Project 1

Protocol: Eyes Only.
This document must be destroyed after reading.

Advertising Media Planning
ADV 4300, Fall Semester 1999, Kent Lancaster

The M/V Project
(aka Project 1)

Mission

The International Advertising Association (IAA) has established an invisible, worldwide network of researchers. The sole mission of this international network of mystery is to surreptitiously gather global data on M/V ratios (message/vehicle ratios). The data will be made available to IAA membership around the world to give them an edge over their competition, whoever and wherever they may be. You have been offered early release from the university to be an indispensable player in this dangerous, clandestine, top secret operation.

Details

You are asked to unobtrusively and innocuously observe one individual (a friend, relative, roommate, etc.) in order to analyze their media and advertising usage. The better you know the person the more likely it will be that you can observe their advertising reading, listening or viewing without being detected. Once you have selected such an individual, decide which medium is best to observe their exposure to advertising. It could be The Florida Alligator, The Gainesville Sun, The Orange and Blue Weekly, a national magazine such as TV Guide, People, Cosmo, a 30-minute television viewing or radio listening session, and so on. It's up to you and your impressions of the media usage habits of the individual that you have selected to observe.

The object is to count the number of advertisements noticed and the total number available. Using these two numbers it is possible to compute a M/V ratio, the percent of the total available advertisements that were noticed.

M/V Ratio =	[	Number of Advertisements Noticed	]	x 100
		Total Advertisements Available

For example, let's assume that your roommate regularly reads The Alligator. After s/he appears to be finished with it for the day, ask him/her to go through the issue one more time. In doing so have your roommate mark all advertisements for which the sponsor was recognized at the time s/he originally read the issue. Your roommate should probably use a colored pen or highlighter to make the marks so that they stand out. When your roommate has finished marking the Alligator issue, count the number of marked display (not classified) advertisements that are one column inch or larger. Also count the total display advertisements in the issue as a whole that are one column inch or larger. Double-check your counts then compute the M/V ratio.

Report

Prepare a typewritten report no longer than two pages, single-spaced. Your report should include all of the relevant details of your study:

Your name and SSN.
Project title.
Project goals.
Specific medium studied (e.g., Alligator, Sept 9, 1999).
User (subject) name (if they give permission, otherwise use an alias), age and gender.
Details of method used to measure exposure to advertisements. Essentially explain the procedures you used to observe and measure total advertisements and advertisement sponsors noticed.
A results section should include your total and noticed advertisement counts as well as your computed M/V ratio.
A limitations section should briefly state problems with your approach that may bias your results.
Draw conclusions and implications for advertisers and media planners based on your limited results.

Other Possibilities

You are free to measure any medium you choose. A list of 17 is available on Slide 1 in the Basic Concepts "Definitions and Calculations" section of the course website.

For example, if you decide to observe someone's TV viewing behavior, pick a 30-minute or longer time frame and count the number of commercials the viewer appears to be watching. Only count those commercials for which it appears that the viewer notices the sponsor name. If the viewer is switching channels at station breaks, be sure to count only those commercials where the sponsor appears to be noticed.

After you have counted the number of commercials noticed, try to estimate the total number of commercials that are typically available during that time interval on the channel your viewer watched most heavily. With this data you can compute the M/V ratio and complete your report.

Use your imagination to design methods to tackle other challenging media as well. Examples might be direct mail advertisements received over one week, outdoor posters or drive-time radio. Just remember that your goal for now simply is to count the total number of advertisements (sponsors) noticed in a given publication or time frame and the total number available in that publication or time frame. With this information you can compute the M/V ratio and write your report.

Your report is due at class time on Wednesday, September 29.

Enjoy!

Destroy