In tracking and evaluating communication effects (awareness, attitude or behavior changes) it is crucial to make a distinction between exposed and non-exposed parts of the target group or population to be able to isolate the effect. Therefore, most surveys include questions on the past or general media behavior of respondents. These questions give an approximate idea of the respondent’s opportunity to see the campaign during the last weeks or the campaign period. In the case of day after recall of television campaigns, the respondents can be asked precise questions about their viewing behavior in defined day parts or even quarter hour per quarter hour. In that case the OTS can be estimated very precisely.  Most tracking research however, is more focused on tracking changes in effects over longer campaign periods. In that case it is more difficult to ask the respondents very precise day per day and day part per day part questions about their viewing behavior. Therefore the media questionnaire is most commonly limited to channel by channel frequency of viewing questions to measure whether a respondent has had an opportunity to see the campaign or not. Based on that frequency question, heavy and light exposure groups can be isolated in a very approximate way.

In most communication effect studies new samples are drawn for every new wave. Most of the time the questions are asked in continuous, multi-client omnibus surveys. Face-to-face or telephone interviewing were until recently the preferred methods. Today running research via the internet offers a number of advantages in terms of cost, speed and possibilities to use all kinds of stimuli (except smell and taste). But, just changing the data collection ‘medium’ does not necessarily solve the problem of the missing link between exposure and effect. MEDIAH is therefore developing ‘CHEETA’, a tracking and analysis tool that will lift communication effect tracking and analysis to a higher level.

The central engine, without revealing too much detail at this stage, consists of cross channel behaviour data from a proprietary questionnaire (including all traditional media and more) available on all members of a large online panel and a tool to evaluate the exposure level of the panel members to communication campaigns (based on the detailed campaign schedule). The campaign effects (tracking of brand and campaign awareness, attitudes, buying intention,… through samples from the panel) can in such a way be directly linked to the real exposures of the respondents with the campaign. The exposure-effect analysis programm then allows to evaluate the contribution of the exposures by channel or combination of channnels to the overall campaign effect. Besides the channel exposure evaluation the CHEETA programm also includes the assessment of the creative work by communication channel. In this way the advertiser can dispose of a complete and accurate tool to track the ROI of his communication investments.

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