Objectively assess advertising success
Advertising success is when advertising objectives are achieved. For a subject to be effective, the target group must perceive its message quickly and accurately. Every two weeks, advertising effectiveness researcher Patrik Zwahlen assesses the persuasive potential and visualization quality of five selected advertising subjects exclusively for Advertising Week, thus providing an objective assessment of your advertising success.
Analysis with method
This brief analysis assesses the communication performance of advertisements with the help of the two metrics "persuasive potential" and "visualization quality". To determine the persuasive potential, Zwahlen first formulates measurable goals such as "sell more," "become better known," or "reduce the frequency of accidents. In order to achieve such goals, the subject needs a credible reason for impact that corresponds to the message. After defining a plausible goal for each ad, the message is unencrypted and written down. A green arrow means that the subject is convincing; a red arrow means that it is not.
With the visualization quality, Zwahlen provides an assessment of whether the message is perceived quickly and without wasted coverage. A green arrow indicates that the ad communicates quickly and without errors. If the subject is marked with a red arrow, misunderstandings and misinterpretations are to be expected.
> Results at a glance (PDF)
> Detailed Results (PDF)

Objectively assess advertising success
Advertising success is when advertising goals are achieved. For a subject to be effective, the target group must perceive its message quickly and without error. Every two weeks, advertising impact researcher Patrik Zwahlen assesses the persuasive potential and visualization quality of five selected ad subjects exclusively for Werbewoche - and thus provides an objective assessment of your advertising success.
Analysis with method
This brief analysis assesses the communication performance of advertisements with the help of the two metrics "persuasive potential" and "visualization quality". To determine the persuasive potential, Zwahlen first formulates measurable goals such as "sell more," "become better known," or "reduce the frequency of accidents. In order to achieve such goals, the subject needs a credible reason for impact that corresponds to the message. After defining a plausible goal for each ad, the message is unencrypted and written down. A green arrow means that the subject is convincing; a red arrow means that it is not.
With the visualization quality, Zwahlen provides an assessment of whether the message is perceived quickly and without wasted coverage. A green arrow indicates that the ad communicates quickly and without errors. If the subject is marked with a red arrow, misunderstandings and misinterpretations are to be expected.
Communication performance of the subject of the "Integration Promotion City of Zurich".
Assumed advertising objective: Behavioral campaign, women are to be treated decently by migrants and Swiss alike (sub-area of integration promotion). Assumed impact reason: Because the appeal convinces both Swiss and foreigners, the advertising objective is achieved.

Background knowledge: Performance and impact
Posters convey a message, that's why we talk about the performance of an advertising medium. With our short
analysis, we monitor the communication performance of subjects and thus perform quality assurance to ensure that the message is received as planned. Could our brief analysis have prevented the social and political misfortunes of this campaign? No. Because it focuses on the "transmission performance," and this is very good, as the negative reactions in the daily press clearly show. Obviously, the posters were seen, read, and thus were extraordinarily effective in advertising. Postal test results would show top marks. Despite all this, a lot of dishes were smashed. More proof that pretests and thus also our brief analysis are no good?
With our brief analysis, we assess whether a strategy (reason for impact) is plausible and whether an ad can work (visualization). We can clearly see where the catch is in this campaign in terms of advertising impact: If you want to influence human behavior, you need a good strategy and professional implementation. The knowledge would be there, it just needs to be used: Behavioral economics ("How expensive is free?"), social psychology ("Foot-into-the-Door-Technique") and last but not least communication research ("Why do we look at something?") etc.
What would have happened if only the Swiss had revealed their rules worthy of imitation (minimizing the risk of discrimination)? What would have happened if the rules had been practicable and realistic (increasing domestic and foreign acceptance)? How would the political competition have reacted if our always bizarre and certainly endearing idiosyncrasies had been taken for a ride with a wink? Self-irony is a good way to communicate tricky rules. Well, the result might just have been a great campaign - and a big budget for next year.

Objectively assess advertising success
Advertising success is when advertising goals are achieved. For a subject to be effective, the target group must perceive its message quickly and without error. Every two weeks, advertising impact researcher Patrik Zwahlen assesses the persuasive potential and visualization quality of five selected ad subjects exclusively for Werbewoche - and thus provides an objective assessment of your advertising success.
Analysis with method
This brief analysis assesses the communication performance of advertisements using the two metrics "persuasion potential" and "visualization quality". To determine the persuasion potential, Zwahlen first formulates measurable goals, such as "sell more", "become better known" or "reduce the frequency of accidents". In order for such goals to be achieved, the subject needs a credible reason for the effect that corresponds to the message. Once a plausible objective has been defined for each ad, the message is set out in writing in an unencrypted form. A green arrow means that the subject is convincing, a red arrow means that it is not.
With the visualization quality, Zwahlen provides an assessment of whether the message is perceived quickly and without wasted coverage. A green arrow indicates that the ad communicates quickly and without errors. If the subject is marked with a red arrow, misunderstandings and misinterpretations are to be expected.
> Results at a glance
> Detailed results

Objectively assess advertising success
Advertising success is when advertising objectives are achieved. For a subject to be effective, the target group must perceive its message quickly and accurately. Every two weeks, advertising effectiveness researcher Patrik Zwahlen assesses the persuasive potential and visualization quality of five selected advertising subjects exclusively for Advertising Week - and thus provides an objective assessment of your advertising success.
Analysis with method
This brief analysis assesses the communication performance of advertisements with the help of the two metrics "persuasive potential" and "visualization quality". To determine the persuasive potential, Zwahlen first formulates measurable goals such as "sell more," "become better known," or "reduce the frequency of accidents. In order to achieve such goals, the subject needs a credible reason for impact that corresponds to the message. After defining a plausible goal for each ad, the message is unencrypted and written down. A green arrow means that the subject is convincing; a red arrow means that it is not.
With the visualization quality, Zwahlen provides an assessment of whether the message is perceived quickly and without wasted coverage. A green arrow indicates that the ad communicates quickly and without errors. If the subject is marked with a red arrow, misunderstandings and misinterpretations are to be expected.
> Results at a glance
> Detailed results

Objectively assess advertising success
Advertising success is when advertising objectives are achieved. For a subject to be effective, the target group must perceive its message quickly and accurately. Every month, advertising effectiveness researcher Patrik Zwahlen evaluates the persuasive potential and visualization quality of five selected advertising subjects exclusively for Werbewoche - and thus provides an objective assessment of their advertising success.
Analysis with method
This brief analysis assesses the communication performance of advertisements using the two metrics "persuasion potential" and "visualization quality". To determine the persuasion potential, Zwahlen first formulates measurable goals such as "sell more", "become better known" or "reduce the frequency of accidents". In order for such goals to be achieved, the subject needs a credible
Reason for effect that corresponds to the message. After defining a plausible objective for each ad, the message is recorded in writing in an uncoded form. A green arrow means that the subject is convincing, a red arrow means that it is not.
With the visualization quality, Zwahlen provides an assessment of whether the message is perceived quickly and without wasted coverage. A green arrow indicates that the ad communicates quickly and without errors. If the subject is marked with a red arrow, misunderstandings and misinterpretations are to be expected.

Communication performance of the HSLU display
Adopted advertising goal: Behavioral campaign, increase this year's enrollment numbers.
Assumed reason for effect: Because readers recognize that the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts provides the knowledge they need to solve the puzzle posed by the advertisement, the advertising objective is achieved.
Background knowledge: Incomprehensible advertising
The opinion that even incomprehensible advertising can have an effect is widespread. The only question is what kind of effect we are talking about. When I talk about advertising impact here, I'm always talking about the final effect, in our case the contacting of potential students with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and of course the increase in enrolment figures.
The assumption that incomprehensible advertising can also have an effect comes from people who are convinced that the effect of advertising cannot be proven due to too many influencing factors, and certainly not for each individual advertising measure. In fact, advertising impact can only be assessed if the communication performance of each individual advertising measure is known. Because each strategy should preferably influence exactly one target variable, all advertising measures of a strategy must also hit the same mark. Accordingly, incomprehensible advertising is the opposite of target-oriented, business-oriented action and is therefore impossible to control and manage.
Unintelligible or misleading means nothing other than that the message of a subject is not understood. However, misunderstanding also means that neither the context (e.g. open day) nor the sender's information help to ensure correct understanding. An "anti-target" is achieved with the misunderstanding. The lack of understanding can be shown as scatter loss - and in monetary units. Misunderstandings are bad luck if they are used to promote the competition. They are unfortunate if they result in legal fees. And they are money thrown away if all you remember is helplessness. Many readers love puzzles, but only if they can be solved in a short space of time. I have never seen a perplexed face that could laugh heartily at its own incomprehension. On the other hand, a convincing story attracts attention, is remembered and does what advertising is supposed to do: Achieve goals. And fortunately, this is also easy to measure.

Objectively assess advertising success
Advertising success is when advertising objectives are achieved. For a subject to be effective, the target group must perceive its message quickly and accurately. Every month, advertising effectiveness researcher Patrik Zwahlen evaluates the persuasive potential and visualization quality of five selected advertising subjects exclusively for Werbewoche - and thus provides an objective assessment of their advertising success.
Analysis with method
This brief analysis assesses the communication performance of advertisements with the help of the two metrics "persuasive potential" and "visualization quality". To determine the persuasive potential, Zwahlen first formulates measurable goals such as "sell more," "become better known," or "reduce the frequency of accidents. In order to achieve such goals, the subject needs a credible reason for impact that corresponds to the message. After defining a plausible goal for each ad, the message is unencrypted and written down. A green arrow means that the subject is convincing; a red arrow means that it is not.
With the visualization quality, Zwahlen provides an assessment of whether the message is perceived quickly and without wasted coverage. A green arrow indicates that the ad communicates quickly and without errors. If the subject is marked with a red arrow, misunderstandings and misinterpretations are to be expected.
> Analyses at a glance
> Detailed analyses

Contact
Dr. Patrik Zwahlen
Managing Director BildKom GmbH
Research Institute for Visual Communication
Phone: 044 380 78 88
Internet: www.bildkom.com

> Detailed analyses of all five subjects (Webcode 4409DetailsAdvertising impact)
Objectively assess advertising success
Advertising success is when advertising objectives are achieved. For a subject to be effective, the target group must perceive its message quickly and accurately. Every month, advertising effectiveness researcher Patrik Zwahlen evaluates the persuasive potential and visualization quality of five selected advertising subjects exclusively for Werbewoche - and thus provides an objective assessment of their advertising success.
Analysis with method
This brief analysis assesses the communication performance of advertisements with the help of the two metrics "persuasion potential" and "visualization quality". To determine the persuasion potential, Zwahlen first formulates measurable goals such as "sell more", "become better known" or "reduce the frequency of accidents". In order for such goals to be achieved, the subject needs a credible reason for the effect that corresponds to the message. After defining a plausible objective for each advertisement, the message is set out in writing in an unencrypted form. A green arrow means that the subject is convincing, a red arrow means that it is not.
With the visualization quality, Zwahlen provides an assessment of whether the message is perceived quickly and without wasted coverage. A green arrow indicates that the ad communicates quickly and without errors. If the subject is marked with a red arrow, misunderstandings and misinterpretations are to be expected.
Communication performance of the SuvaPro display

Assumed advertising target: Behavioral campaign, reduction of accidents in the workplace
Assumed cause of action: Because hospital stays can be very boring, the advertising objective is
achieved.
Indirect information transfer
The longer a topic is advertised, the more knowledge can be assumed on the part of the viewer. This is about accidents in the workplace. The topic is familiar to employees and managers because training has been provided for decades. Nevertheless, there are still too many "unnecessary" accidents at work. According to the texts on the advertisement, people underestimate the objective dangers on the one hand and overestimate their own abilities on the other. The advertisement does not address the cause of accidents, but rather the unpleasant consequences. The sympathetic little dolls and the brutal vice show that accidents can quickly become protracted - and then it gets boring in hospital. All the information needed to understand the message is there. Viewers love puzzles, especially when they are both challenging and solvable.
The authors of the ad localize "unnecessary accidents" in two areas: Assessing the objective potential for accidents and one's own judgment. The ad shows what can happen when someone perceives their workplace as safe and fails to recognize existing hazards. When writing this analysis, I examine my office and try to find personal misjudgments and hidden dangers. Because I also love puzzles, but cannot for the life of me recognize any plausible dangers, I judge this cause of action to be very unrealistic and therefore implausible.
Nevertheless, the ad contains many interesting details that could be discovered. Such details could lead to a deeper examination of the message and would make it easier to remember. However, very few people like to look at blood and fresh injuries. This circumstance leads to a visual and mental break in contact for many people. Whether the metaphor of "boredom" is recognized seems extremely questionable to me. For my part, with a stabilized leg, I wouldn't be agile enough and would be far too snivelling to play puppet theater with my toes.

Objectively assess advertising success
Advertising success is when advertising objectives are achieved. For a subject to be effective, the target group must perceive its message quickly and accurately. Every month, advertising effectiveness researcher Patrik Zwahlen evaluates the persuasive potential and visualization quality of five selected advertising subjects exclusively for Werbewoche - and thus provides an objective assessment of their advertising success.
Analysis with method
This brief analysis assesses the communication performance of advertisements with the help of the two metrics "persuasion potential" and "visualization quality". To determine the persuasion potential, Zwahlen first formulates measurable goals such as "sell more", "become better known" or "reduce the frequency of accidents". In order for such goals to be achieved, the subject needs a credible reason for the effect that corresponds to the message. After defining a plausible objective for each advertisement, the message is set out in writing in an unencrypted form. A green arrow means that the subject is convincing, a red arrow means that it is not.
With the visualization quality, Zwahlen provides an assessment of whether the message is perceived quickly and without scatter loss. A green arrow indicates that the ad communicates quickly and without errors. If the subject is marked with a red arrow, many misunderstandings and misinterpretations are to be expected.
> Gaining attention for a good cause
> Detailed analysis of all five subjects (Webcode 4009DetailsAdvertising impact)

Dr. Patrick Zwahlen, Managing Director
BildKom GmbH Research Institute for
visual communication.
Telephone: 044 380 78 88.
Internet: www.bildkom.com