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Flemington, NJ, August 22, 2008 – Results of a national focus group among 314 Americans revealed that Barack Obama’s “Seven” ad had marginal impact on voter support after they viewed the ad.
The study was conducted August 21, among self-reported Democrats, Republicans and independents by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) to obtain Americans’ perceptions of a new ad by Barack Obama which suggests that Senator McCain can’t remember the number of homes he owns and connecting this claim to his understanding of the economy.
The Seven ad received a Political Communications Impact Score of 5.3, which fell below the mean score of 9.6 reflecting results of the Obama and McCain ads tested since July 22. The political communications impact score (PCIS) measures voter movement based on pre/post viewing of an ad, speech or debate response. Based on the testing results from these advertisements, the mean score for Obama ads was 10.9; McCain’s ads received a mean score of 8.3; and ads from both campaigns combined received a mean score of 9.6.
The PCIS is a metric scoring system designed to gauge the effectiveness of political communications by generating a score for each candidate to monitor changes in voter perceptions. The PCIS score is derived from the change in voters’ support and the extent that the support shifts. To view scores and results of recent studies go to:
http://www.mediacurves.com/PCIS/
Among other findings:
Responders were asked scale questions regarding leadership attributes regarding Senator McCain before and after viewing the ad. There was little change in these perceptions. The attribute most impact by this ad was “accountability” in which McCain lost 5% among all responders.
|
|
Before Viewing Ad |
After Viewing Ad |
||||||
|
Total |
Registered Democrat |
Registered Republican |
Registered Independent |
Total |
Registered Democrat |
Registered Republican |
Registered Independent |
|
|
He is hard working. |
34% |
24% |
52% |
26% |
29% |
15% |
49% |
23% |
|
He is honest. |
12% |
-6% |
34% |
6% |
8% |
-16% |
33% |
7% |
|
He is concerned about people like me. |
1% |
-25% |
30% |
-4% |
-1% |
-31% |
32% |
-4% |
|
He is fighting for a change. |
0% |
-24% |
26% |
-4% |
-1% |
-31% |
30% |
-3% |
|
He will represent my values. |
2% |
-30% |
35% |
0% |
0% |
-36% |
35% |
-2% |
|
He is not tied to special interests. |
-13% |
-30% |
6% |
-17% |
-13% |
-34% |
12% |
-19% |
|
He is accountable. |
15% |
-2% |
37% |
10% |
10% |
-15% |
37% |
7% |
|
He is firm and consistent in his views. |
13% |
-6% |
35% |
10% |
9% |
-14% |
34% |
5% |
While viewing the video, participants indicated their levels of believability by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants’ emotions were measured using the Ayer Emotion Battery. Participants were also asked pre- and post-viewing questions. To view believability curves and detailed results go to: www.mediacurves.com.
The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research or Chris Borick, Ph.D., director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net).
HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based communications research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues. For additional information on Muhlenberg College, go to www.muhlenberg.edu
