Tax Relief Measures Ad Campaign - Phase V - Concept and Message Testing

Prepared for the:
Canada Revenue Agency
December 2011
Contract # 46558-120178/001/CY
POR: 021-11

Prepared by:
Phase 5 Consulting Group Inc.

Media Enquiries:
Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
4th Floor 555 MacKenzie Avenue
Ottawa ON K1A 0L5
media.relations@cra-arc.gc.ca

Executive Summary

Background and Objectives:

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is launching Phase V of the Tax Relief Measures advertising campaign which will run from January to March 2012. The next phase of the campaign reflects the objectives of previous campaigns and includes:

• raising awareness that the federal government has put in place tax relief measures that impact the majority of Canadian taxpayers;
• encouraging Canadians to look for information about these measures; and
• increasing the percentage of Canadians who claim tax credits and benefits, file their returns electronically, and file their returns on time.

In order to ensure a successful campaign, the CRA commissioned Phase 5 to conduct an online survey to assess the relative effectiveness of two creative concepts being submitted by the advertising agency. The two creative concepts that were tested are called ‘Kinetic’ and ‘Working For You’. For each concept we tested two 15-second TV clips, one print ad, and one radio ad.

The specific objectives of this research included:

• identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the two creative approaches;
• determining which approach is strongest in terms of communicating the ad campaign’s intended messages; and
• identifying ways in which the various ads might be revised to improve their effectiveness.

Research Approach:

The overall approach to the work involved an online survey with 599 members of the target audience. The survey utilized an online panel operated by Opinion Search Inc. As an online panel relies on participants who have self selected to participate in the panel the findings cannot be described as statistically representative of the target population. However, respondents have been drawn to reflect specific Canadian audiences and the overall results have been weighted to better reflect the Canadian population. Setting quotas and weighting the data allowed us to obtain results that reflect the Canadian population with the use of very small weights (large weights can have a negative impact on result validity and reliability).

For this exercise:

• all 599 respondents rated both TV ad concepts (i.e. each respondent evaluated a 15 second generic TV ad and a 15 second specific TV ad that highlighted the first-time home buyers and public transit grouping, for both TV ad concepts);
• 300 respondents evaluated the ‘Kinetic’ print ad, and 299 evaluated the ‘Working For You’ print ad; and
• 297 respondents evaluated the ‘Kinetic’ radio ad, and 302 evaluated the ‘Working For You’ radio ad.

The online survey was administered between November 1st and November 7th, 2011 and took approximately 13 minutes to complete.

The total (actual) cost of this research project was $34,985.51 (HST included).

Key findings

• The tax relief measure ads (TV, print, and radio) for both concepts were fairly well received by Canadians.. More than half of respondents said they liked each of the ads ‘a lot’ or ‘a bit’, with few indicating they actually disliked the ads. The aspects most well liked for both TV ad concepts are that they give examples of available tax relief measures and are short and to the point.
• Both TV ad concepts effectively convey the core messages. Respondents’ comments indicate that both TV ad concepts did an excellent job of communicating that there are tax relief measures available for the majority of Canadians, and to a lesser extent that it pays to file on time and electronically.
  • Caveat: This latter message caused confusion among some respondents. They felt the message was indicating that tax credit eligibility is dependent on filing electronically and on time, while other respondents are unclear as to ‘WHY’ it pays or makes sense to file electronically and on time.
• The ‘Kinetic’ TV ad concept was preferred by a small margin. Overall the ‘Kinetic’ TV ad concept was slightly better liked by respondents and performed better on all key performance indicators compared to the ‘Working For You’ TV ad concept. The most marked differences were for its ability to catch attention (55% versus 46%) and convey that it makes sense to file on time (60% versus 50%) and electronically (58% versus 47%). It also received a higher overall effectiveness rating (53% versus 46%). In addition, the ‘Kinetic’ TV ad concept was slightly more positively received by all key audiences across the country (e.g. by gender, age, income, and province).
  • Compared to the ‘Working For You’ TV ad concept, a relatively higher proportion of respondents liked the presentation of the ‘Kinetic’ TV ad concept specifically commenting on the:
    • strong use of graphics / colour / animation;
    • catchy background music; and
    • lively, upbeat, modern feel, and attention-grabbing.
• The ‘Working For You’ print ad was preferred by a small margin. Overall, the ‘Working For You’ print ad was better liked by respondents, and performed better on most key performance indicators compared to the ‘Kinetic’ print ad.
• The ‘Kinetic’ Radio ad was preferred by a small margin. Overall, the ‘Kinetic’ radio ad was better liked by respondents, and performed better on all key performance indicators compared to the ‘Working For You’ radio ad.

Recommendations:

The reader should note that the following recommendations are based on this research only and our assessment of which concept would most effectively address the stated communication objectives.

The CRA should consider the following if proceeding with the ‘Kinetic’ concept.

TV

• Clarify the message – "It pays to file electronically and on time". This created confusion as some respondents misinterpreted, or did not understand, the relationship between this message and tax relief measures. TV ads should aim to bridge this gap by explaining this message’s relevance to tax relief measures or by clearly indicating that the messages are not related. To encourage Canadians who do not currently file electronically, there is a need to help them understand the benefits of doing so.
• Consider reducing the pace of the ads. Some respondents felt the pace of these ads was a bit too fast and caused them to miss important information. Without losing the upbeat and modern tone (which respondents liked), consider presenting the information in these ads a bit more slowly.
• Ensure the Web site address is more prominently displayed. Some respondents noted that the Web site appeared for only a short time at the end of the ads, while others missed the Web site altogether. One common suggestion was that the Web site be displayed throughout the ads (i.e. Find out more about tax cuts at cra.gc.ca/tax cuts).

Print

• Improve the colour scheme and graphics. The most often suggested improvement was related to the ‘Kinetic’ print ad’s colour scheme and graphics. Many respondents disliked the orange background, finding it hard on the eyes and unappealing. Some respondents also noted that the graphics were blurry.
• Enlarge the most pertinent text. Respondents indicated that the most important information in the ad was too small. Several suggested enlarging the font size of the tax credit amounts and the CRA’s Web site.

Radio

• Consider reducing the volume of the background music. Some respondents indicated that the volume of the background music was too loud, distracting them from the information being presented.
• Simplify / spell out Web site address. Respondents suggested that the CRA’s Web site address be presented more clearly, so that they can remember the URL which will enable them to go online to find out more about available tax relief measures.

In the event that the CRA decides to proceed with the ‘Working For You’ advertising concept, it should consider the following.

TV

• Continue with ‘real people’ vignettes / examples. For the most part, the approach of using ‘real people’ to showcase tax relief measures did a very good job conveying the message that there is a range of tax relief measures available to a variety of Canadians. However, be cautious not to exclude certain demographics with the ‘real’ people examples. A review of the verbatim comments suggests that some respondents felt these ads did not apply to them since they could not relate to the people used as examples within the ads. For example, some respondents felt excluded from these ads because they are targeted at more wealthy Canadians (e.g. Brenda wears a suit, the Lees just purchased a new home, the family owns a piano, and the man runs his own business).
• Clarify the message – "It makes sense to file electronically and on time". This message caused confusion among some respondents, and few agreed strongly that the ad conveys this message.

Print

• Continue with the format of displaying images for a variety of tax cuts. This ad did a good job conveying the message that the federal government has tax relief measures in place that benefit many Canadians. While the most often cited improvement for this ad was to reduce the amount of information and focus the ad towards more targeted individuals and tax cuts (13%); it is our belief, based on the open-ended responses, that this is a main success factor of this ad and helps to address one of the core communication messages (i.e. ‘raising awareness that the federal government has put in place tax relief measures that impact the majority of Canadian taxpayers’).
• Enlarge the most pertinent text. As with the ‘Kinetic’ print ad, respondents indicated that the most important information in the ad was too small. Several suggested enlarging the font size of the tax credit amounts and the CRA’s Web site.
• Consider improving the colour scheme and graphics. Scores for catching attention and visual appeal show room for improvement. The CRA should consider variations of colour schemes, fonts, and images to make the ads more vibrant and attention grabbing.
• Clarify the message – "It makes sense to file electronically and on time". Few respondents agreed strongly that this ad conveys this message.

Radio

• Almost half of respondents could not think of anything in particular requiring improvements in this ad. No suggested improvements received meaningful or strong support. That said, the same recommendations for the ‘Kinetic’ radio ad do apply.
  • Some indicated the background music was a distraction and the volume should be reduced.
  • Simplifying / spelling out the Web site address as clearly as possible is important to ensure the audience can remember the URL which will enable them to go online to find out more about available tax relief measures.