Research Matters

The Case for Advertising Research

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

Why test Ads?

• Increases effectiveness• Catches gaps or flaws• Clarity of message• Intent

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 Plan Research Design and collect data– Evaluate Secondary Data• Quick and cost effective• May be out of date• Not in line with your objectives• If info still needed move on to Primary Data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

SPSS, SAS, Lisrel, AMOS, InVivo

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