DAGMAR Approach in Advertising: Defining Goals & Measuring Results
DAGMAR: Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results
In 1961, Russell Colley prepared a report for the Association of National Advertisers titled Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results (DAGMAR). In it, Colley developed a model for setting advertising objectives and measuring the results of an ad campaign. The major thesis of the DAGMAR model is that communications effects are the logical basis for advertising goals and objectives against which success or failure should be measured. Under the DAGMAR approach, an advertising goal involves a communications task that is specific and measurable. A communications task, as opposed to a marketing task, can be performed by, and attributed to, advertising rather than to a combination of several marketing factors. Colley proposed that the communications task be based on a hierarchical model of the communications process with four stages.
The Four Stages of the DAGMAR Model
- Awareness: Making the consumer aware of the existence of the brand or company.
- Comprehension: Developing an understanding of what the product is and what it will do for the consumer.
- Conviction: Developing a mental disposition in the consumer to buy the product.
- Action: Getting the consumer to purchase the product.
Concrete, Measurable Tasks
The communications task specified in the objective should be a precise statement of what appeal or message the advertiser wants to communicate to the target audience. Advertisers generally use a copy platform to describe their basic message. The objective or copy platform statement should be specific and clear enough to guide the creative specialists who develop the advertising message.
Target Audience
Another important characteristic of good objectives is a well-defined target audience. The primary target audience for a company’s product or service is described in the situation analysis. It may be based on descriptive variables such as geography, demographics, and psychographics (on which advertising media selection decisions are based) as well as on behavioral variables such as usage rate or benefits sought.
Benchmark and Degree of Change Sought
To set objectives, one must know the target audience’s present status concerning response hierarchy variables such as awareness, knowledge, image, attitudes, and intentions and then determine the degree to which consumers must be changed by the campaign. Determining the target market’s present position regarding the various response stages requires benchmark measures.
Specified Time Period
A final consideration in setting advertising objectives is specifying the time period in which they must be accomplished. Appropriate time periods can range from a few days to a year or more. Most ad campaigns specify time periods from a few months to a year, depending on the situation facing the advertiser and the type of response being sought.
Criticisms of DAGMAR
While DAGMAR has contributed to the advertising planning process, it has not been totally accepted by everyone in the advertising field. A number of problems have led to questions regarding its value as a planning tool:
Problems with the Response Hierarchy
A major criticism of the DAGMAR approach is its reliance on the hierarchy of effects model. The fact that consumers do not always go through this sequence of communications effects before making a purchase has been recognized, and alternative response models have been developed. Much of the criticism stems from the argument that the World Wide Web has significantly changed the consumer’s decision-making process from a linear one to one in which consumers can enter or leave at any stage, resulting in a more circular process. DAGMAR MOD II recognizes that the appropriate response model depends on the situation and emphasizes identifying the sequence of decision-making steps that apply in a buying situation.
Sales Objectives
Another objection to DAGMAR comes from those who argue that the only relevant measure of advertising objectives is sales. They have little tolerance for ad campaigns that achieve communications objectives but fail to increase sales. Advertising is seen as effective only if it induces consumers to make a purchase. The problems with this logic were addressed in our discussion of communications objectives.
Practicality and Costs
Another criticism of DAGMAR concerns the difficulties involved in implementing it. Money must be spent on research to establish quantitative benchmarks and measure changes in the response hierarchy. This is costly and time-consuming and can lead to considerable disagreement over method, criteria, measures, and so forth. Many critics argue that DAGMAR is practical only for large companies with big advertising and research budgets. Many firms do not want to spend the money needed to use DAGMAR effectively.
Inhibition of Creativity
A final criticism of DAGMAR is that it inhibits advertising creativity by imposing too much structure on the people responsible for developing the advertising. Many creative personnel think the DAGMAR approach is too concerned with quantitative assessment of a campaign’s impact on awareness, brand name recall, or specific persuasion measures. The emphasis is on passing the numbers test rather than developing a message that is truly creative and contributes to brand equity.