ADPLAN Framework

Advertisements can be, and often are, evaluated on a variety of different metrics, such as creativity and liking. The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University has developed a framework that emphasizes the assessment of advertising from a strategic perspective. Our overall goal is to use our strategic assessment to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of an ad with respect to increasing sales and building the brand. Our assessments of advertisements reflect six dimensions arising from academic research: attention, distinction, positioning, linkage, amplification, and net equity (ADPLAN). Each dimension can be taken into consideration when evaluating an advertising campaign. The ADPLAN criteria will be used by Kellogg students to evaluate ads from a strategic perspective during the Kellogg School's annual Super Bowl Advertising Review.

Attention- Advertising can benefit from consumers paying attention to ad information. Attention, or lack thereof, can often aid or hinder recall not only of the advertisement but of the brand and its position. Given the often cluttered and fierce environment that advertisements compete in, attention requires the aid of a captive audience, repeated exposures, a clever execution, or a combination of these or other factors. For example, Apple's "1984" Super Bowl advertisement has often been lauded for catching consumer attention as a result of its unique execution and high production values.

Distinction- Even if an advertisement is attention-grabbing, it is important that a brand's advertisement is distinct from competitors. If an advertisement does not separate itself from the competition, the message might be lost in the mass of advertising or even lead to confusion over the brand. Consider TAG body spray, which entered the market using a very similar style to AXE. This approach risked reminding consumers of the leading brand, rather than solely advertising TAG. A truly distinct ad makes it nearly impossible for consumers to mistake the brand being advertised. An example of good distinction is Budweiser's campaign revolving around frogs uttering the brand name, "Bud-weis-er." This created an ad execution that could not be easily mistaken or emulated by competitors.

Positioning- Advertising executions can be evaluated with respect to whether they clearly convey the frame of reference (the category the brand desires to compete in or the ultimate goal the brand addresses) and the point of difference (how the brand is superior to competitors on some attribute). Creating and maintaining a frame of reference helps consumers know what their consideration set is for a category, and a point of difference provides a reason for purchasing one brand over another. As an illustration of the importance of positioning, 7UP's classic "uncola" campaign helped position a brand that was typically thought of as a mixer into the soda category by associating it with meals, snacks, and friends. The campaign continued by differentiating 7UP from competitors by focusing on the brand being fresh tasting and thirst quenching. Strong positioning communicates to the consumer how to think of the brand (frame of reference) and why it should be used over others in the category (point of difference).

Linkage- Advertising that draws attention, is distinct from competitors, and has solid positioning can sputter if consumers cannot link the advertisement to the brand or the benefits it offers. For example, it is possible that consumers might remember part of an advertisement but forget another part. If the forgotten piece of information is the brand itself, or the positioning of the brand, this could reduce the potential effectiveness of the advertisement. Some creative efforts to attract attention or create distinctiveness might come at the cost of linkage. For example, advertisers might attempt to garner attention by telling an entertaining story and revealing the brand only at the end of the advertising. Ameriquest employed this strategy during the 2006 Super Bowl by showing situations that could be misinterpreted and ending by telling consumers not to judge too quickly. This execution risked poor linkage of the brand to the advertisement, with one ad critic even awarding the brand the unenviable award of, "The ad I liked the most, but whose brand I forgot the fastest." Hence, regardless of whether an advertisement grabs attention or is distinct, it is important to consider whether there is good linkage present.

Amplification- Consumers often "amplify," or think about the message content, after receiving it. That is, consumers have their own thoughts or idiosyncratic responses to advertisements. As a result, consumers' own cognitive responses play a critical role in determining whether the ad has a favorable or unfavorable affect on consumers' opinions and likeability of the brand. For example, Grape-Nuts, trying to find a new way to advertise their brand in the 1980s, tested several television ads in a series of test markets. They found that some of these ads led consumers to produce negative thoughts to the message.

Net Equity- Over time, brands develop a history and equity. For example, BMW is often associated with being the ultimate driving machine and Budweiser is often associated with being the king of beers. This equity has important affects on consumers' reactions and behavior (e.g., their reactions to blind taste tests). As it often takes years, even decades, to build equity it is important to consider how a particular advertisement or advertising campaign relates to and builds upon the net equity of a brand. Brand equity can be leveraged to strengthen position in an advertisement, and advertising can be used to reinforce the total or net equity of the brand. Walking away from equity might have adverse effects for a brand. For instance, Tic Tac initially positioned their breath mints as producing fresh breath and being powerful. However, in the 1990s the brand began to portray itself as low calorie. Because people likely do not associate low calories with a powerful breath mint, this might have aided Altoids which positioned itself squarely on power and was able to steal share from Tic Tac. Hence, it is important to consider whether an execution maintains, builds, or damages the equity of the brand.