John Philip Jones Set To Cause Stir At Conference

At this year’s European Advertising Effectiveness Symposium in Paris on the 26^th-27^th of this month, John Philip Jones of the University of Syracuse will present accounts of two important developments in the US which could have significant implications for the European advertising industry.

Jones claims that studies conducted in the States indicate that the waste of advertising resources can be measured in hundreds of billions of dollars – money spent on campaigns that do not work or that work only partially. He further states that the top 30% of American campaigns are significantly more effective in generating immediate sales than the top 30% of campaigns in either Germany or the UK.

In his report Jones traces the ways in which a number of major packaged goods companies have been moving away from the ‘effective frequency’ model of three OTS within the purchase interval to the relatively new concept of ‘continuity scheduling’, which minimises the diminishing returns on repeat advertising exposure. He will then present the findings of his major study into advertising pre-tests in the States.

Jones concludes that quantitative pre-tests have enormous potential for ‘reducing the uncertainties of advertising decision-making’. Jones expresses the view that there are many fewer doubts about such tests in the US than in Europe and calls on European practitioners to ‘forget their prejudices’. As is the case with the ‘effective frequency’ debate, Jones argues that much is to be gained if the issues are approached in a ‘positive and, above all, experimental’ fashion.

For further information contact Mike Sainsbury or Kate Maitland Smith, asi: 44 (0)1273 772741 or e-mail: [email protected]