Research Matters
The Case for Advertising Research
Marketing vs Advertising Research
• Marketing
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Identify needs
Market segments
New products
Strategies
• Advertising
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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 Definition
Target Audience Selection
Media Selection
Message-element Selection
Concept testing
Name testing
Slogan testing
Print testing
TV storyboard pretesting
Radio commercial
pretesting
Advertising effectiveness
Consumer attitude
change
Sales increases
Techniques
Attitude and usage studies
Media studies
Qualitative interviews
Free-association tests
Qualitative interviews
Statement-comparison
tests
Consumer juries
Matched samples
Portfolio tests
Storyboard test
Mechanical devices
Psychological rating
scales
Aided recall
Unaided recall
Attitude tests
Inquiry test
Sales tests
Why test Ads?
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Increases effectiveness
Catches gaps or flaws
Clarity of message
Intent
Role of Research
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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
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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May be out of date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
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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:
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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
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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
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Idea Generation
Concept Testing
Audience Definition
Audience Profiling
Techniques
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Focus Groups
Projective Techniques
Association Tests
Dialogue Balloons
Story Construction
Sentence and picture completion
Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique
Field Work (observational)
Copy Research
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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:
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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