The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) is a nonprofit

industry association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. Through collaboration between compani ...

for creating, aggregating, and sharing knowledge in the fields of

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

and

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

. It was founded in 1936 by the

Association of National Advertisers Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

and the

American Association of Advertising Agencies The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) is a U.S. trade association for advertising agencies which was founded in 1917. It serves over 600 member agencies across 1,200 offices, which control more than 85% of total U.S. advertising ...

. Its stated mission is to improve the practice of

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

and media research in pursuit of more effective marketing and advertising communications. Its membership consists of over 400 advertisers,

advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

, research firms,

media companies Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises bot ...

, educational institutions and international organizations. The ARF conducts several research initiatives. It publishes the ''Journal of Advertising Research'', a

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

academic

periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

. It also sponsors a variety of advertising-related

marketing research Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, and analysis of qualitative data, qualitative and quantitative data, quantitative data about issues relating to marketing products and services. The goal is to identify and assess how chan ...

endeavours and hosts periodic conferences on advertising and media-related topics. The ARF operates the ''Roy Morgan Information Center'' as a clearinghouse for advertising research, promulgating industry standards and guidelines, and it provides training and administers the annual '' David Ogilvy Awards Program''.

Knowledge Center

ARF's Knowledge Center houses original historical reports, papers and videos developed during the formative years of the advertising research industry. Established in 1953 to serve as a central resource for materials relating to advertising research, the ARF Knowledge Center also offers specialized tools and services to help ARF members keep up-to-date with the latest knowledge applicable to business needs.

History

The Advertising Research Agency was formed in 1936. During its first 15 years, ARF sponsored over 200 studies including studies involving newspapers, farm magazines, business magazines, and an executive management publication. In the beginning of the 1950s, the ARF began working with

in addition to advertisers and agencies. The agency supervised a study on household ownership of radio & television sets in 1954. It also published "Recommended Standards for Radio & Television Program Audience Size Measurements," in 1954. In 1955 the ARF influenced the U.S. Census Bureau to include a TV ownership question in its questionnaires. Research companies were invited to become ARF members in 1967. During the 1990s, the ARF spearheaded

primary research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

in studies such as the ''Copy Research Validity Project'', which redefined the area of

copy testing Copy testing is a specialized field of marketing research, that determines an advertisement's effectiveness based on consumer responses, feedback, and behavior. Also known as pre-testing, it might address all media channels including television, ...

, and the ''ARF/Ad Council Study'' to determine the impact of public service advertising. More recently, the ARF has pioneered efforts to define advertising engagement and to measure consumers' emotional responses to advertising.

Forums

The ARF hosts forums, which are meetings and presentations where industry experts and members can share knowledge and information. Forums are held in the ARF's NYC office located at 432 Park Avenue South and are also available virtually.

Notes

References

The ARF website
{{Authority control Market research Advertising organizations