Pitting the Mall Against the Internet In Advertising-Research Completion Internet Panels Are More Popular. Are They More Effective?

摘要

Internet surveys-particularly those utilizing panels of consumers-have supplanted the mall intercept as the method of choice for many advertising researchers. Internet surveys are estimated to be growing at a rate of almost 14 percent per year, with as much as 35 percent of all advertising research conducted using Internet panels. One question remains: How do the data utilizing Internet panels compare with mall-intercept data? This empirical study seeks to answer this question by replicating four mall-intercept studies using an Internet panel. Print, broadcast, and Internet ads were tested using the same products/brands, test and control ads, screening criteria, and survey questions. The results showed some differences, particularly with responses to open-end questions. The results also demonstrated that much of that difference appeared to be due to the influence of the researcher in the mall-intercept environment, a factor not present with Internet-panel surveys.