DAGMAR: AN APPROACH TO SETTING OBJECTIVES

Defining Advertising Goals for Measured

Advertising Results

BY
DR M.P.SINGH
 Advertising objectives
In the matter of advertising objectives 2 distinct
schools of thought emerge:

1. The Sales School

2. The Communication School

 SALES SCHOOLsales
• Many managers view sales as the only meaningful
objective for promotional plans. Their view is that the
only reason an organization spends money on
promotion is to sell its products or service.

• Sales turnover is the first and most obvious measure

• In the consumer markets and the FMCG sector, market

share movement is more sensitive barometer of
performance.
 COMMUNICATION SCHOOL
• The aim of a communication campaign is to enhance the
image or reputation of an organization or product.

• Consequently, promotional efforts are seen as

communication tasks, such as the creation of awareness
or positive attitudes towards the organization or product.

• Thus the communication objectives basically seek to

move people to action and induce them to purchase
the products.
 COMMUNICATION SCHOOL: INFLUENCE
• Cognitive: This stage basically involves communication that
deals with cognition or knowledge. It deals with creating
knowledge, perception, ideas and awareness
• Affective: This stage deals with the emotions or the
affections.
• Conative/ behaviour:. In this case the person on the basis of
his preference or dislike for the product would either
purchase it or reject the product.
• e.g. A person wants to buy a TV set, he may after having
understood his desire, collect different types of information
and after having being convinced -finally make the purchase.
 COMMUNICATION SCHOOL: INFLUENCE
• E.g. A person wants to buy a TV set, he collects different
types of information and after being convinced - make the
purchase.

• Consumers develop relationships with their brands and

products, which sustains the notion that a series of stages
occur between the point of awareness and the point of
product purchase.

• Effective advertising should sell, but should also

communicate with the consumer on an emotional level.
 DAGMAR
• DAGMAR: Stands for Defining Advertising Goals
for Measuring Advertising Results. It is basically an
approach to advertising planning for quantifying
goals and using those goals to measure
performance.

• An advertising objective involves a communication

task, intended to create awareness, impart
information, develop attitudes or induce action.
 DAGMAR APPROACH
UNAWARE

AWARE

COMPREHENSION &
IMAGE Communication Process
under DAGMAR MODEL

ATTITUDE

ACTION

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 DAGMAR : Communication process
• At some point of time, the individual will be unaware
of the product or offer in the market. The initial
communication task of the advertising activity is to
increase consumer awareness.

• The second step of the communication process is

comprehension of the product or offer and involves
the target audience learning something about the
product or offer. In what way does it differ from its
competitors? Whom is it supposed to benefit?
 DAGMAR : Communication process
• The third step is the attitude (or conviction) step.
The action phase involves some move by the buyer
such as trying a brand for the first time, visiting a
showroom, or requesting information.

• The important concept of the approach is that the

advertising goal be specific. It should be a written,
measurable task involving a starting point, a
defined audience, and a fixed time period.
DAGMAR : DEFINED TIME PERIOD
• An advertising campaign CANNOT run for eternity.
There should be a fixed time period, six months or a
year, within which you should aim at attaining certain
goals. There should also be some time allocated td
to test the campaign, make amendments, if
required to the campaign.

• E.G. Increase awareness of our store from the

current level of 20% to 30% among the owner of
product X within the next six months.
 DAGMAR : MEASURING RESULTS
• AWARENESS:

• Awareness of the existence of a product is necessary

before the purchase behavior can be expected.

• Awareness needs to be created, developed, refined

or sustained, according to the characteristics of the
market and particular situation facing an
organization at any point of time.  
 DAGMAR : MEASURING RESULTS
AWARENESS – INVOLVEMENT Involvement
TRADE OFF High Low

   
Sustain current Refine
levels of awareness
HIGH
awareness  
   
 
Awareness
  Create
Build awareness association of
quickly. awareness of
LOW
product with
product class
need

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 DAGMAR : MEASURING RESULTS
Comprehension
 

Awareness on its own may not be sufficient to stimulate a purchase.

In attempting to persuade people to try a different brand, it may be necessary
to compare the product with other products and provide an additional usage
benefit, such as cost reduction e.g. Pharma products, Automobiles, Beverages,
Telecom, etc

Conviction

Buyers are convinced that a particular product in the class should be tried at the
next opportunity. To do this, audience’s beliefs about the product have to be
moulded and this is often done through messages that demonstrate the
product’s superiority over a rival

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 DAGMAR : MEASURING RESULTS
 
Action

Communication must finally encourage buyers to engage in purchase

activity, and this really tests the success of an advertisement
campaign.

MEASURES: Use of toll free numbers, direct mail activities and

coupons.

E.g. Tupperware, Aqua Guard, are famous in Indian cities as a result

of its personal selling efforts.
 

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 CREATIVE ADVERTISING STRATEGY
 
Creative strategy:

The following are some things you would want to cover:

- How are we going to present the message? Through a celebrity?

- A brand character?
- Any Musical touch to communicate emotion? If so, what songs?

- HAMARA BAJAJ
- YMCA FOR RELIANCE 3G
- TIC TAC
- AIRCEL – conectivity everywhere

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 MEDIA STRATEGY
 
Identify your target audience AND then find the best media, at
the best time, to reach them.

One will get the best return on advertising by conveying action

induced/ specific message in front of people through appropriate
media during the decision making and buying cycle.

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 BUDGET
ALLOCATION
 

Illustrative budgeting methods:

Task method of budgeting: Spend what it takes to do the job Right
Annual allocation. Start with a base, and increase it by x% yearly
Percent of sales: Aggressive marketers, especially in consumer
markets, can spend 10-15% of sales on advertising
Business to business environment: 10% of sales would be
considered aggressive, on average.
Industry Benchmarks: Matching Competitors levels

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 DAGMAR : MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES
• For a promotional campaign, there must be an objective, which
is measurable.

• e.g. a YELLOW PAGE/ JUST DIAL advertisement, the

measurement could be the number of phone calls received
before and after the ad was published or the number of
referrals through yellow pages.

• The measurable objective must be written, clear &

unambiguous.
• e.g. Increase awareness of our store by 10% - not any vague
statement
DAGMAR : DEFINED TARGET AUDIENCE
• Not everyone is going to buy your product. So, CRUCIAL TO
identify your target audience, to whom you are going to aim
your ad campaign.

• E.G. If you are selling premium cars. High value consumer

durables you should target customers who have high net
worth and are sophisticated.

• The specific goal may be defined as follows:

• e.g. Increase awareness of our store from the current level
of 20% to 30% among the owners of product A
 DAGMAR-BENCHMARK
• The objectives/ GOALS should specify how much change or
movement is being sought such as increase in awareness
levels, creation of favorable attitudes or number of
consumers intending to purchase the brand, etc.

• A benchmark is also a prerequisite to the ultimate

measurement of results, an essential part of any planning
program and DAGMAR in particular.

• e.g. Increase awareness of our store from the current level

of 20% to 30%
 DAGMAR
• In 1961, Russell Colley prepared a report for the
Association of National Advertisers titled Defining
Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results
(DAGMAR).
• In it, Colley developed a model for setting advertising
objectives and measuring the results of an ad campaign.
The major thesis of the DAGMAR model is that
communications effects are the logical basis for
advertising goals and objectives against which success
or failure should be measured. Colley’s rationale for
communications- based objectives was as follows:
 DAGMAR
• Advertising’s job, purely and simply, is to
communicate to defined audience information
and a frame of mind that stimulates action.
Advertising succeeds or fails depending on
how well it communicates the desired
information and attitudes to the right people
at the right time and at the right cost.
 DAGMAR approach
• Under the DAGMAR approach, an advertising goal involves a
communications task that is specific and measurable. A communications
task, as opposed to a marketing task, can be performed by, and attributed
to, advertising rather than to a combination of several marketing factors.
• Colley proposed that the communications task be based on a hierarchical
model of the communications process with four stages:
• • Awareness—making the consumer aware of the existence of the brand or
company.
• • Comprehension—developing an understanding of what the product is and
what it will do for the consumer.
• • Conviction—developing a mental disposition in the consumer to buy the
product.
• • Action—getting the consumer to purchase the product.
 hierarchical model of advertising
• While the hierarchical model of advertising
effects was the basic model of the
communications response process used in
DAGMAR, Colley also studied other specific
tasks that advertising might be expected to
perform in leading to the ultimate objective of
a sale.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF OBJECTIVES

• A second major contribution of DAGMAR to the

advertising planning process was its definition of
what constitutes a good objective. Colley argued
that advertising objectives should be stated in
terms of concrete and measurable communications
tasks, specify a target audience, indicate a
benchmark starting point and the degree of change
sought, and specify a time period for accomplishing
the objective(s). Concrete, Measurable Tasks .
CHARACTERISTICS OF OBJECTIVES
• The communications task specified in the
objective should be a precise statement of
what appeal or message the advertiser wants
to communicate to the target audience.
Advertisers generally use a copy platform to
describe their basic message. The objective or
copy platform statement should be specific and
clear enough to guide the creative specialists
who develop the advertising message.
 Concrete, Measurable Tasks
• For example, Foster’s Beer, after a successful
introduction, saw sales decline significantly. Knowing
that to reverse the downward trend something
significant had to be done, Fosters developed an entirely
new positioning campaign with the following objectives:
• i. Strengthen the brand’s image
• b. Maximize brand presence
• c. Broaden the market base beyond traditional import
beer drinkers
• d. Increase sales
 Concrete, Measurable Tasks
• Using a variety of tools including billboards,
videos, point-of-sale promotions, and spot
television, the program doubled its unaided
awareness scores, tripled trial, and increased
brand awareness by 40 percent. In addition,
beer sales doubled in test markets, and overall
beer sales increased by 12.1 percent in the
first year of the campaign.
 Concrete, Measurable Tasks
• According to DAGMAR, the objective must
also be measurable. There must be a way to
determine whether the intended message has
been communicated properly. For example
Midwest Express measured its
communications objective by asking airline
travelers whether they thought Midwest’s
airfares were higher than those of competing
airlines.
 ASSESSMENT OF DAGMAR

• The DAGMAR approach to setting objectives has had

considerable influence on the advertising planning
process. Many promotional planners use this model as
a basis for setting objectives and assessing the
effectiveness of their promotional campaigns. DAGMAR
also focused advertisers’ attention on the value of using
communications based rather than sales-based
objectives to measure advertising effectiveness and
encouraged the measurement of stages in the response
hierarchy to assess a campaign’s impact.
 ASSESSMENT OF DAGMAR

• Colley’s work has led to improvements in the

advertising and promotional planning process
by providing a better understanding of the
goals and objectives toward which planners’
efforts should be directed. This usually results
in less subjectivity and leads to better
communication and relationships between
client and agency.
 Criticisms of DAGMAR
• Criticisms of DAGMAR -While DAGMAR has contributed to
the advertising planning process, it has not been totally
accepted by everyone in the advertising field. A number of
problems have led to questions regarding its value as a
planning tool:
• • Problems with the response hierarchy. A major criticism
of the DAGMAR approach is its reliance on the hierarchy
of effects model. The fact that consumers do not always
go through this sequence of communications effects
before making a purchase has been recognized, and
alternative response models have been developed.
 Sales objectives
• • Sales objectives. Another objection to DAGMAR
comes from those who argue that the only
relevant measure of advertising objectives is
sales. They have little tolerance for ad campaigns
that achieve communications objectives but fail
to increase sales. Advertising is seen as effective
only if it induces consumers to make a purchase.
The problems with this logic were addressed in
our discussion of communications objectives.
 Criticisms of DAGMAR
• • Practicality and costs. Another criticism of DAGMAR
concerns the difficulties involved in implementing it.
Money must be spent on research to establish
quantitative benchmarks and measure changes in the
response hierarchy. This is costly and time-consuming
and can lead to considerable disagreement over method,
criteria, measures, and so forth. Many critics argue that
DAGMAR is practical only for large companies with big
advertising and research budgets. Many firms do not
want to spend the money needed to use DAGMAR
effectively.
 Inhibition of creativity.
• • Inhibition of creativity. A final criticism of DAGMAR
is that it inhibits advertising creativity by imposing
too much structure on the people responsible for
developing the advertising. Many creative personnel
think the DAGMAR approach is too concerned with
quantitative assessment of a campaign’s impact on
awareness, brand name recall, or specific persuasion
measures. The emphasis is on passing the numbers
test rather than developing a message that is truly
creative and contributes to brand equity.
 Communications Specific objectives

• For the IMC program facilitate coordination of

the various groups working on the campaign.
Many people are involved in the planning and
development of an integrated marketing
communications program on the client side as
well as in the various promotional agencies.
 Communications Specific objectives
• The advertising and promotional program must be
coordinated within the company, inside the ad agency,
and between the two. Any other parties involved in the
promotional campaign, such as public relations and/or
sales promotion firms, research specialists, or media
buying services, must also know what the company hopes
to accomplish through its marketing communications
program. Many problems can be avoided if all parties
have written, approved objectives to guide their actions
and serve as a common base for discussing issues related
to the promotional program.
Marketing versus Communications Objectives

• Marketing objectives are generally stated in the firm’s

marketing plan and are statements of what is to be
accomplished by the overall marketing program within a
given time period. Marketing objectives are usually defined
in terms of specific, measurable outcomes such as sales
volume, market share, profits, or return on investment. Good
marketing objectives are quantifiable; they delineate the
target market and note the time frame for accomplishing the
goal (often one year). For example, a copy machine company
may have as its marketing objective “to increase sales by 10
percent in the small-business segment of the market during
the next 12 months.”
 Marketing versus Communications
Objectives
• To be effective, objectives must also be
realistic and attainable, have as their
marketing objectives expanding distribution
and sales of their product in certain market
areas. Companies often have secondary
marketing objectives that are related to
actions they must take to solve specific
problems and thus achieve their primary
objectives.
Integrated marketing communications objectives

• Integrated marketing communications objectives are

statements of what various aspects of the IMC program
will accomplish. They should be based on the particular
communications tasks required to deliver the
appropriate messages to the target audience. Managers
must be able to translate general marketing goals into
communications goals and specific promotional
objectives. Some guidance in doing this may be
available from the marketing plan, as the situation
analysis should provide important information on
 Integrated marketing communications
objectives
• • The market segments the firm wants to target and the target
audience (demographics, psychographics, and purchase motives).
• • The product and its main features, advantages, benefits, uses,
and applications.
• • The company’s and competitors’ brands (sales and market
share in various segments, positioning, competitive strategies,
promotional expenditures, creative and media strategies, and
tactics).
• • Ideas on how the brand should be positioned and specific
behavioral responses being sought (trial, repurchase, brand
switching, and increased usage).
 Communications Objectives

• Some marketers do recognize the problems associated with

sales-oriented objectives. They recognize that the primary
role of an IMC program is to communicate and that
planning should be based on communications objectives.
Advertising and other promotional efforts are designed to
achieve such communications as brand knowledge and
interest, favorable attitudes and image, and purchase
intentions. Consumers are not expected to respond
immediately; rather, advertisers realize they must provide
relevant information and create favorable predispositions
toward the brand before purchase behavior will occur.
 Communications Objectives
• Problems with Communications Objectives Not all marketing and advertising
managers accept communications objectives; some say it is too difficult to translate a
sales
• goal into a specific communications objective. But at some point a sales goal must be
transformed into a communications objective. If the marketing plan for an established
brand has as an objective of increasing sales by 10 percent, the promotional planner
will eventually have to think in terms of the message that will be communicated to the
target audience to achieve this. Possible objectives include the following:
• • Increasing the percentage of consumers in the target market who associate specific
features, benefits, or advantages with our brand.
• • Increasing the number of consumers in the target audience who prefer our product
over the competitions.
• • Encouraging current users of the product to use it more frequently or in more
situations.
• • Encouraging consumers who have never used our brand to try it.
The 6 M’s of Mastering Your Integrated Marketing Campaign

• Everyone has been talking about “integrating

their marketing” and creating an “integrated
marketing plan.” It’s an important strategy, but
it can be difficult to grasp—and it’s so much
more than just slapping the same logo on all
your campaign materials and calling it a day.
 What is an integrated campaign?

• At its simplest definition, an integrated marketing campaign

combines the use of multiple channels—e.g., direct mail, digital ads,
e-mail, events, etc.—to deliver consistent and unified messaging to
the most people in your target audience as possible. All aspects of
an integrated campaign should complement and reinforce each
other.
• Messaging should be developed with the end user’s motivations in
mind; think about what high school students truly want to hear
and need to know and craft messages towards that. Then, customize
your messaging based on channel. For example, a display ad isn’t
the place to give your student all the details of your college’s
application process, but the landing page you drive them to could
be.
6 M’s of Mastering Your Integrated Marketing Campaign

• How do I start?
• It is important to note that we currently live in an integrated world where
our consumers are receiving more than 5,000 messages a day. It can
sometimes be hard to break through. When thinking about how to craft your
own integrated marketing campaign, remember the six M’s:
• Market: Whom are you addressing? Are you speaking to the right target and
are you crafting messages that are specific to them? For example, when
writing an e-mail to your target audience, consider using personalization
(i.e., You are eligible for a scholarship, Heather!), copy that is versionized
based on segmentation, and customized CTAs to be more effective.
• Mission: What is your objective? Don’t let your messages stray from that
end goal. If your campaign objective is to increase brand awareness, then
messaging should be more along the lines of “Learn More” rather than
“Apply Now.”
6 M’s of Mastering Your Integrated Marketing Campaign

• Message: What are the specific points you want to communicate? Don’t give your
audience more than necessary. For example, juniors will be interested in gathering
insights about your school, while seniors will want to know about deadlines, open
house dates, and specific steps for applying.
• Media: What communication vehicles are you using to get your message across? One
medium is never enough—but too many may pose a risk of sending mixed messages.
• Money: How much is budgeted? And how can you perfect your combination of
mediums to maximize your budget?
• Measurement: How will you assess the performance of your campaign? Make sure
to set up a plan to measure your results, or all this will be for waste!
• What’s all this for?
• Even though integrated campaigns may be tough to contrive all in one sitting,
remember that they’re worth the effort. A cohesive, consistent, and well-thought-out
integrated campaign can drive engagement, increase application conversions, and
most importantly deliver the results your admission department wants to see!