# DAGMAR: Definition in Marketing, 4 Key Steps, and How It's Used

![DAGMAR](https://www.investopedia.com/thmb/tfGlFe-4E4joSCjLLMpi4x7vW_0=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/dagmar.asp-Final-f6b25d2216104a368126e10d89343ce0.png)

*— Investopedia / Dennis Madamba*

> **Definition**
>
> DAGMAR is a marketing model used by businesses to create an advertising campaign and track and measure its success.

## What Is DAGMAR?

DAGMAR (defining advertising goals for measured advertising results) is a model used in marketing to establish objectives for an advertising campaign and measure its effectiveness. The DAGMAR model was introduced by Russell Colley in a 1961 report to the Association of National Advertisers and was expanded upon in 1995 by Solomon Dutka.

### Key Takeaways

*   The DAGMAR model defines the four steps of an effective advertising campaign as: Causing awareness, comprehension, conviction, and action.
*   The model emphasizes defining the segment of the market that the campaign aims to target.
*   DAGMAR also requires an evaluation of the campaign's success against a pre-set benchmark.

## Understanding DAGMAR

The DAGMAR approach advocates a [marketing strategy](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketing-strategy.asp) that guides the consumer through four phases: awareness, comprehension, conviction, and action. That path has become known by its acronym as the ACCA formula. The four steps of the campaign are as follows:

*   Generating _awareness_ of the brand among consumers
*   Increasing _comprehension_ of the product and its benefits
*   Convincing _consumers_ that they need the product
*   Persuading consumers to buy it (_action_)

The DAGMAR method contains two goals. The first is to develop a communication task that accomplishes those specific ACCA steps. The second is to make sure that the success of those goals can be measured against a baseline.

Colley believed that effective advertising seeks to communicate rather than sell. He specified four basic requirements for evaluating the effectiveness of an advertising campaign: 

*   Be concrete and measurable
*   Define the target audience or market
*   Identify the benchmark and the degree of change expected
*   Specify a period during which to accomplish the objective

## Identifying a Target Market to Implement DAGMAR

The [target market](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/target-market.asp) is the subset of consumers who are most likely to purchase the product. It may be narrow, broad, or specific to a particular gender or type of consumer.

Identification of a target market can include demographic, geographic, and psychographic segmentation. Target markets can be separated into primary and secondary groups. Primary markets are the initial focus of a campaign and, ideally, the first customers to purchase and utilize the new product. Secondary markets are the larger population that may buy the product once the brand becomes established.

After identifying the target market, the company establishes the message it wants to communicate in its advertising campaign.

## DAGMAR Benchmark and Time Frame

The DAGMAR method requires marketers to establish a benchmark to measure the success of a campaign. Today's businesses rarely set out to sell a product to everybody. They aim for a particular share of a market or a substantial share of a [market segment](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/market-segment.asp).

The cosmetics industry offers a clear example. There are mass-market products available in drugstores, and high-end products—some made by the same companies—that are sold only in department stores. There are products that are branded, packaged, and promoted only for teenagers, and others for mature women.

A company introducing a new product aims at one or more of these market segments, but not all of them at once. In any case, setting a benchmark for product success helps advertisers define the market and create an effective campaign to reach it.

The time frame attempts to set a reasonable deadline for judging the success or failure of a new product's introduction.

## What Is the DAGMAR Approach?

The DAGMAR approach is a marketing model that defines steps that should be used for an effective marketing campaign.

## What Are the 4 Stages of the DAGMAR Model?

The DAGMAR approach recommends using four phases: Create awareness, increase consumer comprehension, convince consumers, and persuade them into action.

## What Are the Advantages of the DAGMAR Model?

The DAGMAR model provides an organized method for creating a marketing campaign while giving the designers a way to measure success.  

## The Bottom Line

The DAGMAR marketing model is used to create campaigns that guide consumers through the process of becoming aware of a product or service and persuading them to make a purchase. The model also provides marketers with a way to gauge the results of the campaign.

> **Article Sources**
>
> 1.  Oxford Reference. "[DAGMAR](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095707147)."
>     
> 2.  Solomon Dutka. "[DAGMAR, Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results](https://archive.org/details/dagmardefiningad0000dutk/page/n3/mode/2up)." NTC Business Books, 1995.
>     
> 3.  ur Rehman, Fazal, et al. "[Some Insights in the Historical Prospective of Hierarchy of Effects Model: A Short Review](https://www.academia.edu/94836739/Some_Insights_in_the_Historical_Prospective_of_Hierarchy_of_Effects_Model_A_Short_Review)." _Information Management and Business Review_, vol. 6, no. 6, December 2014, pp. 303.