The Johns Hopkins UniversityCommunication in

Contemporary SocietyBranding and Advertising“The Role of Marketing

Research”

President, Shugoll Research301-656-0310

mshugoll@shugollresearch.com

7475 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 200Bethesda, Maryland 20814www.shugollresearch.com

Merrill S. Shugoll, PRC

Obtain a baseline of equity for all brands in the category

Identify how best to differentiate your brand from the competition

Confirm that the brand identity you have chosen for your product matches the brand values or essence of the brand

Measure the effectiveness of your brand strategies and accompanying communications programs over time

Why do marketing research?

Secondary research

Internet (including blog research)

Libraries and other sources for conducting literature searches

Database searches

Searches for published studies

What marketing research methods best fit my objectives?

Qualitative marketing research (in-person and/or online and hybrid) – small sample size, results are not projectable

― Focus groups― In-depth interviews (IDIs)― Ethnographies― Shopalongs

What marketing research methods best fit my objectives?

Primary marketing research (i.e. design a custom study to meet specific objectives)

Quantitative marketing research – large sample sizes,

results are intended to be projectable

― Online research― Telephone research― Snail-mail research― Intercept research― Hybrid research

What marketing research methods best fit my objectives?

Step 1 – Baseline brand equity study with customers and prospects

― Sample sizes

― Types of questions to ask

How is it done in the “real world?”

― Data collection methods

― Data tabulation

― Data analysis

― Development of a written report with high quality graphs, interpretation of the data, conclusions and recommendations

Types of Questions To Ask

Top-of-mind brand recall, unaided recall, aided recall

Patronage, frequency, preference and why

Familiarity/knowledge

Attributes of ideal brand, identify your brand’s unique attributes and how well your brand delivers

Image – agree/disagree, true/false or sentence completion

Test positionings, names, slogans, logos

How is it done in the “real world?”

Step 2 – Brand exploration study

― Focus groups or IDIs with customers and prospects

― Types of topics explored – e.g., Identify the hierarchy of target market needs that need to be fulfilled by your client’s brand.

― Types of exercises used – e.g., brand mapping, analogy, adjective exercise

― Tape transcriptions

― Analysis and report preparation including use of photos/descriptions and respondent verbatims generated by branding exercises

― Conclusions and recommendations

How is it done in the “real world?”

How is it done in the “real world?”

Mindmapping

How is it done in the “real world?”

Car Analogy

How is it done in the “real world?”

Adjectives exercise

How is it done in the “real world?”

How is it done in the “real world?”

How is it done in the “real world?”

How is it done in the “real world?”

Step 3 – Brand positioning testing, logo testing, tagline testing, color palette testing, name testing, etc.

― Focus groups or online survey with customers and prospects

― Types of issues explored

― Types of evaluation tools used

― Tape transcriptions from qualitative

― Analysis and report preparation

― Conclusions and recommendations

How is it done in the “real world?”

Step 4 – Communications testing – print, broadcast, direct mail, online, website usability, PR, etc.

― IDIs

― Types of questions asked

― Types of evaluation tools used

― Tape transcriptions

― Analysis and report preparation, including integration of communications materials and respondent verbatims

― Conclusions and recommendations

How is it done in the “real world?”

Secondary research – Internet research – evaluation of websites, look for articles in the press, post questions on social networking sites and gather responses

Getting started: What type of marketing research can you conduct?

Primary research

― (Idea) Conduct 50 customer intercepts (until you get stopped or unless you want to ask permission and risk not being granted access) right outside your client’s location

Design a survey instrument – make sure questions are unbiased

Getting started: What type of marketing research can you conduct?

― (Idea) Conduct observational research by visiting one of your client’s locations as well as a competitor’s location and compare what you see and overhear

Getting started: What type of marketing research can you conduct?

(Idea) Conduct 50 interviews via telephone, intercept or using an online survey with category users, but non-customers

― Category shoppers who do not use your client’s brand

Getting started: What type of marketing research can you conduct?

Use a survey instrument to determine:

― Unaided awareness of category players including your client

― Patronage of all the players― Aided awareness of all the players― Image – use agree/disagree questions to capture your

client’s brand attributes― Why people are using your client― Why prospects are not using your client― The demographic profile of customers and prospects― How and where people learn about your client

Getting started: What type of marketing research can you conduct?

Analyze your data, making sure that you compare the responses of customers and prospects

Getting started: What type of marketing research can you conduct?

Generate alternative brand positionings and other brand elements and test them using a qualitative methodology (e.g., mini-focus groups).

― Conduct two mini-groups, one with users and one with prospects i.e. users of competitors

― Obtain reactions to alternative positionings to determine which one best matches consumers needs and your brand’s core values

Getting started: What type of marketing research can you conduct?

Questions & Answers