Market research case study · Campaign effectiveness
BrandX campaign effectiveness
A potato chip brand spent $2.5 million on a six-week television campaign to reposition itself as premium. Did it work, and what should the next wave change? This case study follows the question from brief to boardroom in six steps.
Portfolio simulation. BrandX is a fictional brand and every respondent record is synthetic. The research design, field management, SPSS syntax, weighting and reporting are the ones I would use on a live commercial study, and every figure on these pages comes from the weighted tables in Step 5.
The question
BrandX is a mid-tier chip brand with about 12% of the Canadian category. The campaign set out to move it upmarket by selling high-quality ingredients, a distinctive crunch and stronger flavour. Before the next media plan, the executive team needed to know three things: whether the campaign moved brand health, whether it communicated the premium message it was built to carry, and where it worked best.
The study measures brand-health outcomes, not sales or return on investment. That boundary is set in Step 1 and held through to the recommendations, so nothing on these pages claims a financial return.
The study
Design
Post-test-only comparison of Channel A and B viewers (exposed) with non-viewers (control). Exposed means opportunity to see, not verified viewing.
Sample
Online panel of Canadians 18+, quotas by gender, age, region and study group. 1,295 field records, 1,095 completes, 1,000 valid cases after quality control.
Analysis
Rim weighting by age, gender and province. SPSS Custom Tables with two-proportion z-tests at 95% confidence. Weighted percentages, unweighted bases.
What the research found
Exposure lifts every stage of the funnel
All six brand measures are higher in the exposed group and every gap is significant at 95%. Awareness moves most: aided awareness rises by 26 points and unaided recall nearly doubles. Impression moves least, so reach is running ahead of persuasion.
| Measure | Control | Exposed | Comparison bar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unaided recall | 16% | 30% | |
| Aided awareness | 53% | 79% | |
| Brand impression, 9-10 (among aware) | 25% | 38% | |
| Familiarity, top-2 box | 41% | 57% | |
| Consideration, top-2 box | 36% | 58% | |
| Promoters, 9-10 | 18% | 35% |
Base: all respondents, exposed n = 500, control n = 500; impression among those aware of BrandX. NPS improves from −51 to −9 but stays negative in both groups.
The ad was enjoyed, but it sold taste
Among exposed respondents, 65% recall recent BrandX advertising and 60% enjoyed the ad. Asked for its main message, 34% name great taste and flavour against 19% for high-quality ingredients, the positioning the campaign was built to carry. Unprompted answers point the same way.
It lands with heavy users and younger adults
Within the exposed group, unaided recall is 48% among heavy chip users against 17% among light users, and 41% among 18-34s against 21% among those 55+. The 55+ and rural groups show no significant lift in unaided recall.
Recommendations
Sustain the campaign
Keep it in market and protect the budget. Use these lifts as the benchmark for the next wave, and keep closing the aided-awareness gap with Lay's and Pringles through reach.
Sharpen the message
Taste is what lands, so lead with it, and add one clear reason to believe, ingredients or crunch, to turn recall into a stronger impression.
Target where it lands
Weight media toward heavy chip users and 18-34s. Test other channels or creative for 55+ and rural audiences before the next flight.
Methods and tools
Read the case study
Six steps, in the order a commercial study runs. Each one stands on its own if you would rather go straight to the part you care about.
The business decision, the research problem, the priorities and what is out of scope.
Step 2ApproachThree frameworks, six objectives with working hypotheses, and the project plan.
Step 3Research designExposed versus control, the quota plan, and a clickable preview of the questionnaire.
Step 4FieldworkFourteen days of quota management, response monitoring and quality control.
Step 5AnalysisCleaning, coding, weighting and the SPSS syntax behind every table.
Step 6ReportThe executive story, the stakeholder deck and the recommendations.
New to market research? Read how the market research process works, a short guide that uses this study as its worked example.