Southeastern advert testing

Research

Southeastern had created an advert to increase awareness of the value for money of Off-Peak train travel as well as the wealth of destinations in London and Kent and things to do on their network. The ad had been planned to go out across a range of video on demand platforms including Sky, ITV and All4.

The client wished to conduct TV ad test research to ensure that customers would receive and act as intended. Specifically, the research objectives were:

• Measure the advert on its relevance, messaging/content and its call to action
• Identify the general awareness of Off-Peak value for money
• Show there are plenty of reasons to travel, and destinations to visit, Off-Peak on the client’s rail network
• Measure whether viewers could identify that the ad had come from the Southeastern

Approach

Two focus groups were conducted, one of which were respondents that had used the client's network for leisure reasons and commuting, the other with potential users in the right catchment area. Each group consisted of a mix of age, gender and ethnicity. The discussion in each group included a number of exercises including image associations and step by step feedback on the advert.

Outcomes

The ad was well received, and satisfaction was best amongst leisure travellers already making similar journeys on the client’s network.

The travel Off-Peak message had been received well in the TV ad and prompted people to plan more long term or think about rail travel as part of their holiday plans.