PRE-TESTING OF NEW CREATIVE ELEMENTS OF THE REGISTERED DISABILITY SAVINGS PLAN (RDSP) ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

POR Registration #: 018-10
Contract #: G9178-100001/004/CY
Contract Date: Aug. 10, 2010
Cost (inc. HST): $54,912.35

Executive Summary

Prepared for:

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

nc-por-rop-gd@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

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October 2010

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Budget 2007 announced the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), the Canada Disability Savings Grant (grant) and the Canada Disability Savings Bond (bond) to help people with disabilities and their families save for long-term financial security. Providing Canadians with necessary information to learn about and apply for an RDSP, grant and bond is essential to the success of this initiative, particularly as the RDSP is relatively new and complex.

It is estimated that 380,000 Canadians (age 60 and under) are eligible for the Disability Tax Credit, and thus potentially eligible for the RDSP. As such, there is a need for increased awareness and take-up of the RDSP, grant and bond. The initial advertising campaign to promote the RDSP was designed to create overall awareness of the RDSP, grant and bond. New print creative materials are being developed to specifically target parents of children with disabilities (children aged 49 and under).

The purpose of the research was to test creative concepts for new print ads among the primary intended target audience, parents or legal guardians of children with disabilities (children aged 49 and under). The three print ad concepts were Pen Power, Verres, and Equation. Also tested was a “short copy” version of the body copy, and a “long copy” version which provided additional information about eligibility requirements. The fieldwork was conducted September 14-16, 2010.

Overall Impact of the Ads:  While some participants were the parent/guardian of a person with a disability for whom a RDSP had already been established, for the majority a RDSP had not yet been set up. Virtually all of the latter participants said that as a result of seeing the advertising they would take the next step of finding out more about the RDSP, typically by going to the disabilitysavings.gc.ca website (the ads also provided a 1-800 number). While to some extent the focus group environment may have contributed to this positive impact, the following were specific factors that motivated intent to take action:

• Some participants had not previously heard of the RDSP, and the ads made them aware of the program and its key benefits.
• Some participants had heard of the program but knew little about it. Among this group, the advertising communicated two motivating pieces of information:
  • Additional money is contributed by government: Some of these participants said they had assumed that all the money in the RDSP has to come from the individual (in their case, as parent or guardian). These participants said they paid no further attention to the RDSP because they did not have any money available to contribute to a savings plan, particularly given the high costs that can be associated with caring for people with a more severe disability. The references in the ad to the grant and bond were new and important information.
  • The program applies to children over the age of majority (i.e., adults) as well as children under the age of majority: Some participants with adult children were under the impression the RDSP only applies to children under the age of majority, and as a result did not try to learn more about the program.

Ad Concept Preference: Pen Power was preferred by a wide margin over both Verres and Equation in all locations and groups. Most participants said they would be more likely to stop and read Pen Power, and most said they preferred it overall in terms of appearance and the headline. Key perceived strong points included:

• Inclusion of pictures of people with a disability, which attract attention, quickly convey the general topic of the ad, create an emotional connection, and convey information on who might be eligible for the RDSP.
• The headline, which is I’m afraid for her future – but importantly with the word afraid crossed out and replaced with the word planning.
  
  The headline was widely perceived as being attention-getting and as evoking an emotional response. The word afraid was perceived as stating an emotion that parents sometimes feel and which they therefore identify with, and replacing that word with planning evokes a sense of hope and of some ability to deal with the fear.

Pen Power was initially presented using the Mother/Daughter version of the ad, and the Adult version was introduced later in the discussion. There were three significant issues with the Mother/Daughter version of Pen Power raised by participants which will need to be addressed:

• Main mother/daughter image: Quite a few participants did not immediately realize that the girl in the picture is seated in a wheelchair, and this can create some initial confusion as to what the ad is about. An image should be used where the child more visibly has a disability.
• Range of pictures shown: The key issue is that quite a few participants said the Mother/Daughter ad gives the impression the RDSP is only for “children” – i.e., people with disabilities under the age of majority. Many participants said the range of pictures should include some adults as well as children in order to more accurately convey who might be eligible for the RDSP. When the Adult version of the ad was shown, there was widespread support for also running this ad in order to help reach adults with disabilities, but there would still be a need to revise the pictures used in the Mother/Daughter ad.
  There was also discussion of inclusion of images of people with “invisible” disabilities or mental disabilities in order to be representative of the target group, although some were concerned this might lessen the effectiveness of the ad in quickly conveying to a reader that the ad is about a program for people with disabilities.
• Swoosh Design: Participants much preferred the swoosh design in the Adult Pen Power ad because it allows use of larger pictures as compared to the swoosh design used in the Mother/Daughter ad.

Reactions to Body Copy: The three ad concepts were first presented and discussed using the “short copy” versions of the body copy. Following this discussion, the “long copy” version was introduced, and participants were asked to compare the two versions.

Overall, it will be a judgment call as to which version of the copy should be used. Providing the images in Pen Power can be revised to also convey adult eligibility for the RDSP, the short copy version is sufficient to attract attention and to motivate the target group to seek more detailed information on the web or by phone. For some, the long copy version is perceived to provide useful information on eligibility, although they would likely see this information subsequently on the web (or by phone) as well. If the long copy version is used, the French text should be examined further, as it appears to generate some confusion around the distinction between age 49 and age 60.

Political Neutrality Certification

I hereby certify as a Senior Officer of Sage Research Corporation 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.

Signed:

Rick Robson
Vice-President
Sage Research Corporation