research matters the case for advertising research
TRANSCRIPT
Marketing vs Advertising Research
• Marketing– Identify needs– Market segments– New products– Strategies
• Advertising– Perception– Competition– Image– Appeal– Message
Advertising Strategy Research
Creative Concept Research
Pretesting Posttesting
Timing Before creative work begins Before agency production begins
Before finished artwork and photography
After Campaign has run
Research Problem
Product Concept DefinitionTarget Audience SelectionMedia SelectionMessage-element Selection
Concept testingName testingSlogan testing
Print testingTV storyboard pretestingRadio commercial pretesting
Advertising effectivenessConsumer attitude changeSales increases
Techniques Attitude and usage studiesMedia studiesQualitative interviews
Free-association testsQualitative interviewsStatement-comparison tests
Consumer juriesMatched samplesPortfolio testsStoryboard testMechanical devicesPsychological rating scales
Aided recall Unaided recallAttitude testsInquiry testSales tests
Role of Research
• Decision Support System• What’s hot? What’s not?• Keep marketers in touch with customers• Key role in helping understand audience• Used to make go/no go decisions and when to
pull a campaign
Research Steps
1. Identify the problem (or opportunity)– Most difficult and important– Be clear on what the research is to accomplish– Develop research questions: What do you want
to know?– Develop objectives: what do you want the data
to tell you?
Step 2: Research Methods
2. Plan Research Design and collect data– Evaluate Secondary Data• Quick and cost effective• May be out of date• Not in line with your objectives• If info still needed move on to Primary Data
– Need to do own research• What now?
Step 2: Research Methods
2a. Plan Research Design (select research method)– Flows naturally from RQs– Qualitative vs quantitative• Focus groups, in depth interviews, observation• Surveys, experiments
– In person, mail or via Internet• Response rate • Biases
Step 2: Research Methods
2b. Qualitative: Interviews, Focus Groups– May involve projective techniques• Thoughts and feelings
– Association tests• Thoughts and feelings after a stimuli
– One on one vs 6-12 customers
2c. Experiments– Causation– Two or more groups differing on one variable/item
Step 3: Clean & Analyze Data
• Clean– Descriptives, Frequencies, missing cases
• Analyze– Regression– Hypothesis testing (t-tests, mean comparison)– SEM– Cross tabs– Association– Coding
Data MUST be:
• Reliable: consistent over time• Valid: relevant to RQs• Trustworthy: does it make sense?• Meaningful: know the limitations
Steps 5 & 6
5. Prepare/Present Report– Tailor to audience– Connect results to objectives– Where do we go from here?
6. Follow up– Decisions– Improvements– When to test again
• Revitalize brand and increase sales• Used research to find a new direction and reposition
the brand• Shifted from kids to “rejuvenile” adults as TM
– Comfort food• Research insights led to edgy humor, mischevious fun• Sales doubled the target rate• Best regarded snack brand from 41st to 34th
• Won Grand Ogilvy winner – Best in show
Developmental Advertising Research
• Idea Generation• Concept Testing• Audience Definition• Audience Profiling
Techniques
• Focus Groups• Projective Techniques• Association Tests• Dialogue Balloons• Story Construction• Sentence and picture completion• Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique• Field Work (observational)
Copy Research
• Research actual ads• Ad does what it is supposed to do• How ad scores• Agency conflict– Creatives are “artists” and view this as a “grade”
• Should always be done
Copy Research
What to look for:• Getting it• Knowledge: Recall and
Recognition• Attitude• Feelings and emotions• Physiological changes: eye
movement, etc.• Behavioral intent• Actual behavior
Techniques:• Communication tests• Resonance tests• Recall tests• Recognition• Attitude change• Frame by frame• Thought listings• Eye, voice, psychogalvanometer• Pilot Testing• Direct Response• Single Source Data
Things to remember
• No method is perfect– But do find the best method for you
• Results are guidelines not absolutes• They still need to be interpreted• “Choose wisely”
New Trends: Neuromarketing
• Study brain response to different ads via fMRI
• Example: Cigarette ad reactions by smokers and non smokers– “non-users hadn't built up resistance to
these kinds of ads, and as a result their craving for unhealthy snacks and drinking actually increased”
– Non smokers were more susceptible to cigarette ads than smokers