Multimedia CAPI : The view from both sides of the fence

Multimedia computer aided personal interviewing (CAPI) is a new research tool that offers benefits for the evaluation of advertising campaigns. It can provide more accurate measures of awareness than standard CAPI or paper and pen methods, particularly for television and radio advertising. This paper examines the implications of using this methodology for evaluating mass media campaigns. Experiences of the research practitioner and research commissioner are considered, with a particular focus on measurement and interpretation. This demonstrates that while Multimedia CAPI offers a powerful measurement tool for tracking advertising awareness, it should not be the sole focus. Clarity about what constitutes an indicator of 'success' is necessary. Other indicators are still important when assessing success, and should not be overlooked in favour of improved technical measures of awareness. The implications of using results from such a survey and presenting them to different stakeholders are discussed. We have taken as a case study the Communications Tracking Survey conducted by BMRB International on behalf of the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) which is used to track awareness of HEBS mass media activity.