Marketing and Advertising Research PDF

AS2003 MARKETING AND ADVERTISING RESEARCH The very foundation of every marketing and advertising endeavor is research. This is the most vital part of any endeavor, for that matter, as it equips an organization or a group of people with the course of action they will t...

AS2003 MARKETING AND ADVERTISING RESEARCH The very foundation of every marketing and advertising endeavor is research. This is the most vital part of any endeavor, for that matter, as it equips an organization or a group of people with the course of action they will take and the decisions they will firmly make. This handout will discuss the importance of research in marketing and advertising, as well as the trends in research that will help improve marketing and advertising endeavors. MARKETING RESEARCH Companies use research to identify and uncover problems with their market share, evaluate their competitive strengths and weaknesses, and measure consumer attitudes. Part of the marketing research is the compilation of information about the product, the product category, competitors, and other details of the marketing environment that will affect the development of the advertising strategy. To obtain information, the marketing research process undergo these five (5) steps: 1. Defining Problems – Essentially, every market has a problem that needs to be solved. In this stage, an organization must identify what specific problems from their target market are they going to solve. In doing this part of the process, it must be detailed and specific so that the organization may create solutions and make decisions aligned to the identified problem. For example, the brand Milo has a malt formula that fits the taste buds of kids. Recently, there has been a growing number of Milo consumers from the age group of young adults and they are seeking a malt formula that will fit their more refined taste buds. This is where the first process of market research takes place. Milo would have to solve this identified problem of the need of another malt formula that will cater to the needs of their growing market. The following actions would have to be aligned to the identified problem. 2. Designing the Research Project – Once the problem is identified, there must be an overall plan to obtain the information needed to address it. The objective statement of a marketing research must include a hypothesis or an informed guess or assumption about the possible outcomes of their proposed solutions to the identified problem. Taking from the previously identified problem, an example of hypothesis would be “creating a malt formula fit for the taste buds of young adults will help increase sales in this target market and will help them be energized.” And the research project and marketing endeavors will revolve around this hypothesis. 3. Collecting Data – The hypothesis is not the finality of the process, there are other vital information needed to achieve or at least actualize the hypothesis. This is where the process of collecting data takes place. There are three widely used methods of gathering data, this includes: survey (questionnaire, interview, and focus group discussions), observation (SWOT analysis), and experimentation (product development, consumer insight. If applied to the research project of the example brand, Milo, it can be seen as the brand doing taste tests among young adult consumers for the new adult formula. It can also be by doing survey among consumers regarding their perception about the variant packaging, taste, etc. 4. Interpreting Research Findings – After collecting data to test their hypotheses, marketers interpret the research findings. All the gathered data require careful interpretation by the marketer. If there is valid insight after analyzing the data, then the organization must decide accordingly to these results. Validity and reliability of results highly depend on the sufficient sample of respondents. Incorrectly worded questions or narrow difference of results may invalidate the whole gathered data. As data gets interpreted, it will become the brief or guide for agencies to craft advertising messages. 5. Reporting Research Findings – The output of this market research process is the insight from the conclusion and possible recommendations. More so, the marketers must take action according to the results and is necessary to do a follow-up to validate the outcome of the research and its effect to the consumers. When all is set, advertising commences. 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 3  AS2003 Consumer Research Consumer research identifies people who are in the market for the product in terms of their characteristics, attitudes, interests, and motivations. Ultimately, this information is used to decide who the targeted audience for the audience for the advertising should be. In an integrated marketing communication (IMC) plan, the consumer research also acquires information about all the relevant stakeholders and their points of contact with the brand. ADVERTISING RESEARCH Advertising is often the largest single cost in a company’s marketing budget. Thus, its effectiveness is a major concern. Testing is the primary tool advertisers use to measure an advertising campaign’s value if it is effective and will increase the sales of a company. Advertising research can be divided into two types: 1. Media Research – this concerns information about the circulation of newspapers and magazines, broadcast coverage of television and radio, and audience profiles. This is used to gain information about the potential audience size for specific media channels. This is measured through the following: a. Television Audience Measurement – The Nielsen Company is one of the oldest, largest, and most influential research companies in the world. This company determines the ratings for a broadcasting network just like what is shown in ABS-CBN and GMA when it comes to their show ratings. They use Local People Meter, an electronic device that records the daily network, cable, and home video viewing members and guests. It also measures television audiences through paper diary surveys among its market. The information gathered from this company is vital to the advertising decisions of companies when it comes to TV timeslot they will avail for their commercials. b. Radio Audience Measurement – The Nielsen Company also do radio audience research. They provide local, regional, and national market network ratings. c. Magazine Audience Measurement – Simmons Market Research Bureau’s Study of Media and Markets and Media Research Incorporated are the major resource for consumer advertisers. It combines magazine and newspaper readership data, statistics on television viewing, product purchase data, demographic data, and other research results. These reports help advertisers in such tasks as profiling buyers in specific product categories and assessing the readership of a given magazine. d. Internet Audience Measurement – The Nielsen Company also provides data for the audience on the Internet or New Media. They provide information about attention span, viewership, network of netizens, demographics, and video analytics. 2. Message Research – this addresses how effectively advertising messages are communicated to people and how well those messages influence people’s behavior. Its objectives are achieving awareness, conveying copy points, influencing attitudes, creating emotional responses, and affecting purchase choices. This is divided into five (5) forms of response to ads: a. Measures of Recognition and Recall – this is the measurement if a consumer can still remember a brand and see the placement of a product in the consumer’s mind. An example for this are the survey questions on YouTube before a video starts. Typically, it states, “which of these brands have you seen on an ad over the past 3 days?” b. Measures of Emotion – Research has shown that ads that are better liked---often because they elicit positive emotions---are more likely to be remembered and to persuade. c. Measures of Physiological Arousal – Generally, this attempts to capture changes in the nervous system or record emotional arousal during the exposure of advertising messages. It usually happens with invited respondents to visibly observe this measurement process. d. Measures of Persuasion – Theater tests are used for this measure among invited respondents. What usually happens is that these participants would have to watch a 30-minute television 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 3  AS2003 program with designated commercials. This measure will see if there will be changes on the response of consumers after seeing a commercial. e. Measures of Sales Response – Information Resource, Inc. uses BehaviorScan single source data collection. It provides information about the size of families, their income, number of televisions they own, what newspaper or magazine they read, and the household member that does most of the shopping. This enables advertisers to capitalize on these data of how households respond to advertising and promotional techniques. RESEARCH TRENDS Traditional research methods are definitely applicable to marketing and advertising endeavors, but marketers today are looking for alternative ways to gain insight from the consumer’s mind. These are some of the research trends that served as alternative to the traditional frameworks: 1. Focus Group Discussions – To gain consumer insight, advertisers discuss the product or brand to a panel of consumers and talk about their perception, experience, and feelings towards the product or brand. 2. Coloring Exercise – this is an alternative research where participants are asked to color a picture or a paper or drawing to express or represent their emotions towards a product or brand. 3. Ethnography – it is a study of comparative cultures that employs observation to learn about various people and their characteristics in relation to the brand or product. 4. Home Surveillance – this trend works as advertisers pay participants to record their daily routine and specifically their usage and behavior towards a product. 5. Assimilation – this form of research happens when the advertiser delegates a representative that will live with the consumers and personally observe nuances of behavior towards a product or brand. 6. Eye Tracking Systems – It is a new technology that allows marketers to gain information according to the tracking of the eyes of the customers. The device accurately records the focus of the eyes when in a physical store and doing purchasing decisions. References Baack, D., & Clow, K. (2018). Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications. Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson. Johnson, C., & Lee, M. (2005). Principles of Advertising A Global Perspective. New York: Routledge. Moriarty, S., Mitchell, N., & Wells, W. (2012). Advertising & IMC Principles & Practice. New Jersey: Pearson. 05 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 3