Using the Theory of Signal Detection to Improve Ad Recognition Testing

Abstract

Recognition tests are a very popular means of assessing the memory effectiveness of advertisements. Unfortunately the recognition scores obtained by current methods reflect both the memory for an advertisement and the response biases of the respondents. The authors introduce the theory of signal detection (TSD) which can be used to secure independent estimates of memory and response bias in recognition tests. They discuss how TSD can be used to improve ad recognition testing.