Page 256 - DMGT507_SALES AND PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT

Sales and Promotions Management

Notes strongest appeals as well as attention getting value were put forward to the client. The
visuals showed a rope twisted tight around the forehead, or the back depicting severity of
pain. Problem and suffering from colds was depicted by a clip or heavy lock hanging on
the nose. The major selling appeal that Panorid has no side effects was mentioned in the
baseline. The visual was highlighted by the following headlines:
Panorid knows how a headache feels.
Panorid knows how a backache feels.
Panorid knows how a cold feels.

The client approved all aspects of the creative approach of using the visuals and the copy
format, the headline and the baseline. It was suggested by the ad agency that it would be
advisable to pre-test the creative approach, particularly the comprehension of the visual,
through a limited research study. Since the maximum usage of Panorid was for relief from
headaches, it was considered appropriate to test the ad only for headaches.
With this objective in view, the agency prepared one more ad and instead of showing a
rope tied around forehead, a thick cloth was shown tied around forehead. The model used
was the same.
The pre-test study was used in the city of Hyderabad in May 1989. A team of researchers
from an established marketing research firm was employed for fieldwork. The
questionnaire was designed to elicit the meaning of the advertisement as a whole, including
headline, visual and baseline. Respondents' opinions concerning the message in baseline,
their likes and dislikes about the product were sought. Data collection was completed in
week. The sample consisted of 64 respondents, divided equally among men and women.
They respondents were from middle and upper-middle income groups. All questions
except the last one related to one of the two alternative ads. Only in the last question were
respondents asked to make a comparison between the two advertisements.
The advertising agency's interpretation of the findings was that both ads successfully put
forth the intended message to the prospective customers. The ad with rope tied around the
forehead was considered more effective and was likely to leave a better impact. Several
respondents felt with respect to ad with the thick cloth tied around the forehead that cloth
by itself meant seeking relief from headache. Therefore, the ad agency recommended the
first ad with rope for the campaign.
In the initial brainstorming done by the agency people, several creative approaches
regarding visuals were suggested. One approach suggested the impact of broken glass to
show the severity of headache. While finally selecting the ad, findings of the pre-test as
well as some of the earlier artwork roughs were also considered. At this stage it was felt
that the impact of broken glass, as showing all types of indications for Panorid was likely
to be more effective than that of rope. Therefore, the headline and the baseline were
retained as in the ads, which were pre-tested, but the visuals were totally changed and the
press ads were released.
Questions
1. Do you think advertising will play any significant role for promoting a traditional
remedy like Panorid?
2. How would you have conducted a pre-test? Give your reasons.
3. Was it advisable to use a visual in the campaign, which was not pre-tested instead of
the tested one? Why?

250 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY