The Nature of Advertising Research

1. The Nature of Advertising Research

2. Objectives • To review the IMC planning process • To understand the role of research in the context of marketing and advertising planning

3. Communications Planning: A Systematic Process • Each step builds the foundation for future decisions • and may provide feedback for decisions made in earlier steps • Research supports risk-avoidance and decision confidence

4. A Review of the IMC Planning Process: Step 1 • Situation Analysis • Summarizes the brand’s current circumstances • Identifies factors that might affect future marketing/advertising success • Generally, information gathered through secondary research See Fig. 1.1, Ch1

5. Recall: Situation Analysis Sections • Company Analysis • Product/Brand Analysis • Competitive Analysis • (Macro-)Environmental Analysis • Social • Legal • Economic • Political • Technological Product-focus sections External variables

6. A Review of the IMC Planning Process • Situation Analysis • Summarizes the brand’s current circumstances • Identifies factors that might affect future marketing/advertising success • Generally, information gathered through secondary research See Fig. 1.1, Ch1

7. Research as Part of IMC Planning Process • Situation Analysis Questions: • Industry Trends • Market size and growth trends • Sales by category type • Competitive Environment • Who are the leading companies? • What is their share? Sales? Distribution?

8. Recall: Situation Analysis Sections (cont.) Target Market/ Consumer facts • Consumer Analysis • Market Analysis Target Audience Analysis • General consumer trends • The target’s relationship w/ product/brand Note: Text

9. Research as Part of IMC Planning Process • The Consumer • (Target Audience Analysis) • What are their usage behaviors in the product category? • What are their purchase behaviors? • What are their attitudes/beliefs/perceptions about the brand? • Changes in last 5 years?

10. Research as Part of IMC Planning Process • Problems and Opportunities • Brand Positioning A statement of the niche the brand can most successfully fulfill • How should we distinguish our brand from our competitors?

11. Research as Part of IMC Planning Process • Essential Message • Otherwise known as the IMC strategy • What is our message? • Creative Evaluation • Communication testing designed to identify strengths and weaknesses of advertisements prior to production • What is the best means for communicating the message?

12. Research as Part of IMC Planning Process • Media Analysis & Placement • Research conducted to ensure that the target audience sees or hears the message • Where should advertising be concentrated? In which media? • National or regional placement? • How should it be scheduled?

13. Research as Part of IMC Planning Process • Campaign Tracking • The evaluation component of the plan • Assesses our success or failure in achieving planned objectives • Did we accomplish IMC objectives? • Did the media plan deliver on levels of exposure?

14. Other Uses for Research In Marketing • Product naming • Packaging design • Distribution strategy determination • Analyze sales trends, marketplace performance

15. The Research ‘Players’: Who Conducts Research? • Information Users • Brand managers • Internal research departments of companies • Research specialists • Advertising agency research departments • Research suppliers • Customized research: retained on a project-by-project basis • Syndicated research firms (A.C. Nielsen, SMRB, etc.)

16. The Research ‘Players’: Who Conducts Research? • Field services • Data collection specialists • Sub-contract labor who may specialize in any one or all of the following: • Research design • Project management • Qualitative site selection • Recruiting • Training • Data collection • Etc.

17. The Research ‘Players’: Who Conducts Research? • Support Services • Data management (editing, coding, data entry, etc.) • Data interpretation • Reporting • General consulting