Concept and Message Testing: Phase IV Tax Relief Measures Ad Campaign Individual Portion

Prepared for the:
Canada Revenue Agency
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
March 25, 2011
POR No: 055-10
Contract No: 46558-111443/001/CY
Fieldwork Date: October 29-November 2, 2010

Prepared by:
Angus Reid Public Opinion

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To request a full copy of this report, please contact Library and Archives Canada at: 613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777 or www.collectionscanada.ca.

Media Enquiries:
Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
4th Floor 555 MacKenzie Avenue
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
media.relations@cra-arc.gc.ca

Executive Summary

Research Purposes and Objectives

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) required pre-testing research of three print ads and three television ads conceived as part of an effort to increase awareness among individuals of the tax relief measures recently introduced by the Government of Canada (GoC), as well as to increase the percentage of Canadians who file their tax returns on time and electronically, and who pay what they owe on time.

CRA, working with their creative agency, had developed three advertising concepts and were interested in knowing which of the three concepts was most effective in achieving the above mentioned goals.

Key Findings

Results from our study show that all three ads effectively communicate the CRA's core messages. A strong majority of respondents like the ads and describe them as clear, memorable and relevant. The ads also have a positive impact on stated calls to action such as filling your tax return before the deadline and going online to find out more about cuts you may be entitled to.

All three ads fared differently in terms of which one best communicates specific calls to action and messages – there is no clear "winner" strictly speaking, although the Working ad does score marginally higher in terms of likeability and communicates messages and stated call to action statements with roughly the same efficacy as the Neighbourhood ad. The Working ad also comes out as the most preferred ad when we apply statistical analysis to identify the rank order of the preferred ads.

The three print ads scored a little less well than the television ads, but this is not surprising given that people prefer evaluating an ad where there is movement. That being said, the three ads still scored very well in the print versions and the Working ad again comes out – marginally – as the ad that is most liked.

Despite the strength of all three ads, the survey yielded some important insight into how each ad could be improved upon, both in terms of wording, content and layout.

What's Working

A strong majority of respondents indicate that the ads are effective in communicating that there are government tax credits available, some of the specific types of tax cuts that are available and that they can go online for more information. Answers to open ended questions asking respondents to describe the main messages of the ads were consistent with the actual messages, suggesting that the ads communicate these messages well.

A strong majority of respondents believe the ads are both memorable and relevant to them, suggesting that these ads are likely to have a broad appeal to the Canadian public.

As a result of looking at the ads, a majority of respondents say they will be more likely to go online and find out more about tax cuts they may be entitled to, claim a tax credit, file by the deadline, pay outstanding balances owed to the government on time and file electronically.

Challenges/ Opportunities for Improvement

While the ads are effective in communicating their key messages, the ad pre-test uncovers possible areas of improvement. In general terms, some respondents found the ads to be text heavy. Using our virtual highlighter tool, we were able to discern specific parts of the text that were less popular than others. Some respondents also felt the images depicted in the ad did not convey a message that was relevant to them and they did not recognize how they could personally benefit.

Looking ad: Of the three ads, the Looking ad generated the most negative comments about the creative elements and the layout. Many respondents also found the messages in this ad to be slightly confusing and hard to follow.

Working ad: Though this ad tested better than the Looking ad, some respondents still commented that they did not like the "look" of the ad and did not like some of the specific graphics. Some respondents felt that the number of people in the ad was distracting.

Neighbourhood ad: Fewer respondents had negative comments with respect to this ad compared to the others, though some did mention that the message was hard to keep up with.

Methodological Overview

The survey was completed online by a group of 337 respondents who were members of the Angus Reid Forum, an online access panel of roughly 98 000 Canadians (described in greater detail in the report). The sample included 100 members of the general population and several subgroups which included new home owners, low and middle income Canadians, parents with children under the age of 16, tradespersons and senior citizens.

The survey consisted of about 20 questions, including 8 open ended questions. The television ads were tested in sequential monadic order and one of the three print ads was then shown to respondents on a random basis. The median time for completing the survey was 14 minutes and 14 seconds. A pretest was done prior to full launch to check for completion rates, unexpected break-off points or negative feedback from respondents. When none of these was found, the survey was fully launched. The survey fielded October 29, 2010 to November 2, 2010.

The total cost for the project was $28,443.80 (including taxes)

Extrapolation of Findings

The ads were shown to respondents in a manner that does not completely reflect how they would be consumed once fully launched. A host of other factors, such as when and where the ad is used can affect its overall effectiveness. While we believe the findings contained in this report are very helpful in assessing the overall effectiveness and potential breakthrough of the ad, results cannot be fully extrapolated to all individuals in Canada.

Date modified:

2011-05-13