POR-010-12
Contract No. 08170-120093-001-CY
Contract date: 08-09-2012
Fieldwork Dates: 10-10-2012 – 10-11-2012
DFAIT Creative Concept Testing for the Travel.gc.ca Website
October 31, 2012 by TNS
Prepared for
Department of Foreign Affair and International Trade
Executive Summary
Ce rapport est disponible en français sur demande.
Research Objectives
- To measure the effectiveness of creative artwork and campaign messages.
- To determine the level to which the creative artwork and campaign messages resonates with the intended target audience.
- To test the language for clarity, credibility, and overall impact. It is important that participants are able to clearly understand the information provided in the materials.
- To understand what participants perceive to be the main message(s) communicated by the materials.
- To test the materials content for effectiveness as calls to action.
- To gather suggestions for potential changes to make the content more effective at reaching the target audience.
Approach
- A total of eight (8) online focus groups; four each in English and French.
- Groups were conducted over a two day period; October 10-11, 2012. On each day, English and French groups were conducted concurrently at 4:30 and 6:30pm
- Four population segments were targeted:
- Canadians 24-54, skewed towards women
- Multicultural communities, defined as those who have family residing outside of Canada
- Snowbirds – those 50 years plus who spend at least 3 months of the winter south of the border
- Youth, 18-24 years who are independent travelers, i.e. travel outside of Canada without their parents, either alone or with their peers
- One group in each official language was conducted with each segment.
- All participants must be Canadian citizens and have an interest in travelling outside of Canada within the next seven years.
- All participants were recruited from TNS’ Online Panel and were provided an incentive of $50.
Political Neutrality Certification
I hereby certify as Senior Officer of TNS Canadian Facts 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 include information on electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the electorate or ratings of the performance of a political party or its leaders.
Norman Baillie-David, CMRP
Vice President, Director of Public Opinion Research
Total Study Cost
The total cost of this study, excluding HST, amounted to $44,137.95.
Recommendations
Suitcase would be the recommended concept to proceed with if DFAIT is required to select one for advertising for the new Travel.gc.ca website.
- The creative and vibrant visuals were seen as a pleasant change from the Government’s usual “business-like” approach to advertising.
- The slogan “Travelling abroad? Travel Safe. Travel.gc.ca” was seen as simple, clear, and to the point.
- The concept and executions clearly communicate it is a Government of Canada ad, as long as the watermark/logo is included. This leads to a high degree of trust.
- An online and mobile advertising approach would be most effective;
- Airport ads would attract minimal interest.
- Suggestions for improvements include:
- Leveraging the positive aspects of the other two concepts, specifically providing more comprehensive travel information (as opposed to focusing only on safety).
- Improving the implementation of web takeover ads so that it blends in more seamlessly with the host website (minimizing clutter and disjointedness).
DFAIT will use the results to improve the creative concepts so that the Travel.gc.ca website resonates with the target audience in the intended manner.