Integrated Marketing 337 Midterm
Creative Ads
-make a relevant connection between the brand and its target audience and present a selling idea in an unexpected way. Let's examine the components of the definition. Creative ads make a relevant connection between a brand and its target audience. Creative Director Ann Hayden explains, "I'm convinced that people—all people—want to buy from people. Customers want to know who you are, your habits, your values. They want to be able to predict you. They need to trust you. If they connect with you on some kind of human basis and believe they have something in common with you, they will give you vast permission to sell them things that make them happy." -Creative ads present a selling idea. The method of presenting the selling idea can be rational, emotional, or a combination of both. Because competitors can copy most products and services, emotional selling points are usually more powerful than rational ones. Old Spice didn't promise that men would develop washboard abs like Mustafa, but they did make it seem cool to use a brand that had been gathering dust in the medicine cabinets of their grandfathers. -Creative ads are unexpected. Look at the ad for Stren fishing line in Figure 1-1. The agency could have shown a man reeling in a giant fish. However, it would be so expected that it would blend in with other ads for fishing products. Instead, the close-up of the man's split pants catches you off guard and makes you wonder what the ad is about. Meanwhile, the copy, "The most dependable fishing line in the world," delivers the selling message and helps the visual make sense. Keep in mind that the unexpected element may be the choice of words, visuals, media, or all three.
Sony PlayStation Case Study
.T wo years after its launch, the Sony PS3 had a perception problem. People thought it was too expensive and they didn't understand everything it could do. Sony needed to tell an audience beyond hardcore gamers that the PS3 was more than a great gaming machine, it could play Blu-ray discs, download movies and TV shows, browse the web, and more. They also sought to re-establish the humorous and fun personality that defined the brand back in the days of the PS2. Enter Kevin Butler, fictional vice president of all things PlayStation. At first glance, a forty-something man in a shirt and tie doesn't exactly scream cool. But when you combine very clever writing from ad agency Deutsch LA and great acting from Jerry Lambert with the subject matter of the latest HD games, Blu-ray movies and general awesomeness that PS3 delivers, you've got a great recipe for explaining everything that's cool about the PS3. With a blend of irreverent humor and approachable personality, Kevin presents the key selling points of PS3 in a TV campaign that keeps the audience engaged. He resonates with core gamers, yet is approachable to casual gamers. And the campaign's tagline, "It only does everything," sums up the PS3's versatility. Kevin Butler has taken on numerous roles throughout the campaign, including VP of Enough is Enough, VP of Fanboy Relations, VP of Family Funterventions and Boombassador of Deals. Each TV spot begins with a different person (a PS3 gamer, a parent, a mad girlfriend, a Best Buy sales clerk, etc.) saying "Dear PlayStation..." then stating their issue or situation. For example, the very first spot introduced a price drop of the PS3 when blogger Bernie Buncalan (as noted by his name and description of "Rumor Monger" subtitled on screen) says, "Dear PlayStation, I got a tip that you were making the PS3 $299. Confirm or deny!" Kevin Butler answers back from a room in PlayStation headquarters completely decked out in various "PS3 now $299" signs, with his title of "Director of Rumor Confirmation" subtitled on screen. He replies, "Bernie, you can't believe everything you read on the Internet. That's how World War I got started..." He continues to state that the PS3 at $299 would be fantastic, but "no comment." The ad was a satirical send-up to the then-current market situation where rumors had been circulating about an impending PS3 price drop, but vehemently ignored by the company. The public appreciated this new humorous character and his acknowledgement of the situation and the price drop. Within a year, purchase intent for the PS3 increased by 90%. Over the next two years, Kevin Butler was featured in over 50 TV commercials and online videos. He answered "Dear PlayStation" questions asked by everyone from "Luke Hirshberg, Unhappy Grandchild" to MLB all-star Joe Mauer. Kevin's online antics include holding a 5-step seminar in trash talk, dubbed the S.H.A.F.T. method, and moving in with a family for 90 days to introduce the PlayStation Move motion controller. Some of the most ingenious ways the character has been used are outside of the TV and web videos, including an on-stage appearance at Sony's 2010 E3 press conference. Kevin interrupted a marketing presentation to wax emotionally in a rally cry for gamers everywhere. There was brief period in 2011 when Kevin announced on Twitter that he was leaving PlayStation to work at his uncle's new upstart company, Economy Flooring. As president of the shag division, president of wood stains, president of planking, and president of just about everything else, Kevin coined the slogans 'prepare to be floored' and 'carpet diem.' To his fans' relief, the whole thing was just a ruse to set up an online video released a few days later in which PlayStation manages to lure him back to launch "project LLP." Kevin explains it as, "We're taking that sweet, PlayStation gaming juice you've always loved, throwing it into an industrialsized 3D, HD, access-to-online-gaming-for-free centrifuge, and unleashing it in a five ounce form that could kill a centaur. So long live the kind of play that turns five more minutes into five more hours. Long live owning a TV that's worth more than your car. Long live what brought all of us to this party in the first place. Play." Thus announcing a new slogan for the company: Long Live Play. The "Kevin Butler Returns to PlayStation" YouTube video has been viewed nearly 1.6 million times and another video, "Kevin's Latest Gaming Innovation, SimulView™," has been viewed more than 1.7 million times. More than 125,000 fans follow Kevin on Twitter @TheKevinButler, where he posts his observations about life ("Good hot, good cold, bad anywhere in between. Who knew coffee and pizza had so much in common?"), connects with fans, tweets links to his YouTube channel (youtube.com/KevinButlerVP) and PlayStation.Blog, and retweets postings from @PlayStation. You wouldn't think that a forty-something guy in a necktie could be the next big face of the gaming industry, but Kevin Butler has become just that, and has helped reestablish PlayStation's mojo with gamers and attract a whole new market to the PlayStation nation. Kevin helped make PlayStation an iconic brand once again, and PS3 saw a significant increase in sales in 2010. It's these phenomenal results that earned the campaign a 2011 Silver Effie Award. And that's why Kevin Butler deserves to be VP of Right Message at the Right Time.
Process for Coming up with Big Ideas
1. Immersion. Even the pros don't write the magic line the first time. Engross yourself in background research. Visit the client. Watch consumers interact with your brand. And so on. 2. Digestion. Play with the information. Look at it from different angles. Make lists of features. Draw doodles. Write down phrases. Exercise your mind. This chapter will give you some creative exercises that may help spark an idea. 3. Incubation. Put the advertising assignment aside. Go for a walk. See a movie. Shoot some hoops. Do whatever will relax your mind. Young likened this step to the way Sherlock Holmes solved mysteries. In the middle of a case, Holmes would drag Watson off to a concert. This habit was irritating to the literal-minded Watson, but it always helped Holmes crack the case. 4. Illumination. Once your brain has been allowed to relax after being loaded with information, it will spurt out an idea. It can happen anywhere, any time. Be ready to write the idea down because, as quickly as an idea pops into your head, it can pop out of it. Forever. It doesn't matter if the idea is captured on a scrap of paper, a cocktail napkin, or in the dust on your car's dashboard, just as long as you record it somehow. 5. Reality testing. Ask yourself: Is the idea good? Does it solve the problem? Is it on strategy? As you gather ideas, put them inside an envelope or folder and don't look at them right away. If you evaluate early on, you may settle for an idea that's just so-so or you may never allow a gem of an idea to develop.
Brand Reputation Formation
A brand's identity—and subsequent image—form the core of a brand, and both are considered important when it comes time to advertise the brand. After all, without an identity, a brand would have no public persona; its identity is its public face in the marketplace. The identity elements used in advertising serve as shortcuts to help consumers form an image of the brand: Identity 1 Image 5 Reputation All of the individual identity elements—the name, logo, tagline, colors, and architecture—taken together are often referred to as the brand's "gestalt," which means a whole is more than the sum of its parts. Take Target. From the ads on television to the décor in the stores, the experience is the same: a clean, hip, cool experience that elevates the image of discount shopping. A brand's identity, however, is about more than just visuals. If you begin to think of a brand's identity as the way it projects itself to the public, and its image as the way that projection is perceived, then it's easy to take the next step and say that a brand's identity and image are directly related to the brand's reputation. The reputation of the brand is less fleeting than its image and a lot harder to shape: it is formed over time through the overall impressions of the brand image. This means an investment in a positive brand identity could pay off in the form of a positive reputation, which often translates into customer loyalty.
Brand Image Definition
A brand's image is the public's perception of the company or brand. Generally, the image is a direct result of the associations people have with the company or brand identity. If you think about this from a communications perspective, the image is formed every time a consumer sees an ad, goes into a store where the brand is sold, or has an interaction with the brand's service staff.
Logos
A logo is the visual symbol a brand or company uses to identify itself to consumers. A logo might be simply a graphic element, or it can be a word. The latter is typically called a logotype.
Tagline
A tagline is the short phrase typically used with a brand name or logo. It might also be called the brand's slogan or motto. More than any other identity element, the tagline will change over time. It will change on a number of occasions: when there is a new creative campaign developed, when a new advertising agency is hired, or when the tagline has outlived its usefulness.
Disability Advertising
About one in five U.S. residents—19%—reported some level of disability in 2010, according to the U.S. Census. Once nearly invisible in ads, people with disabilities are starting to have starring roles. McDonald's showed that people with disabilities can work and be productive citizens through a heartwarming commercial narrated by an employee named Mike, who has Down syndrome. Walmart's advertising features employees and customers in wheelchairs, and one of its TV commercials stars an employee with a hearing impairment signing to a customer. Although many people praise these ads, some question the motives behind them. Bob Garfield, a critic for Advertising Age, states that jumping from not showing people with disabilities to portraying them as superhuman or as tokens does not help them or the advertiser in the long run. Screenwriter Mark Moss, who ended up in a wheelchair after a diving accident, told the Boston Globe, "Advertisers know that using people with disabilities is politically correct and a viable way to catch people's attention. I look at the phenomenon like I do politicians kissing babies. It's good for the babies . . . it's good for the politicians . . . but we can't be blamed for looking at it with cynicism." 24 As with any consumer segment, advertising must take care in communicating appropriately to the special-needs community, and extra care should be taken so that advertisers do not appear to be taking advantage of the market. Sensitivity is key, according to Nadine Vogel, president of Springboard Consulting, who says that the disability should never define the person. Rather than call someone a "disabled child" or a "Down's child," the correct language is "a child with special needs" or "a child who has Down syndrome." As with any target group, it's important to ask group members what they think. For example, a major fast-food chain ran a newspaper ad with the headline "Introducing our new easy-to-read menu," which was printed over a design that looked like Braille. A student appropriately asked, "Why didn't they actually print the ad in Braille? If they printed it on a heavier stock and inserted it into the paper, then I could keep it for future reference." Target learned the importance of being sensitive to the needs of the disabled the hard way. The giant retail agreed to pay $6 million in damages to plaintiffs in California who were unable to use its online site. Many links on Target's website were unintelligible to screen-reading software, which converts written words into speech. The issue centered on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which requires retailers and other public places to make accommodations for people with disabilities. Target is working with the National Federation of the Blind to make its retail site more accessible.
Children's Food & Beverage Initiative
Advertisers of fast-food chains and sugary cereals need to be sensitive to the pressure to nix cartoonish mascots when advertising to children. Pepsico/ Frito-Lay, the parent company of Cheetos, signed the voluntary Children's Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative in 2007, which restricts advertising to kids under 12 years of age, except for "better for you" products. Since it could no longer target children, advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners needed to make Cheetos relevant to adults. The key insight: Cheetos brings out the inner child in adults. Television commercials feature brand mascot Chester encouraging adults to fight back—just the way their inner child wants them to do. In one spot, a woman dumps a bag of Cheetos inside the dryer of a woman who has hogged all the machines at a Laundromat. Also, keep in mind that just because people love your character, it won't necessarily mean they love your brand. Most people loved the singing sock puppet from Pets.com, but few understood why they needed to order pet supplies over the Internet. The loveable sock puppet is now traded on eBay as a collector's item.
Stereotypes in Advertising
African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Arab Americans
Characters in Ads
Because they don't age, advertising characters can appeal to different generations of consumers. Smokey Bear, Tony the Tiger, and the Jolly Green Giant are more than 50 years old. The Quaker Oats man has been around since 1887 (his cholesterol level must be great). Perhaps the best thing about animated characters is the control you have over them. Unlike a celebrity, they won't be caught shoplifting, driving under the influence, or saying something stupid in public. But like a celebrity, they can attract a loyal fan base. The parade of advertising icons is one of the most popular features of the annual Advertising Week celebration in New York. And many loyal fans follow their favorite characters on Twitter and Facebook. Still, many creative directors find advertising trade characters to be gimmicky and old-fashioned. In some cases, they're right. The trick is to make the character relevant to consumers. This can mean cosmetic surgery and a personality makeover. The old M&M'S ® candy characters from the 1950s were cutesy by today's standards. Thanks to a makeover by Vinton Studios and BBDO, the candy characters developed personalities—faults and all. Red is self-absorbed and views himself as the leader of the M&M'S ® pack. Yellow is sweet but a bit simple. Green is oh-so-sexy, especially when she wears her white go-go boots. And Blue is cool in his dark shades. Ms. Brown, introduced in the 2012 Super Bowl, is an intelligent career woman with a sharp wit. Ms. Brown recently tweeted, "While Red and Yellow are enjoying 'National Goof Off Day,' I'm hard at work as always. Being Chief Chocolate Officer isn't easy, you know." 9 Like humor and celebrities, advertising trade characters must be relevant to the consumer and the brand.
Research Questions
Before you do your research, you need to define the questions or problems you're investigating. For example, who is the most likely prospect for the product? What real or perceived differences make your brand better than a competitor's? How should this be communicated? How do customers perceive the current campaign? By carefully defining your questions, you avoid gathering irrelevant information and wasting time.
Selling Idea Characteristics
Creative ads present a selling idea. The method of presenting the selling idea can be rational, emotional, or a combination of both. Because competitors can copy most products and services, emotional selling points are usually more powerful than rational ones. Old Spice didn't promise that men would develop washboard abs like Mustafa, but they did make it seem cool to use a brand that had been gathering dust in the medicine cabinets of their grandfathers.
Verizon Wireless Case Study
D escribed by some as "Gospel Hour meets American Idol," Verizon Wireless's "How Sweet the Sound" competition has earned a place in the hearts and souls of African Americans. The competition to find the best church choir was launched in 2007 in Memphis, Tennessee and now attracts church choirs from across the country. Research shows that the African American market is extraordinarily involved in their church communities and very engaged with the gospel music emanating from their choirs. And since music is integral to the DNA of Verizon Wireless, it is a natural fit. The inaugural contest culminated in a filled-to-the-rafters, let-it-all-out final concert, which provided a platform for the Memphis community to experience Verizon's many offerings beyond basic cell phone service. Concertgoers were able to use text messaging to vote for their favorite choir. Text-to-screen allowed concertgoers to interact with the large video screens next to the stage at the final event. Mobile videos of the choirs were provided to download. Local TV affiliates gave the event great coverage. DJs from the local gospel station gave on-air endorsements and provided MCs and judges for the final event. They also helped produce a live Web cast of the finals. Building on the success in Memphis, "How Sweet the Sound" has spread across the country. In 2011, regional competitions were held in Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Washington, DC; Detroit, MI; Chicago, IL; St. Louis, MO; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; and Oakland, CA. Choir fans texted, tweeted, and blogged enthusiastic endorsements of their favorite choirs and praised Verizon Wireless for their commitment to the community. The nine regional winners competed for the title of "Best Church Choir in America" at the grand finale, held at The Staples Center in Los Angeles in October 2011. Up for grabs were the Verizon People's Choice Award for $5,000, the Runner Up Prize of $15,000, and the Grand Prize of $25,000, which also came with the opportunity to perform at the gospel music showcase at the 2012 Super Bowl. In addition to the moving performances by the nine choirs who were competing for the national title, the finale was filled with joyful sounds from legendary performers. Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton treated the crowd to a performance from their upcoming movie, Joyful Noise. Eight-time Grammy award winner gospel-great Andrae Crouch was presented with the "How Sweet the Sound Living Legend Award" by singer Chaka Khan. Donald Lawrence and CeCe Winans were the hosts for the evening. Throughout the 2011 "How Sweet the Sound" regional tour, participating choirs were encouraged to collect and donate no-longer-used wireless phones to Verizon's HopeLine ® program, which provides wireless phones and airtime to victims of domestic violence; and cash grants to local shelters and non-profit organizations that focus on domestic violence prevention, awareness and advocacy. More than 12,000 phones were collected. The Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community (IDVAAC) was presented with a $25,000 grant from HopeLine at the "How Sweet the Sound" grand finale in Los Angeles. "Domestic violence affects all races, but recent statistics show that African American women are especially at risk," explained Elva Lima, executive director of community relations for Verizon Wireless. Oliver Williams, PhD, co-founder and executive director of the IDVAAC, added, "This grant allows us to further our mission: to prevent and raise awareness of the unique circumstances that African Americans face related to domestic violence; and to educate and connect our communities on this important issue." The Salvation and Deliverance Church Choir, which won the 2011 bragging rights as "Best Church Choir in America," performed at the NFLsanctioned Super Bowl Gospel Celebration held in Indianapolis a few days before the big game in 2012. HopeLine presented a donation for $15,000 to the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence during the event. Verizon Wireless has found meaningful ways to connect with the African American market and make a difference in their lives. "How Sweet the Sound" has helped grow both Verizon Wireless sales and market share. As a tribute to its success, "How Sweet the Sound" won the ultimate accolade from the advertising industry: a Gold Effie, which honors marketing communications that contribute to a brand's success. Now that's a sweet sound to any marketer's ears.
Types of Inspiration for Creative Ideas
Great advertising is inspired by insights about brands, consumers, and how the two interact.The insights often defy traditional wisdom. Media, Consumers,
AT&T Txtng & Driver ... It Can Wait Campaign
I t's not very often that a company will run an advertising campaign asking consumers to use their brand or service less often. But that's what AT&T did in a proactive move to convince people not to text and drive. Studies show that people are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident when texting and driving. Distracted driving is particularly problematic among teenage drivers. Sixteen percent of all distracted driving crashes involve drivers under 20.AT&T wanted to convince drivers that no text is important enough to risk their lives, or the lives of others. Their national campaign features true stories and the text messages that were sent or received before someone's life was altered, or even ended, because of texting and driving. By featuring real stories, the campaign demonstrates how insignificant a text message is compared to the potentially dire consequences of reading or responding while driving. In one of the television spots, the text "Where u at?" flashes on the screen and a mother says, "This is the text my daughter was reading when she drove into oncoming traffic." The ad also includes the message, "No text is worth dying over," and the campaign's tagline, "Txtng & Drivng . . . It Can Wait." "We explored several campaign concepts but we didn't have our 'Aha!' moment until we asked one of our focus groups to take out their devices and read the last text they received," said Cathy Coughlin, senior executive vice president and global marketing officer for AT&T. "When we asked if that particular message was worth the potential risk of reading while driving at 65 mph, you could have heard a pin drop. That's when we realized the message 'it can wait' was effective in educating consumers about the dangers of texting while driving." AT&T also produced a powerful 10-minute documentary that tells the stories of drivers, bicyclists, and passengers whose lives were drastically altered, or ended, by answering simple little text messages. One of the stories is of a young woman who lost her sister because of the four-letter text, "Yeah." The young woman points to a photograph of her sister. "This is my sister. She was looking at my message that I had just sent her. When she looked up she had clipped the median on the left-hand side of the road. Her truck flipped and, as it was flipping, she was actually ejected through the driver's side door. And she landed in the ditch about 300 feet from her truck. People will tell you over and over again it's not your fault. But knowing that you were the person she was talking to when she was killed . . . having a highway patrol officer write in a report that a text message sent at 12:05 is the reason that she is dead . . . is not something that will never go away. If I could talk to her one last time I would just say, 'I'm sorry.'" Wiping back tears, she holds up a cell phone that displays the text message, "Yeah." She continues, "This is her cell phone that she used in the accident. Four little letters. That's what killed her." "The Last Text" documentary, which AT&T distributed to schools, safety organizations, and government agencies via its YouTube channel, has received nearly 3 million views. Parents, high school educators and, most importantly, youth, can visit www.itcanwait.att.com and download safety tips, a poster, a brochure, and a pledge not to text and drive. Friends can also share a Facebook application with one another to encourage each other to take the pledge. AT&T has further strengthened its commitment by offering DriveMode, a free app that automatically sends a reply to incoming text messages, letting the sender know that you are driving and can't respond right away. This app was the idea of an AT&T employee whose friend was killed by a driver who was texting at the time.
Best practice for focus groups
Invite 5 to 10 people who are typical of your target market to discuss their feelings about your product. You'll want their permission to record the session, and you will need a moderator who encourages everyone to speak and who keeps the discussion on track. Because participants are urged to say what's on their minds, important issues may be uncovered. When Goodby, Silverstein & Partners wanted to get into the mindset of adults who eat Cheetos snacks, responses were along these lines: "Look, it's a kids' snack. Sure I eat them, but it's not something I'm exactly proud of." However, when Cheetos were put in front of them, "crunching and fingerlicking" took over. Orange fingers and smiles were brandished proudly, almost as badges of honor. These adults were looking for permission to not act their age and not conform to expectations of "adult behavior." Cheetos snacks let them do that. 7 This insight helped inspire the campaign in which Chester Cheetah helps adults have mischievous fun with Cheetos. Although focus groups can uncover some interesting attitudes, keep in mind this research method reflects the opinions of only a few people. Some critics wonder about the quality of information that can be gathered from a 2-hour session that involves 10 people, in which each person has 12 minutes to speak. Others wonder about the types of people who willingly give up their personal time in return for a modest incentive. Still others complain that the traditional focus-group setting of a conference room with a two-way mirror is like studying wildlife at a zoo. To determine whether you've uncovered something important, you'll need to back up your focus-group findings with other research methods.
Integrated Marketing Communication
Marketers generally understand this, and most have come to embrace the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC), which refers to the idea that a brand will communicate most effectively if it sends a unified message through multiple media. Drewniany, Bonnie L.. Creative Strategy in Advertising (p. 32). Cengage Textbook. Kindle Edition.
Research Order
STEp 1: State Your Questions STEp 2: Dig through Secondary STEp 3: Conduct primary Research STEp 4: Interpret the Data secondary then primary
Types of research (primary/secondary)
Secondary Research: Company Records: Annual Reports- Reports. In addition to financial data, an annual report contains information about corporate philosophy, competition, and future goals. However, even bad news in such reports usually has an optimistic slant to it. Therefore, annual reports should be primarily used as a starting point. Customer Profiles- Profiles. If you've ever filled out a product warranty card, entered sweepstakes, applied for a credit card, or sent for a rebate, you've supplied important information, such as your age, sex, income, education, family size, and living situation. You may also have been asked to state how you learned about the product, where you bought it, and whether you have owned that brand before. Your answers become part of a database that helps marketers know how to reach you and others like you. Technical Reports-Granted, much of the information in these reports may sound like gobbledygook to the average reader, but you never know when you'll happen on the perfect line. Websites-The company's website is a great starting point because it gives an overview of the history of the organization, profiles key employees, highlights its product line, and allows customers to ask questions, download tips, play games, and so on. Also, log on to your competitors' websites and see how they position themselves. Much like an annual report, the website presents the company's best face and is one-sided. Therefore, you'll need to do additional digging to uncover insights for your campaign. Social media- Keep in mind that these social media sources often represent extreme reactions from people who are in love with a brand as well as people who want a place to vent their frustrations. Trade Associations- Name a trade or area of interest, and there's bound to be an association for it, staffed with knowledgeable people. Library Resources- Syndicated market data-A number of research companies offer paid subscribers a detailed look at the lifestyles and shopping habits of various U.S. markets. Primary Research: -Once you've exhausted the secondary sources, you will likely have unanswered questions that warrant primary research. Here's where observation, focus groups, surveys, and experiments come in. -Firsthand experience: gives you important insights that may lead to the big idea. However, be careful not to assume that everyone thinks or behaves the same way you do. You may have a more sophisticated understanding of the product, you may have a bias toward your client, or you may not be part of the target market. Therefore, other research methods are essential. -Observation: Go to a store and see how your brand is displayed. Ask a sales associate a few questions about your brand and its competitors. Also, observe customers interacting with your brand. If you have permission from the store manager, ask the customers -Surveys: Surveys, one of the most common primary-research methods, ask current or prospective customers questions about product usage, awareness of ad campaigns, attitudes toward competing brands, and so on. Surveys are conducted online and by mail, telephone, or personal interview. -Focus Groups: Invite 5 to 10 people who are typical of your target market to discuss their feelings about your product. You'll want their permission to record the session, and you will need a moderator who encourages everyone to speak and who keeps the discussion on track. Because participants are urged to say what's on their minds, important issues may be uncovered. -Interviews: Interviews One-on-one interviews usually last from 30 minutes to 2 hours and can uncover important insights. To ensure accuracy, ask the participant for permission to record the interview. Ask a lot of questions and remember this is an interview, not a two-way conversation, so you should do little talking and should refrain from giving personal opinions. Also, always remember that people may not want to reveal the real reasons they do or don't like a product. -Ethnography: People are more open when they're in an environment that's familiar to them, rather than a conference room with a two-way mirror. Ethnographic research observes people in their natural surroundings. -Projective Techniques: Using projective techniques, researchers ask respondents to sketch drawings, tell tales, finish sentences, do word associations, create collages, and match companies with animals, colors, places, and types of music so that they can understand consumers' subconscious attitudes toward products. These techniques sometimes uncover surprising motives for behavior. -Experiments: This research method answers questions about cause and effect. Suppose you want to compare the attitudes of a group of people who saw your ad with a group that didn't.
Simmons
Simmons National Consumer Survey is a comprehensive study of the U.S. adult population (18-plus years). It provides information on consumer usage behavior for all major media, more than 450 product categories, and more than 8,000 brands, and it includes in-depth demographics, psychographics, and lifestyle descriptors of the American population. The National Hispanic Consumer Study surveys more than 10,000 Hispanic adults living in the United States as part of the Simmons National Consumer Survey to identify their media habits, product and service preferences, attitudes, and opinions. Refer to the box on the next page to see how to use this important data to uncover insights about your brand and consumers.
Celebrities in Ads
Some of the most popular commercials feature a Who's Who of pop culture. There are numerous advantages to using celebrities, including the following: •They have stopping power .•Fans idolize celebrities. •Social media makes celebrities seem more accessible to fans. •People are fascinated about the personal lives of celebrities. •Their unique characteristics can help communicate the selling idea. •They're perceived as experts in their fields. •They're expensive. •They're often a quick fix, not a long-term strategy. •They may lack credibility. •They may endorse so many products that it confuses people. •They can overshadow the message. •They may disparage your brand when they think no one's listening. •Bad press about the celebrity can hurt the sponsor.
Survey of Buying Power
Survey of Buying Power ranks zip code areas in special characteristics, such as Asian American population, children younger than 5 years of age, and households in mobile homes. It also gives 5-year projections and percentage of change for population, buying income, and retail spending in all U.S. counties.
Best practices for survey questions
Surveys, one of the most common primary-research methods, ask current or prospective customers questions about product usage, awareness of ad campaigns, attitudes toward competing brands, and so on. Surveys are conducted online and by mail, telephone, or personal interview. Whichever method you use to conduct your survey, be certain to test the survey on a small sample to ascertain whether there are misleading or ambiguous questions. When a team of advertising students wanted to determine people's awareness level of the American Red Cross slogan "Help Can't Wait," it tested a survey that asked respondents to match five nonprofit organizations to five slogans. Almost all the slogans were correctly matched. But did this mean people knew the "Help Can't Wait" slogan, or was it a fluke? To find out, the students conducted another test, using seven slogans and five organizations. The results were quite different. The fictitious slogan "The Life Blood of America" was matched to the Red Cross by 65% of respondents. Why the different results? In the first survey, respondents could guess the correct answer through the process of elimination. The second survey prevented the respondents from covering a genuine lack of awareness. The structure of your question can also give different results. In the Red Cross example, respondents were given a multiple-choice question, an example of a closed-end question. As you may imagine, the results may be even more dramatic if the students chose to use an open-ended question, asking the respondents to answer in their own words. What about "neutral" answers, which give respondents the option of "neither agree nor disagree"? David Sleeth-Keppler argues against them: "Responses at a neutral midpoint do not inform the researcher if the respondent chose the neutral response because he or she is neutral about the attitude issue or if the respondent simply doesn't feel qualified to answer the question." 6 Instead of a neutral point, he recommends including a "Have no idea" or "Does Not Apply" option. Sleeth-Keppler also recommends that you avoid "double barrel" questions that ask a respondent about two or more separate issues in a single question. For example, "I enjoy watching television as a valuable source of learning" is actually asking two separate questions. If a respondent disagreed with this statement it would be impossible to tell why. It might be that the respondent doesn't enjoy watching television at all. Or it might be that he or she enjoys watching television but doesn't think it's a valuable source of learning. In addition, keep the following points in mind when you design a survey: 1. Keep the survey short. 2. Use simple language. 3. Include complete instructions. 4. Put easy-to-answer questions first. 5. Ask general questions before detailed ones. 6. Save potentially embarrassing questions, such as about income, for the end.
Account Planning
The Account Planning Group, the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the American Advertising Federation, the Direct Marketing Association, the Newspaper Association of America, Magazine Publishers of America, the Radio Advertising Bureau and the Association of Internet Professionals.
Brand Identity
identity is its primary source of identification, but it's also the source of a consumer's associations, which are the links between values and a brand. These can be positive or negative, and the way to help control these associations—this image—is to carefully manage identity strategy. To help develop or enhance a brand's identity, a company should engage in appropriate research—from perceptual research with consumers (if developing a brand identity) to a brand audit to ensure consistency (if enhancing a brand identity). Once a strong identity is achieved, brand owners need to protect the identity to ensure its exclusivity. Protection can include preventative measures, such as training employees on the proper use of the identity, or invoking legal means, such as through trademark or copyright law.
U.S. Census Information
is updated every 10 years and provides population, ancestry, marital status, education, geographic mobility, occupation, income, and other demographic data. One of the few things it doesn't report, because of the constitutional separation of church and state, is religious data. Drewniany, Bonnie L.. Creative Strategy in Advertising (p. 44). Cengage Textbook. Kindle Edition.
Lovemark
refer to brands "inspiring loyalty beyond reason."
Prizm
•Prizm, available through Claritas, defines every U.S. household in terms of 66 demographically and behaviorally distinct types, or "segments," to help marketers discern those consumers' likes, dislikes, lifestyles, and purchase behaviors.
