Advertising Effectiveness—How Can it be Measured?

Abstract

Advertising continues to play an important role in our national economy. Therefore, the effectiveness of advertising is of great concern both to society and to the individuals who comprise our society. In spite of the progress that advertising has made over the years, there are two vital respects in which further improvement is needed: in its effectiveness, and in the evaluation of its effectiveness.

There are five indispensable ingredients of good advertising. Their presence in any advertisement gives as much assurance as can be given before the fact that the advertisement is a good one. Also, the author believes that by his suggested after-the-fact appraisal, the ultimate effectiveness of the advertising in advancing the objectives for which it was designed can be measured.

The author makes no extravagant claims for his method. He does not suggest that it is the last word, or that it provides a definitive solution to all the problems of improving and evaluating advertising. He merely hopes that it will provide one further modest step on the road to better advertising.