Government of Canada’s COVID-19 economic response plan advertising
campaign: ACET survey, Fall 2020 - Winter 2021
Methodological
Report
Executive Summary
Submitted to:
Department of Finance
Canada
For more information on
this report, please email:
Submitted by:
|
Supplier Name: |
Narrative Research |
|
Supplier Address: |
5001-7071 Bayers
Road, Halifax, NS B3L 2C2 |
|
Contact Phone: |
902.493.3820 |
|
Contact Fax: |
902.493.3879 |
|
POR Number: |
POR 043-20 |
|
Contract Number: |
60074-200698/001/CY |
|
Contract Value: |
$58,826.17 |
|
Contract Award Date: |
October 6, 2020 |
|
Delivery Date: |
March 24, 2021 |
Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français
Table of Contents
Political
Neutrality Statement and Contact Information
Copyright
Government of Canada’s COVID-19 economic response plan
advertising campaign: ACET survey, Fall 2020 - Winter 2021
Methodological Report
Prepared
for Department of Finance Canada
Supplier Name: Narrative Research Inc.
February 2021
This report presents the methodological
details for the Testing Recall of the COVID-19 Recovery Response Plan
Advertising: Fall 2020 Campaign ACET study conducted by Narrative Research Inc.
on behalf of the Department of Finance Canada (“Finance Canada”). The survey
for the pre-advertising campaign wave was administered among 2,046 members of
the adult Canadian general public aged 18 years and older, between October 13
and 16, 2020, while the post-advertising campaign wave was conducted with 2,000
respondents of the adult Canadian general public aged 18 years and older,
between December 16 and 21,
2020.
Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français sous le
titre: Campagne publicitaire sur le plan d’intervention
économique du gouvernement du Canada en réponse à la COVID-19 : sondage OECP
automne 2020 - hiver 2021
This publication may be reproduced for
non-commercial purposes only. Prior written permission must be obtained from
the Department of Finance Canada. For more information on this report, please
contact the Department of Finance Canada at:
por-rop@fin.gc.ca or at:
90 Elgin St.
Ottawa,
Ontario K1A 0G5
Canada
PDF Catalogue
Number - English: F2-281/2-2021E-PDF
PDF International
Standard Book Number (ISBN): 978-0-660-37631-8
PDF Catalogue
Number - French: F2-281/2-2021F-PDF
PDF ISBN - French: 978-0-660-37633-2
Related
publications (registration
number: POR 043-20)
Paper Catalogue
Number - English: F2-281/2-2021E
Paper International
Standard Book Number (ISBN): 978-0-660-37632-5
Paper Catalogue
Number - French: F2-281/2-2021F
Paper ISBN - French: 978-0-660-37634-9
© Her
Majesty the Queen in right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of the
Department of Finance Canada, 2021
Executive Summary
Background
The Department of Finance Canada has
implemented an umbrella advertising campaign to support the Government of
Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, which is integral to meeting the
Government’s priority of uniting and building a stronger, more inclusive and resilient country during these uncertain
times. The overarching objective of this advertising campaign was to continue
to inform Canadians and increase awareness and take-up of key initiatives,
programs, and benefits within Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery
Plan. The pre-wave and post-wave campaign surveys explored such topics as:
·
Whether Canadians recalled seeing, reading, or
hearing any Government of Canada advertising about economic measures related to
COVID-19, over the preceding three weeks;
·
Whether Canadians recalled where they saw,
read, or heard a Government of Canada ad about economic measures related to
COVID-19;
·
What Canadians remembered about the Government
of Canada advertising they saw, read, or heard; and
·
Whether Canadians recalled seeing, reading, or
hearing of actions the Government of Canada is undertaking to help Canadians
since the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
It is understood that as programs evolve, it
is important for Finance Canada to continue to gauge Canadians’ awareness of relevant
programs and services Therefore, the Fall 2020 iterations of research touched
on both the requirements for measuring ad recall (via the Advertising Campaign
Evaluation Tool, or ACET, as required by the Government of Canada's Policy on
Communications and Federal Identity), as well as awareness of new
programs and changes to existing COVID-19 financial support offered by the
Government of Canada.
Research Objectives
The
purpose of the quantitative research was to assess recall of and reactions to the
advertising campaign. At the highest level, the purpose of the research is to evaluate
the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. More specifically, the research objectives
included:
·
Measuring
unaided recall of advertising;
·
Measuring
aided recall of advertising;
·
Assessing
the level of understanding of the key messages of the advertising campaign;
·
Assessing
the level of action taken as a result of seeing or hearing the advertising;
·
Gauging
the level of awareness of who was responsible for commissioning the advertising;
and
·
Other
matters of relevance to Finance Canada at the time of surveying.
Target Population
Canadians over the age of 18, as well as a
secondary audience of Canada’s business community, were the target audiences
for the 2020 COVID-19 Response Campaigns. As well, additional quotas were set
to target specific groups such as Indigenous and First Nations, low-income
households (<$40K), and young adults (18-24 years), whereby analysis of
these groups was facilitated. Data was gathered from a general public online
research panel modelling key demographics of Canadian males and females within
the aforementioned age groups. Online
surveys of the adult Canadian general public (18+ years of age) were undertaken
in two waves with the initial wave being conducted from October 13 to 16, 2020,
and the subsequent wave being conducted from December 16 to 21, 2020.
The initial or
pre-campaign/baseline wave required an average of approximately 9 minutes to
administer, while the post-campaign wave required an average of 13 minutes to
administer. The participation rate was 19 per cent for the October wave, while
the December wave achieved a participation rate of 21 per cent. The email
contact records for the research were drawn from panelists administered by The
Logit Group of Toronto, Ontario. As noted, there was a total of 2,046 useable
surveys completed in the pre-campaign wave, and 2,000 surveys
completed in the post-campaign wave.
Research
Usage
The objective of the
research activity was to measure pre-campaign and post-campaign recall and
effectiveness of the COVID-19 Recovery Response Plan Advertising Campaign that
ran from October 2020 to December 2020.
These evaluations were
designed to suggest the effectiveness of the selected advertising campaigns in
shifting attitudes, beliefs and behaviours,
by measuring (and comparing) awareness of the subject matter. Campaign placements
were on Facebook, YouTube, web banner ads, radio (Spotify), out-of-home
placements, and television.
The findings from
this study will be used by the Department of Finance Canada to monitor the
effectiveness of the media campaign, the efficiency of the media placement, and
provide information to enhance the effectiveness of the umbrella campaign. Given that this online survey methodology used a non-probability
sampling approach, the data collected cannot be extrapolated to the Canadian
general public adult population 18+ years of age. As per standard
analysis norms for research studies of this nature, the final data sets from
each survey wave were statistically weighted in terms of region, age, and
gender, such that the tabular results closely match the true distribution of
adult Canadians along these pivotal demographic dimensions.
Expenditure
The survey entailed the
expenditure of $58,826.17, including HST.
Political Neutrality Statement and Contact Information
I hereby certify as
a Senior Officer of Narrative Research that the deliverables fully comply with
the Government of Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the
Communications Policy of the Government of Canada and Procedures for Planning
and Contracting Public Opinion Research. Specifically, the deliverables do not
contain any reference to electoral voting intentions, political party
preferences, standings with the electorate, or ratings of the performance of a
political party or its leader.
Peter MacIntosh
Chief Research Officer & Partner
Narrative Research
pmacintosh@narrativeresearch.ca
902-493-3832