Findings From The Pre-Wa

Of The e-file Advertising Trackin

Prepared For:

The Internal Revenue Service

and

FCB Advertising/NY

January 2003

Publication 4208 (6-2003)Catalog Number 36965K
Research Background & Purpos

 Each year, the IRS and its advertising agency conduct 

determine the impact of e-file advertising and 

awareness of e-file. 

 Previous waves of this research have been very n

advertising awareness and recall, with no linkage conducted for e-file. Specifically, compared to all oth

earlier waves:

 Referred to e-file products differently (using different product name Asked awareness and usage questions differently.  And qualified respondents differently.

 As FCB began its work for IRS in 2002, it recommend

that this study should be modified and aligned with 

studies so that advertising tracking could, for the integrated into the total e-file research program.
Background & Purpose (Cont’d.)

 Among the changes made to the tracking study:

 The study was shifted to a pre-post research design, with one wa

start of advertising and another after the end of advertising -- this 

e-file situation that can be attributed to the annual advertising cam

 The new study now qualifies respondents, refers to e-file produ

exactly the same way as all other e-file research studies.

 The study includes, for the first time, an augment of Spanish-langu

in our understanding of the impact of e-file advertising on this segm

 And, we can now read results by all of the various segments which 

e-file research (e.g., the attitudinal segments, the behavioral seetc.)

 Following is a brief report of the Pre-Wave of the new 

results from this wave only, with no comparison to thresearch (since the study is now so fundamentally 

previous waves). The report on the Post-Wave (at include detailed analysis of pre-to-post results, in totavarious segments now included in the study.
Research Methodology

 Following is a summary of how the Advertising Trackin

conducted...

 It is conducted by telephone from RMR’s national telephone intervie It includes a nationally-representative sample of Taxpayers age 18

filed taxes last year (the same criteria as in other e-file studies). 

assure that it represents the roughly 50/50 gender split of the Taxp

 The sample is drawn from an “RDD”(“random digit dialing”) 

Sampling (the research industry’s premier sampling house). An RDunlisted HHs as well as directory-listed HHs are included in the stud

 The sample size in each wave is approximately 500 total random 

this Pre-Wave), with Spanish-language Taxpayers augmented 

readable sub-sample of 100 such Taxpayers (the list for this aug

Survey Sampling and is based on their Spanish surname list).

 Interviewing for the Pre-Wave was conducted during the period o

15, 2002, or approximately one month before the start of the new 

Interviewing for the Post-Wave will occur after the new e-file camp
Summary Of Results

From The Pre-Wave

Note: With only Pre-Wave data available at this point, this is simply position prior to advertising -- among the total sample and those seFiler, V-Coders, Quitters, e-file Users and Non-Users, and Spanish-

be identified without the benefit of the Taxpayer Attitudinal Troccurs later). Detailed findings of advertising impact will be provided in the Postwe will have pre-to-post changes to analyze. The Post-Wave reanalysis of changes across all segments -- those mentioned asegments to be identified in the Taxpayer Attitudinal Tracking Stusegments and the attitudes toward e-file segments.

Statistical Note: a circle indicates that the data from a sub-group than the balance of the sample and a box indicates data that is sigexception: Page 20, where a special statistical note at the bottom ostatistical comparison.
Filing Method

Awareness & Usage
Unaided (Voluntary) Aware

n

ess o

f 

 In th

e Pre-Wa

v

e, “

net” 

u

n

aided a

w

arenes

s of a

n

y of the e-file filing 

aware

n

e

s

s o

f s

p

e

cific meth

o

d

s was less t

han 50% in 

e

ach case. N

high

er, nat

urally, amo

ng 

e-file Users, but n

otably low a

mong t

he Spa

ni

also have lo

w

er a

w

areness of the paper filing metho

ds).

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

U

naid

e

d Awaren

ess Of

...

e-file (Net Mentions, Any Name)

82 85 94 74 79 75 

Elec. Filing Using A 

Tax Professional

4

8

4

0 51 4

6 53 43 

On-Line Filing (Net) 37 43 54 28 32 35 

...

With On-Line C

o

m

pany 20 25 24 16 17 15 

...

With S

oftwar

e 24 24 41 14 21 26 

T

eleFile 20 35 28 15 12 16 

e-file (Unsp

ecifie

d) 15 15 20 15 12 12 

S

elf-Pre

pare

d Pap

er Return 61 72 82 51 53 54 

Paid Professional Pap

er Return 57 49 45 63 63 67 

Q. 1 -- Please describe all the methods of filing Federal income taxes that you can think of.
Total Awareness of e-file (After Prom

 Virtually all Taxpayers said they are aware of at least one of the e-fil

Filing Using A Tax Professional having the highest individual mentions see that awareness, even after prompting, is lowest among the Spanish-

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Total Awareness Of...e-file (Net Mentions, Any Name) 98 100 100 94 100 98 

Elec. Filing Using A Tax Professional 93 88 95 86 98 92 On-Line Filing (Net) 83 88 94 73 82 84 

...With On-Line Company 62 64 71 61 57 59 ...With Software 70 74 88 54 70 73 

TeleFile 54 73 70 44 42 44 

e-file (Unspecified) 41 51 51 39 32 36 

Self-Prepared Paper Return 94 99 100 91 93 94 Paid Professional Paper Return 98 99 100 96 99 100 

Q. 1 -- Please describe all the methods of filing Federal income taxes that you can think of. (AND...)Q. 3 -- Please tell me if you have ever heard of each of these methods of filing Federal income taxes.
Methods Of Filing Ever Used

 Abo

u

t

h

alf of th

e Pre-Wa

v

e s

a

m

ple claim

e

d to h

a

v

e ever u

sed (

Professional metho

d having highest trial, followed by On-Line Filing 

Spanish-Language segm

e

n

t has had 

n

orm

al trial of t

h

e T

a

x Profes

sion

normal trial of O

n-Line Filing a

nd T

ele

File.

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Ever Used

...

e-file (Net Mentions, Any Name) 55 63 64 56 47 26 

Elec. Filing Using A 

Tax Professional 36 21 19 51 43 16 

On-Line Filing (Net) 20 32 47 10

6 11 

...With On-Line Compan

y

6

7 14 5 1 3 

...

With S

oftwar

e 17 27 40

6 5 8 

T

eleFile 11 26 17

7 5 5 

e-file (Unsp

ecified) 8 17 14 5 4 2 

S

elf-Pre

pare

d Pap

er Return 66 93 92 43 54 55 

Paid Professional Pap

er Return 67 35 38 80 88 88 

Q. 5 -- And which of the following methods of filing Federal income taxes have you ever used?
Method Of Filing Used Last

 40% of the Pre-Wave sample claimed to have e-filed their tax return 

This is slightly higher than the 36% who we know did e-file ;however, w

the Ad Tracker (as in other studies), since we will not be able to weigMay, when there will not be final 2003 e-file usage data to use for weigh

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Last Used...e-file (Net Mentions, Any Name) 40 49 43 41 34 0 

Elec. Filing Using A Tax Professional 23 0 0 41 34 0 On-Line Filing (Net) 12 26 37 0 0 0 

...With On-Line Company 2 4 7 0 0 0 ...With Software 11 22 31 0 0 0 

TeleFile 3 11 3 0 0 0 

e-file (Unspecified) 3 12 3 0 00

Self-Prepared Paper Return 21 51 57 0 0 16 Paid Professional Paper Return 39 0 0 59 67 84 

Q. 6 -- Which method did you use for filing your Federal income taxes in (last tax season)?
Method Of Filing Taxpayers Would Rec

 63% of Taxpayers in the Pre-Wave said they would recommend at leas

to a friend. Note the much lower 49% of Spanish-Language Taxpayers file. This will be an interesting measure for pre-post comparison in th

entire study.

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Would Recommend...e-file (Net Mentions, Any Name) 63 70 73 60 57 42 

Elec. Filing Using A Tax Professional 40 25 26 51 48 32 On-Line Filing (Net) 28 37 49 17 20 20 

...With On-Line Company 11 11 17 12 8 9 ...With Software 24 31 43 12 18 18 

TeleFile 15 22 21 16 9 14 

e-file (Unspecified) 14 17 19 13 10 11 

Self-Prepared Paper Return 34 38 53 22 30 33 Paid Professional Paper Return 50 30 28 59 67 73 

Q. 7 -- And which of these methods of filing Federal income taxes would you recommend to a friend?
Advertising

Awareness, Recall & Rea
Unaided (Voluntary) e-file Advertising A

 18% of the Pre-Wave sample had voluntary claimed unaided awareness 

the past six months. We will track this in the Post-Wave to see changepre-to-post.

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Unaided Aware Of Advertising For...e-file (Net Mentions, Any Name) 18 12 20 19 17 20 

Elec. Filing Using A Tax Professional 9 6 5 14 10 10 On-Line Filing (Net) 7 7 9 4 7 7 

...With On-Line Company 3 3 3 4 3 3 ...With Software 4 5 7 0 55

TeleFile 1 1 1 2 1 1 

e-file (Unspecified) 4 1 7 4 34

Self-Prepared Paper Return 1 0 0 2 2 2 Paid Professional Paper Return 6 9 5 6 6 6 

Q. 2 -- And for what methods of filing Federal income taxes have you seen or heard any advertising in the past 6 months?
Total e-file Advertising Awareness (After 

 After prompting with the names of all the various filing methods, total cl

awareness of e-file advertising was 27%. Again, we will compare the 

Wave to see what changes if any occur as a result of the new ad campa

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Total Aware Of Advertising For...e-file (Net Mentions, Any Name) 27 20 29 32 27 28 

Elec. Filing Using A Tax Professional 17 15 12 20 18 18 On-Line Filing (Net) 16 15 22 15 15 17 

...With On-Line Company 8 6 6 11 8 8 ...With Software 13 14 19 10 12 13 

TeleFile 4 4 3 6 3 3 

e-file (Unspecified) 7 5 9 8 56

Self-Prepared Paper Return 6 5 6 10 5 5 Paid Professional Paper Return 14 15 14 22 10 13 

Q. 2 -- And for what methods of filing Federal income taxes have you seen or heard any advertising in the past 6 months? Q. 4 -- During the past 6 months, have you seen or heard any advertising for (each filing option)?
Message Recall From e-file Adverti

 Claimed recall from e-file advertising at this point centers around the ea

e-file, with most other mentions related to “how to e-file/ways to e-f

measure in more detail after the campaign to determine what Taxpayeadvertising. There will also be Post-Wave probes on recall of specific ele

Total Aware Of e-file Advertising That e-file is easy/convenient (Net) 

That it’s easy/convenient (Unspecified) That it’s fast/quick to file this way That it results in faster/quicker refunds That it results in instant refunds That it’s simple 

Ways to e-file/how To e-file 

You can e-file (Unspecified) 

You can file electronically You can e-file with a tax professional 

You can file on-line You can do it yourself That there is software for doing taxes That you can use the computer to file 

That it eliminates paperwork That it’s accurate/reliable/results in fewer mistakes 

Q. 12 -- What do you think was the one main message that this advertising was trying to get across to you? (AND...)Q. 13 -- Now please tell me everything that you recall about the advertising.Note: The 138 base size is too small for analysis beyond “total”.
e-file Advertising Sponsor Attribu

 When we asked Taxpayers at this point who sponsored the advertising 

19% mentioned the IRS. About two-thirds attributed their awareness and other tax preparation services.

Total Aware Of e-file Advertising Total Who Recalled The Sponsor Of The e-file Advertising Being...

The Internal Revenue Service/IRS Someone Other Than IRS (Net) 

H&R Block Tax Preparation Service Jackson-Hewitt Tax Preparation Service Some Other Tax Preparation Service 

No Recall Of Sponsor 

Q. 14 -- Do you recall who sponsored this advertising -- was it...(READ ALL ABOVE CHOICES EXCEPT “NO RECALL”)?Note: The 138 base size is too small for analysis beyond “total”.
e-file Advertising Source Attribut

 Those claiming awareness of e-file advertising attributed it mainly to 

Internet, Newspapers, and Direct Mail.

Total Aware Of e-file Advertising Total Who Claimed To Have Been Exposed To The e-file Advertising Via...

TV Radio Internet Newspapers Direct Mail From IRS Direct Mail From Tax Professional Magazine Direct Mail From Credit Card Company Billboards Via Tax Prep Software Package That Was Purchased Somewhere Else Don’t Recall 

Q. 15 -- And where did you see or hear this advertising?Note: The 138 base size is too small for analysis beyond “total”.
Taxpayer Reaction To The e-file Adve

 We also asked Taxpayers claiming e-file ad awareness to rate their 

across a battery of attributes similar to that used in viewer response pthe top-box (agree completely) and top-2-box (agree completely/somewclaimed to have seen prior to the new e-file campaign. In the Post-W

ratings to those we find then for the new campaign.

Total Aware Of e-file Advertising Total Agreeing That The e-file Advertising Was...

Positive Feedback

The advertising was informative 

The advertising gave me useful information 

The advertising gave me a good idea 

The advertising was memorable 

The advertising told me something new 

The advertising held my attention The advertising was unique The advertising was entertaining 

Negative Feedback

The advertising was boring 

The advertising was confusing 

Q. 16 -- Please tell me if you agree completely, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or disagree completely that the stateNote: The 138 base size is too small for analysis beyond “total”.
Impact Of Adv

e

r

tising 

IRS & e-file 

Brand Image & Persona

Note: the technology attitudinal ratings and psychographics whi

c

technology seg

ment

ation plann

ed for use in t

he PostWave are not 

since the Attitudinal Tracking Study (

and not t

h

e Ad Tracking Stud

vehicle for analyzing these ratings 

a

nd hasn’t yet been con

ducte

show (in th

e

n

e

xt section) the image and personality rati

n

gs of

e-f

pre-to-post differences in t

he ratings of individual attributes that 

advertising campaign.
Pre-Wave e-file Image Ratings

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Agree Completely/Somewhat That...Filing taxes is something 

that nobody likes, but everybody has to do 92 91 94 86 93 90 

e-file is a faster way to get your return to the IRS 79 77 82 80 79 79 e-file is a faster way to get your refund 72 75 76 73 69 67 e-file is an accurate way to file taxes 72 72 82 70 70 68 IRS is becoming friendlier, more helpful 62 67 67 64 55 61 e-file is a private/secure way to file taxes 61 65 70 54 60 50 e-file is a better way to file your taxes 59 63 63 58 56 45 e-file is an inexpensive way to file taxes 57 56 69 52 56 46 Mailing in your return is still safer, more reliable 54 59 44 65 51 63 e-file is easy to use, with little hassle 54 62 58 60 46 37 e-file provides proof of receipt 50 54 60 51 44 36 

Used to doing taxes on paper/no reason to change 42 42 37 42 44 52 

e-file changes the way you look at the IRS 33 38 32 45 27 28 Q. 17 -- Please tell me whether you agree completely, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, 

or disagree completely with each statement.

 Each wave of the study will include image ratings of e-file. We 

comparison of these ratings after the Post-Wave to see what if any c

generated by the new campaign. Here, we are looking at ratings amonby sub-group; in the pre-to-post comparison, we will focus on these “toaware sub-group.
Comparison Of Personality Ratings Of e-file 

 In each wave, we split the sample and ask half to think of e-file as a p

feel are the personality traits of e-file. The other half do the same exer

compare the two. As shown below, e-file and the IRS have sharply dIn the Post-Wave, we will look at the impact of the new campaign on bo

Ratings Of 

e-file 

Total Rating Each (Split Sample) 100% 

(251) 

Total Agreeing That e-file/IRS Is...

Up-To-Date/Modern 90 Dependable 79 Helpful 78 Someone You Can Trust 69 Interesting 66 Creative 65 Confident & Outgoing 64 A Leader 56 A Friend 47 Easy-going & Laid Back 47 High-strung and Uptight 26 Masculine 37 Someone You Need To Be Wary Of 36 Boring 32 Difficult 29 A Follower 23 Feminine 16 Old Fashioned 9 Shy & Introverted 9 

Q. 18a. -- Please think of e-file as a person...Q. 18b. -- Please think of IRS as a person... Note: Circle here indicates e-file/IRS is significantly higher in mentions of specific traits.
Other Measures
Filing Behavior

 We also ask a series of questions about when Taxpayers file and why

Attitudinal Tracking Study (later this Winter) will be used to develop a sbehavior/timing. The non-segmented results from these questions afollowing page for information purposes only.

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Q.11a--When Typically FileAs Soon As You Get W-2 Forms 43 59 30 46 42 37 When You Get Around To It (Jan-Apr) 34 27 33 40 32 35 As Late As Possible, But Not Last-Minute 10 7 17 2 12 12 At The Last Possible Minute 10 5 15 10 10 12 Timing Varies Year to Year 3 1 5 1 32No Answer/No Recall 1 0 1 1 11Q. 11b--Month Typically FileJanuary 17 30 14 21 12 13 February 36 44 23 39 37 32 March 22 12 20 19 27 23 April 1-15 18 11 33 15 15 21 After April 15 3 0 4 0 65Month Varies Year to Year 3 1 5 5 24No Answer/Don’t Know 2 1 1 2 22Individual questions are referenced above.
Filing Behavior (Cont’d.)

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Q. 11c--Why Typically File ThenLike to get it done ASAP 29 43 22 33 25 26 Usually get refund, so want money ASAP 17 17 18 21 15 16 Busy, get to it when I can during season 13 11 16 12 12 14 Depends on when I get to see preparer 9 4 5 6 16 12 Have to wait for paperwork 9 5 10 6 10 8 I’m a procrastinator/do things at last minute 6 5 8 6 5 4 Usually owe $, so wait til late to keep money 6 4 12 3 7 9 Get refund, depend on it/have plans for it 3 0 3 6 3 3 Dread doing taxes so I put it off 2 4 1 1 2 1 Like being among the last to file/it’s an event 1 1 0 1 1 1 Other reasons 8 6 6 12 97Individual questions are referenced above.
Other Filing Measures

 Other filing questions are also asked, with results from the Pre-Wave s

notable in these results is something we have found in earlier e-file re

Coding occurs among Preparers and not among Taxpayers completing check this finding in the larger-sample Attitudinal Tracking Study.

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Q.8a-1--% Who Are V-Coders 51 12 29 55 71 100 Q.8b--% Balance Due Last Year 18 14 26 11 20 22 Q.8b--% Received Refund Last Year 75 79 66 80 75 69 New Base: Balance Due 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(91) (11) (28) (12) (40) (33) 

Q.8c--% Of BalDue w/Auto Withdrawal 10 9 11 17 8 3 New Base: Receive Refund 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(379) (64) (71) (87) (147) (106) 

Q.8c--% Of Refunds TA Direct Deposit 38 50 63 34 24 25 New Base: State Offers Fed-State e-filing 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(108) (19) (34) (24) (29) (12) 

Q.8g-2--% With Fed-State e-file Option

Who Used the Option 41 58 35 42 38 0 

Individual questions are referenced above.
Demographic Summary

 Finally, following is a demographic profile of the Pre-Wave sample and 

will be following during Ad Tracking. Analysis of demographics will bcomparability of the Pre- and Post-Wave samples. Detailed demographwill be conducted based on the larger-sample Attitudinal Tracking Study

Total Self Self Paid Paid V- 

Taxpayers Simple Complex Simple Complex Coders 

Total Interviews 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 

(507) (81) (108) (109) (197) (153) 

Q. B---Gender...Male 50 56 47 51 50 48 

Female 50 44 53 49 50 52 

Q.20--Average HH Size (Mean) 2.9 2.6 3.0 3.0 2.9 3.0 Q. 21--% With Children 45 36 47 51 44 41 Q. 22--% Married 61 44 73 44 71 68 Q. 23--% With College Education 64 61 82 47 68 68 Q. 24--% Median HH Income 53 43 66 33 67 62 Individual questions are referenced above.