Decision Support System
The primary purpose of Expert System of Advertising Persuasion (ESAP) is to serve as support for the evaluation of persuasive advertising and to show how to improve ads. It guides the user through
a statement of objectives, an analysis of the product and market, choices of strategies for accomplishing the objectives and ways to execute advertising.
Summary Checklist of Advertising Principles
ESAP is based upon the expertise of leading experts, such as Ogilvy. More importantly, it incorporates generalizations from hundreds of studies from a century of research on persuasion.
While the primary purpose of ESAP is to aid the development of advertisements, it can also be used to test effectiveness. The testing can lead to further refinements by indicating weak areas and implying ways to improve ads.
ESAP can supplement advertising pre-tests by providing explicit advice on how to improve ads. It can be used to integrate target market research or copy testing research on a given product and to point out needs for further research
ESAP can be used for print copy (space ads, brochures, direct mail, poster, billboards, etc.), TV, radio and the Internet. By "copy", we refer to all aspects of production of an ad, but not the media.
To summarize, ESAP is designed to help advertisers use research generalizations for the development of more persuasive copy for an advertising campaign. It will aid in the testing of the efectiveness of ad copy. This can be done on a pretest basis so that changes can be made before the ad is developed in the finished form. It also serves as a guide for determining areas in need of additional target market research and copy testing research
How to use ESAP:
- First download the ESAP Manual (PDF)
- Then download Directions for Using the ESAP (PDF) for explanations as you use the ESAP program.
- Then download the ESAP Program (Excel) and develop and evaluate your advertisement. For those who have used the program previously, note that the scoring column has been changed from a multiplicative to an additive one. This change was made because the ratings are not highly reliable; thus, the total score was quite unreliable. The additive scheme will improve the reliability of the overall scores. Also note that the resulting scores will be higher.
Ethical Guidelines
Techniques for Avoiding Legal/Ethical Problems
- Develop a code of ethics and train people in its use
- List all potential interest groups (who is affected by your advertising?) and then role-play possible reactions
- Write a scenario about the worst possible outcome you could imagine from the ad or a contingency plan.
- Assume that the deliberations for your ad were to be published
- Create an advertising review board and include key interest groups.
- Ask a lawyer to review the ad
Worksheet for evaluating legal/ethical/taste issues
Advertising Education Forum
The Advertising Education Forum focuses on advertising and children. It provides academic and scientific research, including documents published by government, regulators, academics, industry, consumer groups and advertising self-regulatory organizations.
U.S. advertising & marketing laws
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