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March 28, 2007

Is Direct Response Radio Advertising Science or Art?

It's a debate perhaps as old as direct response radio advertising itself.

Radio Advertising is Science
The very nature of direct response radio is what makes a scientific approach possible. The element of directly tracking the leads, orders, and revenue associated with each individual media buy and each individual radio commercial allows for isolating variables, large sample sizes and the analysis of a robust data collection that generates knowledge and insights.

Radio Advertising is Art
Proponents of the "radio advertising is art" view would point out that although many variables can be controlled, there are a number of elements impacting results that can't be accounted for even under the best of circumstances. Where certain rotator ad placements fall, number of ads in rotation, the placement of the ad in the rotation (first, last, or other), weather, local news events, new competitors testing... The list can be very long. With all of these unaccounted for elements impacting results, the "art" proponents argue that direct response radio advertising is primarily an art. They say that trying to draw conclusions of causal or even correlational relationships is fruitless.

Direct response radio advertising is in many ways no different than "field research" in the behavioral sciences. Ask any PhD about "field research" and you're likely to get a noticeable reaction - either a flinch, grimace, or perhaps rolled eyes. Why? Because researchers in realms such as psychology, sociology, and communications are painfully aware of the challenges involved with conducting research in the field. The ability to directly observe behavior in real-world settings is exhilarating, but the challenges of unforeseen variables impacting research design and data collection can threaten to undermine the whole research project. Often these projects take years to complete, so there is a lot at stake. Fortunately, though, these researchers persevere, adding to the knowledge of their field. Many of the theories of persuasion deployed in advertising, for example, have their roots in behavioral research conducted in the field by behavioral researchers.

Here's where we weigh in on this question.

First of all, there is some art involved in direct response, but it's not in a laissez-faire approach engendered because it's impossible to easily control all variables. Instead, the "art" in direct response radio advertising is in the form of creatively designing solutions to "field research" challenges in testing design. This is, in fact, the bedrock of continuously improving and refining one's skill and knowledge in this field.

After all, what we're after is the ability to a) make sound decisions based on analysis of the data collected, and to b) replicate successful results - both within campaigns and across campaigns where appropriate. Only a scientific approach will achieve these outcomes.

Achieving success by chance is not a business. It's a lottery. If we take a pure "direct response is art" perspective, what we'd seem to be saying is that all success is due to chance. And we know from experience that success in direct response is not due to chance.

Posted by Jeff Small & Brett Astor at 11:14 AM | Permalink