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Advertising Research The systematic gathering and analysis of information to help develop or evaluate advertising strategies, individual ads,

, and whole campaigns.

Applying Research to Advertising Decision Making 1. Advertising Strategy Research Use to help define the product concept or to assist in he selection of target markets, advertising messages, or media vehicles. 2. Creative concept Marketing Measures the target audiences acceptance of different creative ideas of different creative ideas at the concept stage. 3. Pretesting of ads Used to diagnose possible communication problems before a campaign begins. 4. Post testing of ads Enables Marketers to evaluate campaign after it runs. Advertising Strategy Research Companies develop an advertising strategy by blending elements of the creative mix. These include; the target audience, the communication media, and the creative messages. To seek information about all of these various elements, companies use advertising strategy research. 1. Product Concept Advertisers need to know how consumers perceive their brands. They also want to know what qualities lead to initial purchases and eventually, to brand loyalty. 2. Target Audience Selection Second element of the creative mix. One of the major purposes of research is to develop a rich profile of the brands target markets and audiences. The marketer will want to know which customers are the primary users of the product category and will study them carefully to understand their demographics, psychographics, and purchase behavior. 3. Media Selection To develop media strategies, select media vehicles, and evaluate their results, advertisers use a subset research called media research. Agencies subscribe to syndicated research services that monitor and publish information on the reach and effectiveness of media vehicles- radio, TV, newspapers and so on. 4. Message element Selection.

Companies hope to find promising advertising messages by studying consumers like and dislikes in the relation to brands and products. Developing Creative Concepts Once it develops an advertising strategy, the company (or its agency) will begin developing creative concepts for advertising. Example: Krafts researchers came up with two ad concepts that might keep mothers from defecting to competitive brands. First to show how much kids like Kraft Singles. Second to emphasize the fact that the brand provides the calcium that the kids needed.

Pretesting and Post testing Testing The primary tool advertisers use to ensure that their advertising dollars are spent wisely. It can prevent costly errors, especially in judging which advertsing strategy or medium is most effective. And it can give the advertiser some measure ( besides sales results ) of a campaigns value.

Pretesting To increase the likelihood of preparing the most effective advertising messages company use this. Example: Pretest all ad copy for communication gaps or flaws in message content before recommending it to clients. When companies did not protest their ads, they may encounter a surprising reaction from the market place. Schering Canada received a torrent of complaint letters from customers who said that they did not like its commercial introducing the anti-histamine Claritin to the over-the-counter market In Canada

Post testing Also called Ad tracking To evaluate not to Provides the advertiser with useful guidelines for future advertising. Advertisers use pretesting to help make decisions about a number if variables.

Testing helps make important decisions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. MerchandiseMarkets Motives Messages media

in posttesting, the objective is to evaluate, not to diagnose. Merchandise for the purposes of alteration, we refer to the product concept here as merchandise. Companies may pretest a number of factors: the package design, how advertising position the brand, or how well the advertising communicates the product features. Ex. Healthtex STEPS IN THE RESEARCH PROCESS. Situation analysis and problem definition Informal (exploratory ) research Construction of research objectives Formal research Interpretation and reporting of findings.

Step 1. Analyzing the Situational and Defining the problem The first step in the marketing research is to analyze the situation and define the problem. The marketing department also maintains a marketing information system (MIS)- a sophisticated set of procedures design to generate a continuous orderly flow of information for use in making marketing decisions, these systems ensures that managers get the information they need when they need it. Good research on the wrong problem is a waste of effort. Step 2. Conducting Informal (Exploratory) Research The second step in the process is to use informal (or exploratory) research to learn more about the market, the competition, and the business environment, and to better define the problem. Two Types of Research Primary Data Information Collected from the market place about a specific problem Secondary Data Researcher frequently use this Information previously collected or published, usually for some other purpose, by the firm or some other organization.

Assembling Internal Secondary Data Company records are often a valuable source of secondary information. Useful Internal data include product shipment figures, billings, warranty-card records, advertising expenditures, sales expenses, customer correspondence, and records of meetings with sales staffs. A well developed marketing information system can help researcher analyze sales data, review past tracking studies, and examine previous marketing research data. Gathering External Secondary Data Much information is available, sometimes for little or no cost, from the government, market research companies, trade associations, various trade publications, or computerized data bases. Most companies subscribe to any of a number of syndicated research reports about particular industry. Sources of Secondary Data Library reference Materials Government Publications Trade Association Publications Research Organizations and their publications or syndicated information. Consumer/Business Publications Computer Database services Internet Research Engines.

Step 3: Establishing Research Objectives Once the exploratory research phase is completed, The company may discover it needs additional information that it can get only from doing primary research. Market Share Research Objectives (Answers the Questions) Who are our customers? Who are the customers of other department stores? What do these customers like and dislike about us and our competitors? How are we currently perceived? What do we have to do to clarify and improve that perception? Step 4: If accompany wants to collect primary data directly from the marketplace about a specific problem or issue, it uses formal research. Two Types of formal Research

Qualitative Research To get a general impression of the market, the consumer, or the product, advertisers typically start with it. Quantitative Research To get hard numbers about specific marketing situations, they may perform a survey. Basic Methods of Qualitative Research To get people to share thoughts and feelings, researchers use qualitative research that elicits in-depth, open-ended responses rather than yes or no answers. Some marketers refer to his as a motivation research. The method used in qualitative research are usually either projective or intensive techniques.

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