relfections big idea

Another rock or a real gem? How to uncover yourbrand’s big idea.Leah McTiernan, Ipsos ASI

Another rock or a real gem? How to uncover your brand’s big idea.

Ipsos ASI – the Advertising Research Specialists

Another rock or a real gem? Howto uncover your brand’s big idea.Brand marketers are looking to stake a claim –searching to find that special territory they canoccupy and claim that is unique to their brand andtheir brand alone. Identifying that territory andensuring it has a credible connection with the brandis the mission of big idea research. To be effective,big ideas must be: • emotionally engaging • ownable• impactful• campaignable

First, let’s acknowledge that big idea development istough. There are examples of very successful bigideas in the marketplace (dare we utter the words‘real beauty’) but there are far more examples ofnot-so-big ideas that never reached that pinnacle of success. In our experience many good ideas areactually hampered by missteps in the developmentprocess.

Based on Ipsos ASI’s extensive research of brandsand advertising, here are five steps to uncoveringyour brand’s big idea:

1. To engage consumers, show that you truly understand them.

Of course, the goal is to create emotionally engagingand contagious ads. To do this you need a piercinginsight that connects with consumers instantly:revealing to them that you understand somethingabout them that they thought you didn’t know.

2. Make sure you can credibly ‘own’the space you want occupy.

Qualitatively, in our research, we’ve heard it explainedthis way in a study for a beverage ad: ”All of thatcan happen without this beverage. I thought it wasfor something that would teach and nurture, not for a beverage.” If consumers cannot interpret theconnection between the insight and your brand, nomatter how much they appreciate the thought, youridea simply won’t take root. Without the connec-tion, the idea cannot take shape in their minds andyour brand cannot own it. And, of course, be realis-tic. When the connection is not made, the insightcan feel too grandiose for the brand. One consumerputs it this way:“It’s beautifully written, but it makesthis beverage sound like a miracle thing. How doesit make your senses ‘in tune’? How does it do this to you?” The fact is your brand needs to play morethan a sponsoring moment. If consumers cannotinterpret the connection between the idea and yourbrand, no matter how much they appreciate or relateto the message, it just won’t work.

3. To motivate consumers,tout something compelling that makes you unique.

Consumers want to know why they should consideryour product or service over another. And whileengagement and ownability are critical to the development of brand impact, it is the ability of thebig idea to differentiate the brand that ensures thegreatest success. Too often, consumers have thisreaction: “Their bottled water is just like the nextguy’s, but what makes them different or unique?You have to show they’re not the same.” We couldn’tagree more. And, the good news for more estab-lished brands in established categories is that stakingout a territory can actually bring ‘new’ news – givingyou fresh things to say – and can carve out a spacethat leaves your brand emotionally differentiated.

4. Those little taglines make a big difference.

The brand sign-off is small but mighty and plays akey role in bringing the big idea to life. In big ideadevelopment, it is important to understand theunderlying perceptions that a brand logo or brandicon might have, and whether those perceptions arepositive or whether there are hurdles that must beovercome. The brand sign-off is described qualita-tively by consumers as the ’wrap up,’ and as some-thing that helps them ’remember it.’

Insight &Role of BrandIntegrated in

Consumers Minds

Indexed to Total: Top Two Box. ...

Advantage / Differentiation

Insight & Role of Brand

NOT Integrated inConsumers Minds

119

70

0 50 100 150


Integrated inConsumers Minds

Indexed to Total: Top Box. … this idea is

Ownable for the brand


NOT Integrated inConsumers Minds

133

71

0 50 100 150



5. Contrary to popular belief, visualsjust make execution more difficult.

While images can contribute to a consumer’s per-ception of clarity, believability and relevance, thiscan have a detrimental impact on understandingwhether the big idea has potential or not. Ultimatelyconsumers react to the images themselves and not to the actual words on the page: they do notconsider the big idea holistically. As a result, theyground themselves in the images and cannot ’imag-ine’ what an idea could become without them. Thisresults in lack of clarity for the brand team, agen-cies, and research teams as to what images are andare not an executional imperative moving forward.

The net result is that images can make a weaker bigidea test more strongly. In the words of one con-sumer: “The pictures guide it. They bring you to ahappy point so you feel different about what you’relooking at.” Conversely, the wrong images canweaken a potentially strong big idea: “I wouldn’t beas interested. I look at the pictures first and thesepictures aren’t me.”

As you’ll see below, consumers are no more accept-ing of big ideas that have visuals than they are ofthose that don’t.

Indexed to Control Concept: Top Box.

Control

Purchase Intent

Control + Images

100

99

0 25 50 75 100

Control

Change in Opinion about the Brand

Control + Images

100

92

0 25 50 75 100

When you’re developing your big idea stimulus keepit ‘raw.’ If you say or show too much you actuallylimit yourself. Stripped down big ideas allow con-sumers to explore and dream for you – ultimatelydelivering guided creative freedom as opposed toexecutional imperatives.

ConclusionAs media environments become more fragmented,more complex, and the number of touchpoints thatconsumers are exposed to increase exponentially –the path to brand communication success is to discover one platform that can engage consumersand create lasting brand affinity. That platform is thebig idea – a compelling truth that guides communi-cation across all media and harnesses a uniquepower to propel your brand.

A big idea is not an ad. An effective finished ad,working on its own, should create a short termresponse, impacting an increase in sales volume andon brand equity. A big idea is far more than this; itis the backbone of all your brand communications.It isn’t always easy to uncover – but when you dofind that gem your brand will shine – guided bystrong, consistent, compelling creative across allmedia – for years to come.

Indexed to Control Concept: Top Box.

Control

Ownability of Idea

Control + Images

100

93

0 25 50 75 100

Control

Competitive Advantage /Differentiation

Control + Images

100

99

0 25 50 75 100

Control

This is a unique wayto think about the category

Control + Images

100

90

0 25 50 75 100



Appendix

Research MethodologyThis research was designed to understand what elements contribute to the consumer understand -ing and acceptance of big ideas, so that we, asresearchers, could provide effective insight, recom-mendations and executional imperatives.

Big Ideas for five packaged goods brands wereselected for testing: all five were for commonlyknown brands to ensure reasonable levels of aware-ness. Each was executed in 5 variations.

Variation 1 – Control [contained Piercing Insight,Role of Brand, Brand Sign-Off]

Variation 2 – No Piercing Insight

Variation 3 – No Role of the Brand

Variation 4 – No Brand Sign-Off

Variation 5 – Control with Images

Online interviews were conducted with a nationallyrepresentative sample of female grocery shoppers(minimum 50% had kids) who were non rejecters ofthe brands being researched. One hundred respon-dents viewed and evaluated each of the five rota-tions; all respondents saw only one variation of eachbig idea for a total of 500 evaluations for each vari-ation. Variations and big ideas were randomized tocontrol for order bias.

In addition to the quantitative research, we con-ducted three qualitative focus groups with targetconsumers (one for each category tested) to probethe specific role of each of the elements based onthe results of the quantitative.

About Ipsos ASI

Ipsos ASI offers marketers state-of-the-art advertising research built on more than 40 years of experience usingmeasures predictive of in-market performance. We offer a full-range of solutions across all media – at any stage inthe creative process – from equity assessment to strategic development, advertising testing, and tracking. Ourresearch is backed by a dedicated team of advertising research specialists whose mission is to deliver the answersthat will add value to your business anywhere in the world.

About Ipsos

Ipsos ASI is a member of the Ipsos Group, a leading global survey-based research company. Ipsos member companiesoffer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting,modeling, and consulting. With offices in 55 countries, the Paris-based company was founded in 1975.

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