent with what would be expected given the nature of the letters. Patch talked about the movie Patch Adams and could easily be considered original, though perhaps also confusing to those who had not seen the movie. Milly told a story of some young puppies with images of them, this did seem to touch people. The Christmas letter also featured animals and appealed for help at a traditional time of giving. These 3 DM pieces used emotional stories to appeal for funds, whilst the others provided information on the charity or its program benefits in their appeals. ANZMAC 2003 Conference Proceedings Adelaide 1-3 December

5 Map 2: COMMAP of DM results in fundraising 5 Amusing 4 Imaginative 3 Confusing 2 Original Patch2.3 Phoney 1 Told Something Lively Good Clever New Worn-out Cause Believable Dull Sensitive Sleep 2.8 Involved Well Done 0 Xmas 2.9 Old Fashion Seen Lot SOS 2.6 Appealing Warm Touched Me Irritting Easy Read Worth Easy Forget TAX 2.4 No Tax 2.5 Rememb Milly 3.6 Effective Convincing -1 True-Life -2 Conclusions and Future Direction From this initial study it appears that COMMAP may be a useful tool for DM practitioners in fundraising. This suggests the factors important for effective advertising are similar to those for effective fundraising DM. This study has shown further work is warranted on how the tool s statements and likeability relate to actual donating behaviour. This is required to identify any further modifications useful in predicting the most effective DM piece. The COMMAP grouped similar elements together, with emotional elements near the more likeable DM appeals. As theorised, the negative statements are at the lower end of the likeability axis whilst emotional elements are at the other end. This supports the use of emotions when fundraising. Qualitative research is being undertaken to see what other words people use to describe DM to ensure we are not missing other important dimensions that drive the effectiveness of DM pieces. We will also use this opportunity to see how laborious the COMMAP is for respondents and to further research the relevance of the statements on a new series of campaigns with a new sample of respondents. Following this we will pre-test campaigns with respondents matching the fundraiser s donor profile (ie the direct target market for the DM pieces) using our modified tool. Tracking performance in the market place of each version pre-tested will demonstrate the tool s ability to predict winners / losers. By undertaking this process we will test the COMMAP methodology in a fundraising DM environment and learn the factors important for gaining a donation using DM. This will enable comparison of the factors necessary for effective communication between a mass communication medium and a direct marketing environment. The DM environment is more easily controlled in terms of the marketing communications seen by respondents and will provide a strong test of the pre-test tool ability to predict. Political, Social and Not-for-Profit Marketing Track 1960

6 References Aaker, D. and D. Bruzzone, Viewer Perceptions of Prime-Time Television Advertising. Journal of Advertising Research 21 (No. 5, October), Aaker, D.A. and D.M. Stayman, Measuring Audience Perceptions of Commercials and Relating Them to Ad Impact. Journal of Advertising Research (August/September), Appel, V., More on the Liking of Television Commercials. Journal of Advertising Research 32 (March/April), Biel, A., Serious Thoughts about Likeable Advertising. In: The Seventh Annual ARF Copy Research Workshop New York City: Advertising Research Foundation. Cramphorn, M.F., Launches Need Likeable Ads. B&T Magazine, 19. du Plessis, E., Likeable Ads Work Best, But What is "Likeability"? Admap (May), Greene, W.F., Observations: What Drives Commercial Liking? Journal of Advertising Research 32 (March/April), Greenfield, J.M., Fund Raising Fundamentals: John Wiley & Sons. Haley, R.I. and A.L. Baldinger, The ARF Copy Research Validity Project. Journal of Advertising Research 31 (April/May), Jones, J.P., When Ads Work - New Proof that Advertising Triggers Sales, New York: Lexington Books. Kennedy, R., C. Riquier and B. Sharp, The Likeability of Commercials with the Branding Effect Removed - The COMMAP Model Tested. In: European Marketing Academy Conference (EMAC) Paris, France: Moldovan, S.E., Copy Factors Related to Persuasion Scores. Journal of Advertising Research 24 (6, December/January), Phillips, D., The Hitchhikers Guide to Media Issues in Pre-Testing. Admap. Polsfuss, M. and M. Hess, "Liking" Through Moment-to-Moment Evaluation; Identifying Key Selling Segments in Advertising. Advances in Consumer Research 18, Schlinger, M.J., A Profile of Responses to Commercials. Journal of Advertising Research 19 (No. 2, April), Spaeth, J., M. Hess and S. Tang, The Anatomy of Liking. In: 7th Annual ARF Copy Research Workshop Comni Park Central Hotel: Advertising Research Foundation. Stapel, J., Observations: A Brief Observation About Likability and Interestingness of Advertising. Journal of Advertising Research 34 (March/April), Stone, B.J., Ron, Successful Direct Marketing Methods, New York: McGraw-Hill. ANZMAC 2003 Conference Proceedings Adelaide 1-3 December

7 Thorson, E., Likeability: 10 Years of Academic Research. In: Copy Research The New Evidence - Eighth Annual ARF Copy Research Workshop New York City: Advertising Research Foundation. Walker, D. and T.M. Dubitsky, Why Liking Matters. Journal of Advertising Research 34 (3, May/June), Wells, W.D., C. Leavitt and M. McConville, A Reaction Profile for TV Commercials. Journal of Advertising Research 11 (No. 6, December), Political, Social and Not-for-Profit Marketing Track 1962