Media planners instinctively know that a campaign's effectiveness increases when an advertiser uses a variety of media together; however, any measurement to highlight the dynamics involved is difficult to pin down.
The media multiplier theory, first put forward in 1989, states that two media vehicles, such as print and television together, should result in an exposure that is greater than the simple sum of the two. However, this theory has been largely confined to lab tests, featuring a controlled environment where small groups of people are shown ads through different media.
The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) recently decided to undertake the first test in the Indian market. It commissioned research company Indian Market Research Bureau International (IMRB), which interviewed more than 14,000 people across all major deomographic groups in Mumbai and New Delhi.
According to Bharat Kapadia, chairman of the INS' Mumbai regional committee, six of the 40 brands approached participated. Participants were Sundrop Nutrilite oil, Whisper Maxi sanitary napkins, Coca-Cola's Limca lemon drink, Himalaya skin cream, Aquaguard water purifier and Active Wheel detergent powder. The brands were tracked in two cities - a control market in Mumbai, where only television was scrutinised and a test market in Delhi, where researchers focused on both TV and print.
IMRB measured a number of different factors including brand and advertising salience, the memorability of the creative work, brand imagery and intention to purchase. The results were dramatic and almost in sync with the media multiplier theory.
In terms of brand salience, Sundrop and Whisper were indexed at 164 and 186 respectively in the control market. But in the test market of Delhi, where both TV and print were measured, the figures were significantly higher at 205 and 450.
The two brands' advertising salience scores were even better in the test market - 268 and 833 respectively, compared with 203 and 150 in the control market. It was a similar situation for Active Wheel, with a control score of just 29 against 124 in the evaluation.
However, there was no evidence of a multiplier effect for brands such as Limca, Aquaguard and Himalayan. Researchers concluded this was due to a lack of synergy between the print and TV ads.
No significant differences were recorded for Aquaguard, but it is thought that this was because the brand is a market leader in its category, where its scores would in any case be high. Himalaya, meanwhile, had relied mainly on print for its campaign.
IMRB also integrated its findings with the results of three other major studies: the National Readership Survey; Market Pulse, which tracks household purchase data; and Nielsen Media Research's Television Audience Measurement.
The data was assimilated for more than 40 FMCG categories, including detergents, edible oils and skin creams.
IMRB found that reach via television plateaus after a certain level, beyond which it made sense to invest in print. The combined effect results in an increase in reach with each successive insertion in a print medium, assuming a television gross rating point (GRP) is equal to a print GRP, the researchers said.
Andre Nair, chief executive officer of WPP Marketing Communications for South Asia, says the IMRB study should be continued on a regular basis and that one of the objectives should be measuring the actual effect of a campaign and calculating an optimal media mix.
Nair added that research should cover all types of campaigns as well as provide insights to brands at different lifestages. He believes that the current measures, typically reach and frequency, need to be improved in order to address the current needs of clients, including accountability and performance.
AD SALIENCE: GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
Control Market Test Market
Pre Post Index Pre Post Index
Sundrop Nutrilite 26 53 203 19 51 268
Whisper Maxi 4 6 150 3 25 833
Limca 98 98 100 99 99 100
Himalaya - 55 - - 61 -
Aquaguard 73 83 114 87 94 108
Active Wheel 34 9 26 42 52 124
Source: IMRB