AdTalk Archive - ResearchTalk

Dec 9, 2008 0

Just How Healthy is Brand Health Measurement?

Our article in the Dec ‘08 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Brand health monitoring is an important tool, particularly during tough economic times when managing RoI becomes critical for CMOs. But what are some of the tools, and are they fit for purpose?

The Millward Brown Approach
Don’t say we didn’t try.

In the ceaseless search for simplicity, we ask Eileen Campbell, CEO of Millward Brown for a single measure to encapsulate brand health: “We aren’t really advocates of single number measures – the same way you wouldn’t monitor your personal health with a single number.” Sounds reasonable.

Instead, the philosophy behind BrandZ, their brand health tool/framework, is to measure the strength of the consumer bond, says global brand director Peter Walshe: “Consumers have relationships with brands, and the intent is to strengthen those relationships.”

Strength is derived from a couple of (exotic-sounding) metrics: ‘bonding’ and ‘voltage’.

Bonding refers to one of five levels that indicate the strength of the consumer bond. It is based on factors such as: spontaneous awareness, knowledge, relevance, performance, and perceived competitive advantage. For example, the lowest level (weakest bond) typifies a consumer who is simply familiar with a brand and nothing else. The highest level (strongest bond) reflects a consumer who regards the brand as relevant to them and way ahead of the competition.

And voltage? That, says Walshe, reflects how effectively consumers move up the bonding levels. Strong brands tend to have high conversation ratios between the levels.
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Nov 17, 2008 0

Why Qual had to Change

Our article in the Nov ‘08 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

In an age where innovation is de rigeur, we look into how well qualitative is keeping up with the times.

“You must have mis-recruited me,” says Chris Forrest of qualitative house The Nursery, “I’m not sure there is lots of innovation in qualitative.”

Moreover, he feels there’s no need for innovation: “Qualitative research is quite evolved… a major tool for us is the good old focus group…it’s just a very good way to get people to interact with each other.”

But far from being a Luddite, Forrest is innovating, it just takes him a while to acknowledge this. And that’s not dissimilar from the initial reaction we get from others we spoke to.
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Jun 17, 2008 0

VRooM, VRooM

Our Spotlight column in the Jun ‘08 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are privileged to witness the start of a new movement. A movement that is revving up to do what The Cluetrain Manifesto did for marketing communications. Welcome to VRM.

Remember ‘The Cluetrain Manifesto’? It’s the book co-authored by pre-eminent marketing practitioners including Harvard University’s Doc Searls. It coined the phrase “markets are conversations”.

Well, Mr. Searls is at it again. Not satisfied with inspiring consumers to use the web to redress the balance between marketers and consumers (e.g. via blogs), he wants to move things up a gear. And blogging strategist Adriana Lukas is along for the ride.
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Mar 10, 2008 0

Keeping New Media Advertising Honest

Our Spotlight column in the Oct ‘07 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Now that new media accounts for a significant portion of advertising revenues, advertising bodies are investigating how to future-proof its self-regulatory framework.

Breaking news: as far as advertising goes, the internet’s not quite the bad boy it may appear to be.

As Richard Knubben, policy & compliance manager at EASA, the European Advertising Standards Alliance, puts it: “On the whole, internet and new media-related complaints have made up a relatively small percentage of total advertising complaints over the last couple of years, but are slowly rising.”

And according to Christopher Graham, director general of UK advertising regulator the ASA, that’s because people see traditional media including TV as ‘push’ and so uncontrollable by the recipient, whereas new media is more ‘pull’. He adds: “…people have an expectation about the internet. If they encounter some nastiness they just go away… in context, they would probably expect some advertising to be, frankly, raunchier or sexier than on TV.” A conclusion supported by a 2005 research study commissioned by the ASA.
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Feb 19, 2008 0

Google: Friend or Foe?

Our Spotlight column in the Dec ‘07 edition of ESOMAR’s Research World. Grab your copy here.

Barely nine years old, few would deny that Google has had a significant impact on the world. But does Google bode well for the MR sector?

Mainak Mazumdar, VP of Measurement Services at Nielsen//NetRatings, probably sums it up best: every time, he notes, someone steps on a Google property, Google gets a bit more insight into their behaviour and, as a result, a bit smarter.

And as attention continues to shift online, and Google solidifies its position as a dominant destination, it is clearly becoming more adept at understanding not only consumer behaviour but also intention – i.e., when you enter a search query, you’re telling Google what you want to see, read, buy, do etc. And Google takes advantage of that to give you ever more relevant results.

So could this understanding one day trounce what MR has to offer?
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Nov 9, 2007 0

Exclusive to Facebook: Oliver James

We have an exclusive video of Oliver James, the well known psychologist, author and broadcaster, talking at the recent AQR Trends ‘07 about his fascinating new book Affluenza. The chat is both thought-provoking and funny, and there’s an audience q&a session at the end.

But to see it you’ll need to join our Facebook group. So if you haven’t already done so, join now (300 already have). It’s free, easy, and you’ll find more exclusive content there, including discussions between you guys.

Series:Events Series:AQR Series:Trends07

Nov 7, 2007 0

William Higham: “The Teen is Dead”

10mins | Produced @ AQR Trends ‘07 | More podcasts in this series

STARRING

William Higham, Next Big Thing
Alison Fydler, Joint MD and co-founder, Firefish

Of all the trends discussed during the AQR Trends ‘07 conference, the one William talks about here could be one of the most significant, in our humble opinion. He suggests that age-based targeting is becoming significantly less relevant across many categories. For example, grey folks exhibit teen-like behaviour (eg. still into hedonism and rock ‘n roll) and vice versa (teens exhibiting social responsibility and an interest in politics).

Listen to William as he chats with Alison from the award-winning Firefish, about the wider implications of William’s theories. Interesting tidbit about Alison and William: we randomly paired them up for this chat but little did we know that the two already knew each other from years ago as they were growing up!

BTW, references to ‘Oliver’ are to Oliver James who spoke before this chat took place, and he spoke about his new book, ‘Affluenza’.

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Nov 6, 2007 1