Chapter 48
Recognition

Determining whether consumers remember the company, ad, or product when they are shown its advertisement again.

Recognition research asks: have you been exposed to this brand (or product, or ad campaign) before? This and similar questions are used to gauge the consumer’s awareness.

Measuring recognition can reveal whether or not an advertising campaign is remembered by consumers. However, recognition is really the weaker cousin of recall, since it requires that the consumer be prompted directly with the name of the company, product, or description of the literal advertising message.

Note on Recognition and Recall

High recognition and low recall is not ideal when viewed through the lens of advertising effectiveness because it means consumers remember the ad, product, or company only after being prompted. High recall is better. But high recognition and high recall is best, assuming the combination is a positive association, not negative. Niche brands tend to have high recall with loyal consumers, but low overall recall and recognition in the general market. The combination of high recall and high recognition can often result in positive feelings from consumers. Familiarity often leads to successful advertising and premium perceptions over less-known rivals. Of course, familiarity can also breed contempt or indifference from excessive message repetition or irritating advertising. Finally, since part of the reason companies market themselves is to build trust with consumers, their efforts to advertise and, thereby, attract attention often signaling that they believe in their products and are willing to stand by them in public. At least, one hopes that is the case.

A key question that marketers must consider is: What are good levels of recall and recognition? Both recall and recognition are measures of awareness, but is an awareness level of 30% good or bad? The answer depends entirely on the product and industry. For example, 30% awareness may be low if the metric is for a consumer products company with multiple brand names.

For example, let’s look at laundry detergent. Tide, from Procter and Gamble, is well known in most parts of the world. It is the category leader, and has been for years. In asking consumers if they can name a laundry detergent brand, Tide is likely to be one of several brands mentioned, indicating good recall. Alternatively, if consumers were asked if they have heard of Tide, the likelihood of “Yes” being the answer is also quite high, indicating high recognition. Both indicate a high level of awareness. But what is that level? Let’s assume that the awareness level is 90%, which would mean that Tide is mentioned nine out of ten times in surveys that ask respondents if they can name a brand of laundry detergent (recall) or if they remember the brand called Tide (recognition). But what is the awareness level if respondents can name Tide seven times out of ten, but can remember it nine times out of ten when prompted? The answer is unclear, highlighting the challenge of precisely measuring awareness.

If a competitor’s (let’s call them “Xtra Sparkle”) awareness level among consumers is 30% in this category, then clearly the competitor is cited and remembered less than Tide. Is 30% good? Compared to Tide, it is clearly not as good. Is 30% bad? Perhaps “bad” is an overstatement. This is somewhat specific to the context, and there is no set level that is considered a good level of awareness. When compared to Tide, Xtra Sparkle does not generate the same level of awareness. Alternatively, if Xtra Sparkle had been launched in the past year or two, then 30% awareness signals rapid growth and Tide might have cause for concern. Conversely, if Xtra Sparkle had been around as long as Tide, then its 30% awareness level would not be as impressive.

Similar to recall (Measure 47), recognition data is from surveys, focus groups, interviews conducted by an independent third-party market research firm, or through an in-house research project.

iC. Doyle, Collins Internet-Linked Dictionary of Marketing (HarperCollins, 2003, 2005), 275; T. Ambler, Marketing and the Bottom Line (FT Prentice Hall, 2003).