SUMMARY This study attempted to analyze the brand preferences as well as determine the effects of each advertisement on three brands of soda; Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, and Diet Dr. Pepper. The collected data was analyzed using several different statistical tests in SPSS. These tests include: t-test, between groups t-test, Chi-square significance test, frequency counting, simple correlation coefficient, regression analysis, discriminant analysis, ANOVA/MANOVA, and factor analysis. The results from the sample were statistically examined to determine projection to a larger population. Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, and Diet Dr. Pepper were tested in this research. Diet Dr. Pepper gained the most brand perception from the advertisement as indicated by the pre-to-post change score. The sample population has a higher opinion of Diet Coke over both Diet Pepsi and Diet Dr. Pepper, while Diet Dr. Pepper has a higher brand perception than Diet Pepsi. There is little connection between how people view the three brands on the 10 Likert item scale and how they view the print ads. Given the statistical significance, these findings could be projected to the entire population at the p=0.15 level. In 85 or more of 100 samples drawn from the same population of this sample, we would expect to find the same results. This study had limitations. A sample size of only 64 respondents is small. A convenience sample was used instead of a preerred "random sample." Also, a lack of control group existed due to time and limited resources. Randomization was not used to lessen order biases. This means that the categories were not presented randomly each time the three brands were displayed. Instead, they were presented as Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, and Diet Dr. Pepper. Although this study did not indicate large differences between each brand, it certainly provides interesting information and can serve as a basis for future analysis and discussion.
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