An evaluation of advertising strategies developed according to the FCB grid and the Bendinger formula

Abstract

This thesis argues that the FCB (Foote, Cone and Belding) grid can not only be used by advertising students to write strategy, but also to write superior strategies. To demonstrate this, the research in this study identifies two versions of the FCB grid that can serve as guidelines for students when writing advertising strategy. The argument is substantiated by the results of a statistical analysis of strategies written according to the FCB grid and the Bendinger formula. A discussion of the areas which were researched and led to the introduction of the FCB grid, as well as an explanation of the FCB grid, provide the context in which the grid should be viewed as a guideline for writing advertising strategy. Thereafter, a summative overview of what advertising strategy and the Bendinger formula encompass, identifies the complexed nature of advertising strategy, as well as the minimum areas which need to be addressed when attempting to write strategy. A detailed discussion of the method which was employed and the instrument developed to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies, precedes the experimental results. A critical discussion of the results obtained from the statistical analysis and the literature on advertising strategy provide a theoretical foundation on which a model, to be used in conjunction with the FCB grid to write strategy, is designed. The model is then explained to illustrate how students can, in conjunction with the FCB grid, apply it to write advertising strategy. This thesis recommends that, in order to improve on the suggested method of evaluating strategies, the measurement scale developed in this study could be considered as a starting point. A further recommendation is that the experiment comparing strategies written according to the FCB sextant grid to those written according to the FCB quadrant grid, could provide the need for further research. The thesis concludes that as far as could be determined, this was the first time that a study of this nature was undertaken and that the need for future research to validate this study and its results, exists.