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. An industry trade association partici ...

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

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

and

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit informati ...

. It was founded in 1936 by the

Association of National Advertisers The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) represents the marketing community in the United States. Its headquarters is in New York City and it has another office in Washington, D.C. ANA's membership includes over 600 companies with 25,000 b ...

and the

American Association of Advertising Agencies The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's) is a U.S. trade association for advertising agencies. founded in 1917. It serves over 700+ member agencies across 1,300 offices, which control more than 85% of total U.S. advertising spend. ...

. Its stated mission is to improve the practice of

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

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

advertiser Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

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 generally ...

, research firms,

media companies Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information e ...

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

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also example ...

. It also sponsors a variety of advertising-related

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

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 ''

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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 The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

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 t ...

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

copy testing {{marketing 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 te ...

, 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

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References

The ARF website
Market research Advertising organizations