Ad relevance

Additions, clarifications, extended definition

In advertising research, ad relevance and liking are measured using questionnaire items such as:

"How interesting or useful was the ad for you?"

"How much did it relate to your interests or life situation?"

"How would you describe your impression of the ad (pleasant, annoying, funny, boring…)?"

The results are usually expressed as a percentage or using a relevance index or liking score, e.g. on a five-point or ten-point scale.

In practice, two levels are often distinguished: relevance of ads – the extent to which the ad matches the user's interests, needs or context; liking of ads – the extent to which the user likes the ad or perceives it positively.

These two dimensions are related but not identical. An ad may be highly relevant (it addresses a current problem) but not necessarily liked (it may be serious or emotionally intense). Conversely, a well-liked ad may not be relevant to the purchase decision.

Interpretation

A high relevance score indicates the ad speaks the "right language" and matches the interests of the target group. A high liking score suggests the ad evokes positive emotions, entertains or inspires.

In terms of communication effectiveness, positive perception of an ad significantly increases the likelihood of the message being remembered and of goodwill towards the brand.

Watch out: limits and risks of distortion

• Ad evaluation is subjective – results depend on the respondent's personality, mood and experience.
• High liking does not automatically mean an effective ad. An ad may be funny and popular but weakly linked to the brand or product.
• Low liking is not necessarily a problem if the ad deliberately provokes or attracts attention in an unconventional way (e.g. in campaigns on social issues).
• In the online environment, relevance may be influenced by ad targeting – users respond better to personalised messages but may feel they are being tracked.
• Survey responses may suffer from social desirability bias – people declare they "don't like" ads even though they are subconsciously influenced by them.

Where and how to measure

• Ad relevance and liking are measured predominantly through research, most often using post-campaign questionnaires or brand lift studies. These are conducted through research agencies (e.g. Kantar, Ipsos, Nielsen, Behavio) or automated platform tools such as Google Brand Lift Study, Meta Brand Lift or YouTube Ads Recall Survey.

Context

This metric is often evaluated in context with other indicators – with brand recall, which shows whether people also recalled the brand, with brand memorability, which reveals whether they remembered the main idea, and with ad relevance, which measures how personally interesting and fitting the ad seemed to them. Only the combination of these metrics provides a complete picture of how the ad performed in the audience's mind – from noticing it through to understanding it and forming a relationship with it.