Questions it can answer
- What advertising channels are working?
- What do people remember about our advertisements?
- What messages are resonating with customers?
What is an ad recall survey?
Ad recall surveys evaluate what people remember after seeing an advertisement. Send it within a week of the ad running, since recall drops off quickly, to evaluate how effective the ad was. Ad recall surveys are generally used in conjunction with data analytics to build a deep understanding of the advert performance. They are also often used where data analytics are indicating an issue with the advertisement and you need to find out what is causing the problem.
Related guide: For sampling and question order, see our survey research guide.
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The questions in this template
These are the questions in the Great Question ad recall survey template. Replace the text in angle brackets with your own.
Have you seen an advert for <insert product or service> in the last week?
Single Select
- Yes
- No
- I don't know or can't remember
Where did you see the advertisement?
Multi Select
- Website
- App
- Social media
- Billboard
- TV
- Public Transport
- Magazine
- Newspaper
- Somewhere else
What do you remember about the advertisement?
Long Text
Did the advert mention <insert topic of advert>?
Single Select
- Yes
- No
- I am not sure or can't remember
Can you tell us anything you remember liking about the advertisement?
Long Text
Can you tell us anything you remember disliking about the advertisement?
Long Text
How has the advert impacted your opinion of <insert product or service>?
Long Text
Advantages
- Develop quick understanding of channel effectiveness
- Can provide ideas for additional advertising
- Insight into message stickiness
Limitations
- May be difficult to find correct audience (they must have seen the advertisement)
- Should be used in conjunction with marketing data on the various ad platforms
- Might end up with biased audience (only those that remember seeing the ads)
Frequently asked questions
What questions measure ad recall?
Start by asking whether people have seen an ad for your product recently, then where they saw it and what they remember. Check whether they recall the main message, then ask what they liked and disliked and how the ad changed their opinion. This template asks those seven.
When should I send an ad recall survey?
Within a week of the ad running, since recall drops off quickly. The template's first question asks whether people have seen the ad in the last week, so send it inside that window.
What is the difference between ad recall and brand awareness?
Ad recall measures whether people remember a specific ad. Brand awareness measures whether they know the brand at all, from any source. See the brand awareness survey template.