The advertising industry has experienced monumental change over the last few years. To offer members the crucial insights they need to stay ahead in these unparalleled times, the ARF conducts original research that tackles our industry’s most pressing questions. Look at our exciting agenda below.
The Relative Contribution of Media vs. Creative vs. Targeting, and Premium vs. USG
What is the contribution of media, ad creative and targeting when it comes to the success of an ad? A 2015 NCS study suggested it was 50% creative and 50% everything else, while a recent MMA survey among CMOs concluded there are three equal contributors: media, creative and brand. However, CMOs tend to be brand-focused. Another important question is the contribution of targeting and where it belongs in the framework. Finally, what are the differences in impact between professionally developed content and user-generated content (UGC)?
The ARF has partnered with MediaScience to conduct an experiment that will look at the relative contribution of these factors while controlling for things such as brand size. The study will include familiar and unfamiliar brands, targeted and untargeted brands and large and small brands. Tested media include audio, linear TV, digital display, digital video, social media and outdoor. The results of these tests will be published on the ARF website.
Format and Schedule: A formal report will be released in January 2025.
Artificial Intelligence and Advertising Research
Significant developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology have occurred in the last two years. AI is now used in the industry to help produce advertising, analyze advertising placements, improve SEO, optimize CRM copy to avoid spam filters, or ensure ad copy complies with effectiveness frameworks.
Last year, The ARF put leading GenAI LLMs through their paces on all things advertising research, putting out the first-of-its-kind handbook containing all of the findings. We also offer two abridged versions, a brief Knowledge at Hand report and a one-page CMO Brief.
This year, ARF researchers will continue experimenting with the top AI programs and evaluate their capabilities in ARF researchers used top AI programs to evaluate their capabilities in report writing, survey writing and design, synthetic research and fraud detection.
Format and Schedule: The updated handbook will be available on our website in late Q1 of 2025 on this page and through PowerSearch.
The Attention Measurement Validation Initiative
ARF CEO and President Scott McDonald announced the launch of this project at the Attention 2022 event to understand better the different attention metric tools that exist, their validity, reproducibility and rightful application, whether analyzing advertising creative or the media environment. This is important, as attention metrics have moved from the lab to the marketplace. The study aims to parse out differing definitions of attention and emotion and their relationship to direct measures of neurometric response. It will also evaluate synthetic measures of attention, based on AI and machine learning approaches.
Format & Schedule: The ARF released its initial findings in the Phase 1 report released in October. An update to the Phase One Report was released in April. The results of the Phase Two Report, which is a comparison of the different creative testing methodologies, were revealed at the Attention 2024 event. Phase Three will focus on attention to different media platforms. We expect Phase Three to be completed in late Q1 of 2025.
The final product will include best practice recommendations, proposed standards for adoption by auditing organizations such as the MRC, and key questions that buyers of these services should ask when evaluating prospective vendors.
To learn more, email ARF CRO Paul Donato at: pdonato@thearf.org.
Or read the article, The ARF Attention Measurement Validation Initiative: The How & Why.
The ARF Attention and Metrics Survey
The ARF will survey its advertiser and agency members to determine their knowledge about and usage of attention metrics. The survey will also ask what metrics the buying community uses across different media platforms.
Format and Schedule:
The survey will be conducted through Qualtrics and will be disseminated among advertiser and agency members in Q1 of 2025.
Future Media Planning
What will the impact of AI and other technologies be? In this current media landscape, what are the best practices for using different media channels, especially CTV, streaming, online video and programmatic? What role does each channel play? Which channels work best for new brands? For different campaign objectives?
Format and Schedule:
This study will evaluate the impact of AI on media planning. Expect a report on this page and available via PowerSearch by Q3 of 2025.
Brand Safety in Turbulent Times
Specifically, News adjacency by platform, segment and cohort. Most recent literature is based on Covid but the upcoming news cycle is likely to be very different. Recent surveys suggest there is an impact but biometric and neuro measures suggest little or no impact despite the context effect. Which is correct?
Format and Schedule:
Expect this report to be available on this page and through PowerSearch in Q3 of 2025.
Cross-Platform Calibration
There is an MRC standard that suggests that if panels are used to calibrate big data, they need to be of high quality and high probability in nature. Several have questioned whether other types of samples may be fit for use. This project will survey the methods used but those generating audience data and attempt to address the question of “fit for use.”
Format and Schedule:
This report will be made available on this page and through PowerSearch in Q3 of 2025.
Sonic Branding
This study will evaluate the differences between sonic brands as generated through AI versus traditional creative.
Format and Schedule:
The report is expected to be released on the ARF website and through PowerSearch in Q2 of 2025.
Advertising and Disabilities
Several questions will be added to the 2024 Organizational Benchmark study that measures the advertising research community’s awareness of and adherence to federal guidelines derived from the Americans with Disabilities Act. This study will measure how often internal and external clients request information on using techniques, such as text-to-voice, in online surveys to represent the visually impaired.
Format and Schedule:
The report is expected to be released on the ARF website and through PowerSearch in Q1 of 2025.
The Advertising Industry Gen AI Monitor
What services does your company use, what do they use it for and how satisfied are they for that particular use? The annual monitor will cover:
- Adoption and Usage Business and Operational Impact
- Creativity and Innovation
- Engagement and Personalization
- Ethics, Privacy and Compliance
- Satisfaction with Different Tools
Format and Schedule: Expect the first report of this new annual series to be on this page and available through PowerSearch in Q3 of 2025.
The 7th Annual Privacy Survey
One of the ARF’s most anticipated studies for membership and the press, the seventh annual study contains the perennial questions regarding mobile and PC usage, willingness to share digital data, trust in institutions and how well privacy terms are understood. The 2022 and 2023 versions added questions on what changes in information the public is willing to share and under what circumstances they are willing to share such information. One new aspect of the 2023 report was it contained longitudinal findings across all recent years.
The full 2023 report was released in January 2024. It is available on our website and through PowerSearch.
Format and Schedule: The seventh annual study will be released in February 2025.
The State of the Research and Analytics Disciplines (Organizational Benchmark Survey)
This project’s aim is to understand the state of advertising research and analytics departments and how they change over time. In 2019, when the project began, research departments were overwhelmed with big data and unique questions started cropping up. Using a Qualtrics platform, the Organizational Benchmark Survey sought to understand these vast changes, including what these departments were calling themselves, how they were being structured, where investment was being allocated, how staffing was being undertaken, what kinds of collaboration was being made and how the research was being evaluated.
Format & Schedule: The first survey was conducted in 2019 on a Qualtrics platform and produced five separate reports: Advertiser, Agency, Media & Entertainment, Consultancy and Research Company. The 2nd survey was conducted 2020-2021. This is a unique report, as the timing of the data overlaps with the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2024 Benchmark Survey will be released in February of 2025.
The David Ogilvy Database
What is the relationship between brand and sales advertising? To find out, the ARF is creating a database to enable research on the subject. The annual project’s debut will include over 120 Ogilvy applicants.
The ARF has harmonized this effort with a similar project conducted by IPA in the UK. Each entry will include the brand and product category, age, share, consideration, pricing position, growth, sales cycle, campaign objective, primary target, media plan, competitive strategy, outcomes, research used and brand equity.
Format & Schedule: The database has been compiled and is available now as a CSV file. Contact your member manager or email us at membership@thearf.org to access the data and for a codebook. Each spring, additional applications will be added to the database.