A generalised scale for pretesting print advertisements

Abstract

The Working Paper presents the findings of a research study which was initiated to develop a generalized scale which could be used to pretest an advertisement prepared by an agency or to compare alternate advertisements for the purpose of selecting the most appropriate one which best meets the objectives of the management. Six different advertisements were rated by a sample of 100 consumers each on as many as 197 different variables representing all the important dimensions on which a print ad can possibly be evaluated. These ratings were first subjected to an analysis of variance screened for variables which significantly discriminated between the 6 ads. Factor analysis with varimax rotation was conducted on the remaining variables to develop a simple structure to identify the major dimensions which are most pertinent in the evaluation of a print advertisement.