Brand Resear

and Consume
Insights
search gives marketers exactly
at is needed to connect brands
h individuals and IMC
target audiences.
grams withImportance of R
ntifying problem and
ortunities in the market
elps in identifying new market
ortunities for existing and new
ducts. It provides
Importance
information on of R
ket share, nature of competition,
tomer satisfaction levels, sales
formances and channel of distribution.
 Effective Communication Mix
keting research uses promotional
arch to study media mix, advertising
ctiveness and integrated
munication tools. Research on such
Importance of R
ects will help in promoting effectively a
pany’s product in the market.
ermining consumer needs and
nts
rketing research helps in collecting
rmation on consumers from structured
ribution research and helps in making
Importance of R
keting customer oriented.
e are three primary categories of
eting research;
stry
duct Categories of Ma
sumer Research
category provides us with valuable
mation to make effective management
ions especially for IMC.
 ustry Research – gathers facts about
size of the market, number of
petitors, leading brands, and details
ut recent trends or challenges that are
erging. Industry
Marketing
research also Resea
ludes information about new product
elopments, technological
lications for productivity, and
cutive profiles.
 duct Research – gets into the
sical characteristics and composition
product or service. It is kind of x-ray
mination of the contents, ingredients,
ign, construction, and functionality.
Marketing Resea
 sumer Research – is the most useful
of marketing research for IMC
ning. It provides valuable data about
ting customers and potential buyers, as
l as insights into their actions and
Marketing Resea
avior. Consumer research also enables
pany executives, small business
ers, and entrepreneurs to discover new
keting opportunities with innovative
tegies.
ondary research includes hundreds of
sands of different documents,
lications, and reference sources. Most
easily be obtained online, but many
Secondary
rge for their usage. Infor
The secondary
arch categories include: government
research
uments, industry associations,
dicated reports, business publications,
demic journals, and consulting
pany analyses.
ernment Documents – The
ernment is the single biggest source of
ndary research information. It is
red free, or at a very nominal cost
Secondary
pared to research Infor
information. The
ority of the information
research that is used by
ertising agencies and corporations is
ined from the Dept. of Census, Dept.
ommerce, or the Dept. of Agriculture.
ustry Association – Every industry has
ofessional association that requires
bership to receive its services. While
most significant function is to lobby
Secondary
laws and regulations Infor
that are favorable
the association’s membership. The
research
ciation frequently hires independent
arch companies, used its own
loyees, to conduct studies on topics of
rest.
iness Publications – include sales
otion, new product introductions,
nological developments, and a variety of
ure stories. Each online source or
azine has several editions during the
Secondary year
Infor
provide summary of the leading
research
panies, brands and executives. There are
lications for the travel, tourism, banking,
restaurant industries, plus media that is
n focused on the channels of distributions.
 demic Journals – While academic
nals are often theoretical and limited in
r applications, these publications can still
ide a broad framework and better
erstanding of industry
Secondaryproblems and
Infor
llenges. These academic papers are
research
icularly useful when the information is
vant, recent, and comprehensive.
rary Archives – The last stop on the
arch train. Libraries in large metropolitan
s, public universities and private institutes
ere an enormous amount of printed and
is stored. While most
tal informationSecondary of
Infor
publications and reports can be accessed
research
ne, there are many expensive reference
ks and proprietary documents that can be
ed during a physical visit.
ere are many techniques used to collect primary
rketing research information, but the most
ular ones are: focus groups, personal interviews,
survey research. This trio provides a balanced
spective of consumers’ attitudes, beliefs, and
nions on product categories and specific brands.
Primary Insight
e information needs of the company, or agency,
l limit the amount of time and money allocated
primary research, since the “true value” of the
ormation cannot be determined until after the
earch is concluded or interpreted.
 cus groups – is to share individual beliefs and
itudes about brands and product usage, a well
anized set of questions must be prepared in
ance. The best approach is to begin the
cussion with a few general questions, and later,
ve into more specific and focused topics. A
Primary Insight
us group lasts for one to two hours, which gives
ryone plenty of time to talk and share their
ughts. It is the responsibility of the moderator
the group to move steadily through the topics
questions without spending unnecessary time.
rsonal Interviews – Talking directly to a
tomer or prospective buyer is the single most
ective way to get a realistic perspective of any
rketing environment. The problem is the cost and
e involved. It can be very expensive to find and
ruit people for an interview and even more
Primary Insight
ensive to hire a professional research
erviewer. The process of asking people questions
be a challenge, especially when you do not want
influence their answers. The interviewer has to do
re listening than talking and always be alert for
ortunities to learn more.
rvey Research – Online technology makes this
e of the fastest, easiest, and least expensive
thods of collecting a small, but sufficient,
ount of data about customers and potential
yers. It all begins with a questionnaire, but that
ore complex than you think. The problem is
Primary Insight
amount of time that people are willing to spend
pleting the questionnaire. It has been
ducted using paper forms, mailed to a pre-
eened list of people with large sample size.
e foundation of marketing research for IMC can
condensed into five simple but essential words:
o, what, why, where and when? The primary
secondary demographic data collected and
lyzed from consumer research is strategically
Applying Resear
lied for both preliminary media and creative
nning.
Planning
 tive Brand Messages – The reason for a
umer purchase it the basis of insight research.
is why focus groups, personal interviews, and
ective techniques are used to get inside the
of a consumer. Anything that helps to get the
Applying Resear
sages across to the target audience is a valuable
overy.
Planning
 ia Delivery methods – Psychographics
ides one of the most useful pieces of
rmation for making media decisions. This
entation factor identifies the target audience
ile for a potential buyer based on attitudes,
Applying Resear
tyle, personality, and other behavioral
acteristics. The media that is finally selected
Planning
ts the people who are most likely to purchase
dvertiser’s brand.