Abstract:
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Advertising by definition is a marketing communication used to encourage, persuade or manipulate an audience to take or continue to take some action in order to drive consumer behaviour in terms of a commercial, political or ideological offering. Traditionally, it is most often used and perceived as a way to generate increased consumption of a brand’s products or services. Sometimes, as a way to reinforce or modify the audience’s ideology. Advertising can also be used to reassure employees or shareholders that a company is viable or successful. Today, in both the public and private sectors, accountability and measurability are key principles of management. An increasing need for measurement and evaluation that is more than anecdotal and informal has become evident as objective methods of measurement are required to deliver credible proof of results and Return on Investment to management, shareholders and other key stakeholders. In the 2002 International Public Relations Association World Congress held in Cairo, delegates have agreed that the measurement of PR, advertising and corporate communication was the most pressing issue that needs immediate attention in the field’s practice worldwide. They found that despite this increasing focus, measurement remains a key issue of contention among practitioners and their employers and clients as many practitioners continue not to do research despite its widely recognised importance. In fact, in an online survey of 3,000 PRNews readers in the US sponsored by media tracking system PRT in found the percentage of practitioners using media analysis has constantly been increasing to around 50 per cent on average (55 per cent for PR consultancies and 45 per cent for internal PR departments). However, it showed that more than 80 per cent of practitioners continue to rely primarily on press clippings and 40 per cent or more use Advertising Value Equivalents (AVEs), and Gut feeling. Thus, the industry’s constant need for a more accurate and efficient measurement.
