3 Common Misconceptions About Market Research
02 May 2018

3 Common Misconceptions About Market Research

Over the years, we have heard many false misconceptions about market research. However, three themes consistently stick out: 1) Anyone can conduct market research 2) Focus groups are always the best methodology 3 )Research is not worth the money. Below you will learn why these misleading statements are not still always the case.

1. Anyone Can Conduct Market Research

In today’s digital world, there are many free and inexpensive online tools. As a result, companies may feel it is a cost-saving to conduct research in-house over hiring a market research company. Cost-saving becomes a common pitfall that many businesses conclude and is potentially quite dangerous. Above all, a poor research strategy leads to poor results. As a result, it could even possibly provide the wrong marketing strategy.

Market research professional’s number one job is to reduce the number of errors in their quantitative, qualitative, and secondary data. In addition, these experts have years of training and know how to avoid mistakes. In addition, common errors include improper research design, inferior data collection methods, small sample size & design, and improper use of statistic procedures.

Furthermore, a third party conducting the research compared to an internal employee avoids any research biases. A person who is close to an issue or the everyday inner workings of a company may not have an impartial view when conducting the market research resulting in skewed findings.

2. Focus Groups Are Always the Best Methodology

Many of our clients love focus groups, and we often lead this qualitative research methodology. It provides an approach that favors the most in-depth, revealing, and personal responses. Another misconception about Market Research is that focus groups are the only way to go. However, this exploratory method is often costly and not necessarily the best approach to answer every research need. Given that this method only interviews a limited number of participants, the research is directional.

There are online tools that can help you with a host of online research strategies. It’s essential to question a large number of participants, get statistical results, and introduce qualitative methods to garner in-depth insights. These online exercises are great to test brand concepts, messaging, print and digital ads, TV commercials, and radio ads. Online research comes in at a faster rate and costs significantly less money than focus group research.

3. Research is not worth the money

Often companies focus on execution needs such as a new website, media buys, or commercials. Companies cut their budgets for strategies based on research. As a result, the marketing or business strategy can become compromised and based on only assumptions. While in the short-term, it may have saved a few thousand dollars, in the long-term, your business may not be effectively reaching your target audience. Prioritizing the short term will result in potential lost profits.

If there is a specific budget you need to work with, be honest with your research vendor. There are often cost-effective methodologies to help answer your business objectives. The best thing you can do is work on a thoughtful and reasonable strategy without cutting corners. And trust us: your brand will benefit because of it.

Check out some of our most recent posts from our strategy and advertising research blog here:

  1. Blockchain & the Markest Research Industry
  2. I’m Just Not That Into You: Exclusivity or Bad Marketing?
  3. Is Your Research Stuck in the 1980s: Update Your Brand Tracker!
  4. Market Research Doesn’t Need to Be Boring: Improve Data Visualization
  5. Tips For Building Brand Strategy for a Successful Brand
  6. What’s the Difference Between Quantitative and Qualitative?

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Segmentation Research and Creating Personas
02 May 2018

Segmentation Research and Creating Personas

Written by: Rachael Ryan

Segmentation studies allow you to walk in the shoes of different consumers, so you can really understand their buying habits and interests. We’re going to discuss the importance of research and how you can use a segmentation study to create personas.

What is Segmentation?

Segmentation is the process of conducting market research using a survey tool in order to group similar consumers by their purchasing habits, their common needs, and attitudes. Segmentation can take many forms, two of which are ‘Needs-based segmentation’ and the second is ‘Attitudinal segmentation’. Then advanced analysis such as conjoint analysis or hierarchical cluster analysis is often used on the data that is gathered.

Priorities

Once you have your segments, you can prioritize them. This can be done by determining who has the highest propensity to purchase your product as well as tell you how much they are willing to spend and each group’s lifetime value. This is invaluable information because then, your target audience will be the people who already want to buy your product and at a price that they want to pay. It will also allow you to understand the size of each segment, what percentage of the population they are and therefore you can understand each segment’s potential worth to you.

Segmentation will also allow you to find out what may have been missed opportunities in the past. You’ll be able to figure out which audiences are spending money on other similar items and what would make them switch their purchasing habits to your product/service. These segments can be targeted too.

Creating Personas

Once you know who your segments are, bring them to life, by creating a persona. If there are various segments – you can pick out the similar traits, beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and values they have and make one persona that you can then market to. It makes marketing to your segments easier, cheaper and more effective. We can see what your persona thinks and how your brand fits into that mindset.

Segmentation has many benefits and it is very important. But by creating personas you can walk in your consumer’s shoes. Name your persona (ie. Jack!), you can even draw them for everyone to see, understand their thinking and then you’ll know who you’re trying to get your message across to. When done right, it’s a great way to totally comprehend your segmentation and use it efficiently for every marketing strategy.

Check out some of our most recent posts from our strategy and advertising research blog here:

  1. Blockchain & the Markest Research Industry
  2. I’m Just Not That Into You: Exclusivity or Bad Marketing?
  3. Is Your Research Stuck in the 1980s: Update Your Brand Tracker!
  4. Market Research Doesn’t Need to Be Boring: Improve Data Visualization
  5. Tips For Building Brand Strategy for a Successful Brand
  6. What’s the Difference Between Quantitative and Qualitative?

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Follow our social media accounts:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/provokeinsights

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/provokeinsights/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/provoke-insights

Check out our most recent features in the news media:

September 11th, 2019: 40% of U.S. Millennials prefer crypto investments in the event of a recession: eToro Survey

July 31st, 2019: Jewelry Is About to Get its Own ‘Got Milk’ Ads

July 1st, 2019: 22 Top Advertising Research Companies 2019

May 23rd, 2019: NYMRAD’s Q1 State Of The Market Report Arrives

April 8th, 2019: eToro survey finds millennials are leading the shift from stocks to crypto

Keep on the lookout for more blog posts from us!

Provoke Insights is a full-service market research firm. We help build and grow brands using multiple market research methodologies including qualitative, quantitative, and secondary research. We hope to work with you in the future.

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Segmentation has many benefits and it is very important. But by creating personas you can walk in your consumer’s shoes. Name your persona (ie. Jack!), you can even draw them for everyone.
But by creating personas you can walk in your consumer’s shoes. Name your persona (ie. Jack!), you can even draw them for everyone to see, understand their thinking and then you’ll know who you’re trying to get your message across to. When done right, it’s a great way to totally comprehend your segmentation and use it efficiently for every marketing strategy.

What is Advertising Research?
14 Mar 2018

What is Advertising Research?

In the advertising and marketing industry, research is used to identify and define marketing problems. For instance, there is research involved in the following aspects of the advertising process:

  • Industry or competitive analysis
  • Pitch process
  • Concept generation
  • Ad ideation
  • Consumer/target audience development
  • Segmentation
  • Ad pre-test
  • Ad post
  • Tracking the ad’s success
  • Branding initiatives
  • Content marketing
  • Thought leadership
 

Primary and Secondary

Primary and secondary research are methodologies that evaluate advertising. Although this can seem like an unnecessary expense, it is far from it. As they say: “Failure to prepare is preparation for failure.” This upfront research cost allows your communications to be more targeted, set up for success, and ultimately drive more sales.

 

Primary research is research that is not already out there. There are two types of primary research: qualitative and quantitative.

Qualitative

Qualitative research is directional and used to garner ideas and insights. Traditionally, this type of research has been conducted at focus group facilities, over the phone, or even in one’s home. However, new technologies have brought this type of research into the digital space. That is to say, online focus groups, bulletin boards, and social research allow the strategists to be timelier and more cost-effective. New technologies such as virtual reality are revolutionizing this type of research.

 

In advertising, qualitative research is excellent for the initial feedback of campaign ideas, concept testing, and bringing a specific target segment to life.

Quantitative

Quantitative research derives conclusions about specific target populations through methods such as online or over-the-phone surveys. As a result, this number-oriented methodology reaches out to a large number of respondents to be statistically representative of a population. In other words, strategists use quant for advertising tracking research, brand equity research, concept testing, consumer, and segmentation research. To sum it up, quant helps you predict if your advertising campaign will be successful.

Secondary

Secondary research uses available data on the current market. That is to say; secondary information already exists for another purpose. Moreover, there are many ways to create a secondary research report. For instance, you can commission a market research company to gather market information. In addition, you could purchase syndicated research. Further, you could subscribe to research databases or even conduct a web search. Check out our article about free research databases. 

 

Often this type of research is beneficial to advertisers when better understanding trends and the competitive and industry landscape. It is also useful if you are looking to conduct an ad audit of your competitors.

 

Research vendors conduct advertising research, commissioned by either advertising agencies or in-house marketers. Therefore, they allow for the research results to be unbiased and gives an accurate representation of where the brand or ad campaign stands. Above all, your company wants to collect meaningful, impartial, and insightful explorations into your market. Most importantly, research should inform your marketing and strategic practices. Certainly market research should lead to more sales, and a great report will point you in the right direction for just that. In conclusion, there are many reasons to conduct market research. Choose wisely!

 

Check out some of our most recent posts from our strategy and advertising research blog here:

  1. Blockchain & the Markest Research Industry
  2. I’m Just Not That Into You: Exclusivity or Bad Marketing?
  3. Is Your Research Stuck in the 1980s: Update Your Brand Tracker!
  4. Market Research Doesn’t Need to Be Boring: Improve Data Visualization
  5. Tips For Building Brand Strategy for a Successful Brand
  6. What’s the Difference Between Quantitative and Qualitative?

Sign up for our newsletters here!

Follow our social media accounts:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/provokeinsights

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/provokeinsights/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/provoke-insights

Check out our most recent features in the news media:

September 11th, 2019: 40% of U.S. Millennials prefer crypto investments in the event of a recession: eToro Survey

July 31st, 2019: Jewelry Is About to Get its Own ‘Got Milk’ Ads

July 1st, 2019: 22 Top Advertising Research Companies 2019

May 23rd, 2019: NYMRAD’s Q1 State Of The Market Report Arrives

April 8th, 2019: eToro survey finds millennials are leading the shift from stocks to crypto

February 19th, 2019: New eToro Survey: Nearly Half of Millennials Trust U.S. Stock Market Less Than Crypto

February 13th, 2019: The Value of B2B Equity

December 18th, 2019: eToro Survey: 44% of Investors Identify Education as Main Barrier to Crypto Trading

Keep on the lookout for more blog posts from us!

Provoke Insights is a full-service market research firm. We help build and grow brands using multiple market research methodologies including qualitative, quantitative, and secondary research. We hope to work with you in the future.

Tech Companies, What’s Your Marketing Strategy?
05 Feb 2018

Tech Companies, What’s Your Marketing Strategy?

In 2018, the tech industry is expecting to continue to grow at record rates. As technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence), voice, and virtual reality gaining popularity, new startups are emerging, and current companies are integrating these new technologies. As a result, the consumer benefits. On the other hand, it causes an extremely competitive environment for tech startups and an increased focus on marketing strategy. Therefore, these companies don’t get noticed and become drowned out in the saturated marketplace. Also, leadership often believes the innovation is good enough to sell itself-but that is not true.

What can you do to stand out from the competition? How can you get your message heard in a crowded marketplace?

In short, it is all down to brand strategy or positioning strategy. In fast-growth companies, like tech startups, it is vital to position your brand for success. Consequently, to be best positioned, it is essential to be aware of:

  1. Who you are targeting?
  2. What resonates with that audience?
  3. Where they will see your brand’s content?
  4. How they will interact with your brand?

1. Who you are targeting

Above all, target audience research will be your best friend. What age are they? What are their past times? Are there brands that they already invest in? Most importantly, you have to know who you are targeting. In the same vein, we have written a blog on this here, if you want to read more.

2. What resonates with that audience?

Concept testing, messaging testing, idea testing. This type of research is all done very easily and it is something that will pay off for you in the long run. When you are so close to something – ie. working on a brand or website for months – it is hard to recognize what might not resonate with your audience.

3. Where will your audience first interact with your brand’s content?

What channels are your audience engaged in? Do they use social media? If so, which platforms? What television or streaming services do they subscribed to? What radio do they listen to? Do they have a smart speaker in their homes? What podcasts are on their radar? This is just a sample of the mine of knowledge you should gather about your audience before diving into a strategy.

4. How will they interact with your brand?

Lastly, considering you are a tech company and presumably, the brand is based online and has websites/apps as well as an e-commerce site, it is essential to conduct User Experience  (UX) research too. How will your audience use your website? What will funnel them through the purchasing process with more ease and with fewer cart abandonments? What user interface will make them want to visit your homepage and take a look.

With all of this research, you will be best setup to reach the right audience, at the right time, in the right place, and have them enjoy the experience. Even one or two of these techniques will help your tech company soar and grow at the high-speed rate you want it to. Provoke Insights, a brand strategy and market research firm based in New York City, offers all of these research capabilities. To find out more, contact us at [email protected].

Check out some of our most recent posts from our strategy and advertising research blog here:

  1. Blockchain & the Markest Research Industry
  2. I’m Just Not That Into You: Exclusivity or Bad Marketing?
  3. Is Your Research Stuck in the 1980s: Update Your Brand Tracker!
  4. Market Research Doesn’t Need to Be Boring: Improve Data Visualization
  5. Tips For Building Brand Strategy for a Successful Brand
  6. What’s the Difference Between Quantitative and Qualitative?

Sign up for our newsletters here!

Follow our social media accounts:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/provokeinsights

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/provokeinsights/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/provoke-insights

Keep on the lookout for more blog posts from us!

Manufacturers… What’s Your Brand Strategy?
11 Jan 2018

Manufacturers… What’s Your Brand Strategy?

While manufacturing in the United States has adopted new technologies to streamline operations, logistics, increase capabilities, and provide better products, industry growth is still slow due to overseas competition.  Though manufacturers are consistently innovating, 2017 growth in the industry has only increased by 1.6%[1]. What is the brand strategy?

Manufacturers often rely on their sales teams to develop and solidify relationships.  However, with such a competitive environment, it is short-sighted to not only focus on sales. Even a B2B industry should have a brand strategy in place.

First, every business should have a unique selling proposition to convince prospects to work with your company as well as to increase loyalty among current customers.  It makes the sales teams’ jobs easier by providing key differentiators in an industry where prospects and customers may see many manufacturers as all the same. This provides additional value for the brand beyond cost.

Second, it is pertinent to understand your customer wants and needs and determine if your company meets them. Plus, there should be a strong understanding of why prospects work with your competitors vs. you.  Other than price, what is that key trigger point that would convince them to switch manufacturers?  Often this can be done using market research with methodologies such as focus groups and surveys. For example, you can learn about what is unique about your brand vs. the competition, as well as possible emotional triggers you would not normally associate with a manufacturing company.

Also, it is pertinent to determine what marketing channels not only reach your customers, but can best communicate your brand’s story.

Even if your competitive advantage is not the most advanced or the cheapest, a market strategy is a way to tell a compelling story that helps your customer understand your brand in a simple and digestible manner.

As you can tell, there are many moving parts to a marketing strategy.  Provoke Insights can help assist with a marketing or branding strategy and research needs.

Read our blogs about why primary and secondary research is so important when launching a successful brand.

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[1]  “Over-the-year employment changes and tests of significance, seasonally adjusted. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov Dec. 2017.

The 3 Most Popular Blogs of 2017
03 Jan 2018

The 3 Most Popular Blogs of 2017

We are looking back on 2017’s most popular blog posts on Provoke Insights. That is to say, what did people want to read about regarding brand strategy, advertising research, and brand research?

Number 1: Tech Company’s Brand Strategy

Interestingly, the number one spot is Tech Companies… What’s Your Brand Strategy? An older blog of ours, we wrote this way back in September 2015. Firstly, that the internet loses nothing! Secondly, this blog becomes more relevant every day as the tech industry continues to grow at a rapid rate. With more and more technology-based brands launching, there is a need to have a consistent marketing strategy based on research and insights. However, we see tech companies who start with tactics first and result in a flimsy advertising plan. Having worked with several technology companies this year, we have learned that each brand has a diverse and unique need. Also, we see that more and more tech firms are making sure that they have the right brand strategy in place.

Number 2: Millennials and Jewelry

Likewise, our second most popular blog – Millennials, Fine Jewelry, and the Luxury Category – is an oldie but a goodie. During 2017, the piece gained traction, but was written in December 2016. To sum up, this article was popular because of the need to understand this generation’s uncommon spending habits within the luxury category. The media talks endlessly about how millennials behave, how to reach them, and what they’re buying. Consequently, this blog’s popularity may have stemmed from the need to understand better this generation that has caused such a stir. In addition, were so interested in the topic because we did a four-part research project with Jewelers of America in 2017. Meanwhile, it included qualitative research among suppliers and retailers, as well as a segmentation that highlighted millennials as a primary target for a national jewelry campaign. You can read more about that here.

Number 3: Market Research Trends

On the other hand, we wrote our third most popular blog in 2017 – 7 New Trends in Market Research in 2017. In this blog, we ran down a list of new technology and innovative ideas to revitalize a market research strategy. Moreover, we are happy to say our predictions were right and we used almost all of these trends in 2017 and planned to use more of them in 2018. As a result, these trends should continue into 2018 with the added rise of smartphone-based research. Applications on smartphones can track users locations, gender, age, purchasing habits, and app usage. So anybody can buy demographic data – there’s a possibility that market research firms will take advantage of it. Until there is a framework in place to regulate this – all of the data is fair game.

We would like to wish you all a Happy New Year from the Provoke Insights Team. Thank you for reading about our most popular blogs. We are launching our updated advertising research study at the end of January. Keep an eye out for new blog posts with original information from the research study about advertisers, in-house marketers, the pitch process, stress levels in the workplace, media, and advertising budgets, and much more.

Check out some of our most recent posts from our strategy and advertising research blog here:

  1. Blockchain & the Markest Research Industry
  2. I’m Just Not That Into You: Exclusivity or Bad Marketing?
  3. Is Your Research Stuck in the 1980s: Update Your Brand Tracker!
  4. Market Research Doesn’t Need to Be Boring: Improve Data Visualization
  5. Tips For Building Brand Strategy for a Successful Brand
  6. What’s the Difference Between Quantitative and Qualitative?

Sign up for our newsletters here!

Follow our social media accounts:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/provokeinsights

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/provokeinsights/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/provoke-insights

Keep on the lookout for more blog posts from us!

The Benefits and Boundaries of Ad Tracking Surveys
19 Dec 2017

The Benefits and Boundaries of Ad Tracking Surveys

Ad tracking surveys are vital for ensuring that your advertising campaigns and communication continue to have a positive impact. By gathering quantitative data from consumers regularly, you can benchmark and audit a brand’s health and change strategy according to the outcome of the results. It is important for all ad tracking surveys to be customized to your needs, many setbacks are due to one-size-fits-all solutions that may not be appropriate to your brands needs.

Initiating a tracker prior to a full ad launch allows the ad to create KPIs to measure the success of your advertising initiatives. Then, once the advertising is launched, the desired outcome is for the ad to be remembered by as many consumers as possible, that the advertisement is credible, is perceived to be communicating its intended message, and is liked. It is also key to determine if the advertisement outperforms the competition.

There is an opportunity to move beyond traditional ad tracking surveys and measure advertising awareness to exploring a changing marketplace and bringing context to consumer behavior.

At Provoke Insights, our standard ad tracker will longitudinally track scores such as ad awareness comparing a brand to its competitors. We have also introduced the Ecosystem Ad Tracker to connect any dots that the ad tracker leaves unjointed. This supplemental product brings additional depth and context to what is happening in the industry. We will measure if KPI’s are being met, conduct social listening, and analyze secondary data to further deepen the knowledge, web and search results will be analyzed as well as industry trends and public relations.

For more information on Ad Tracking studies and our Ecosystem Ad Tracker to provide a 360 connection please contact [email protected].

2018 Trends: Advertising & Marketing Industry
27 Nov 2017

2018 Trends: Advertising & Marketing Industry

As 2018 approaches, advertisers and marketers are preparing for the new year, Provoke Insights is providing a comprehensive look at what to expect over the next 12 months. In other words, what are in-house marketers and ad agencies up to?

In the last decade, the marketing industry is changing immensely from new technologies to more specialty advertising agencies. As a result, in-house marketers are pushing for more project-based work, and an ever-increasing number of consumers are cutting-the-cord to their TVs.

This change leads us to ask some questions:

How has this change affected advertisers as well as in-house marketers? In addition, is this impacting advertising and media budgets? Subsequently, are the changes affecting the longevity of the relationship between an ad agency and their clients? Next, what advertising and marketing initiatives are marketers commissioning in today’s market? Beyond, how satisfied are marketers with their job in this fast-evolving environment?

For instance, in 2014, only half of the advertisers surveyed were very satisfied with the process. Thus, with the ever-increasing frequency of ad pitching in the advertising and marketing industry, are agencies and clients still dissatisfied with this process? Especially, is there some room for improvement? Furthermore, what makes marketers most likely to select an advertising agency? In summary, find some of our new findings below.

Who Conducts the Research

Companies are split almost evenly between those who hire advertising agencies (56%) and those who conduct all marketing in-house (44%). Companies with 500 or more employees are twice as likely to hire advertising agencies than those with under 500 employees.

Ever-Changing Landscape

To keep up with the ever-changing marketing landscape, companies are increasingly commissioning multiple specialized ad agencies to meet various needs. Companies typically have four vendors on the roster. Businesses are focusing on digital advertising initiatives more than traditional offline channels. Banner ads paid social, and social media community management is the most commonly used digital initiatives. However, don’t discount the tried and true conventional channels, as these are still a core part of the marketing plan. The channels include print ad (55%) followed by events (46%) and commercials (40%).

Partner Companies

Incidentally, in-house marketers, on average, have worked with their primary agency for five years. However, only two-fifths of companies claim to be ‘very satisfied’ with this partner; revealing that there is room to improve the relationship. ROI, distrust, and expectations not being met are the reasons for dissatisfaction with primary agencies. Companies are most satisfied with their partner’s understanding of the company’s goals/objectives (54%); they are least happy with their agency’s cost (34%). On the other hand, smaller firms are less satisfied with access to research/data and prior experience in their industry.

Provoke Insights conducted a survey looking at both advertising and in-house marketers to best answer these questions. This extensive advertising survey among 736 respondents will help you plan the 2018 year right. Thus, if you would like to learn more about the results of this survey and receive the whitepaper of this research in December, follow this link and we will send it to you.

About Provoke Insights

Provoke Insights is a full-service brand consultancy and market research firm. Our innovative approach helps brands navigate through today’s cluttered marketing space. We are the nerds behind the advertising, branding, media, and content marketing initiatives. Our obsession with data and research makes your marketing strategy compelling and impactful.

Check out some of our most recent posts from our strategy and advertising research blog here:

  1. Blockchain & the Markest Research Industry
  2. Is Your Research Stuck in the 1980s: Update Your Brand Tracker!
  3. Market Research Doesn’t Need to Be Boring: Improve Data Visualization
  4. Tips For Building Brand Strategy for a Successful Brand
  5. What’s the Difference Between Quantitative and Qualitative?

Sign up for our newsletters here!

Follow our social media accounts:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/provokeinsights

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/provokeinsights/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/provoke-insights

Check out our most recent features in the news media:

September 11th, 2019: 40% of U.S. Millennials prefer crypto investments in the event of a recession: eToro Survey

July 31st, 2019: Jewelry Is About to Get its Own ‘Got Milk’ Ads

July 1st, 2019: 22 Top Advertising Research Companies 2019

Keep on the lookout for more blog posts from us!

The Beauty Industry… Understanding Gen Z
09 May 2017

The Beauty Industry… Understanding Gen Z

Written by: Rachael Ryan

The beauty and skincare industry conduct research and lots of it. As a result, no beauty or skincare product can come onto the market without a lot of scientific research behind it. In particular, these industries are renowned for doing focus groups and testing product concepts through qualitative research. However, we’re looking at the importance of understanding your target audience beyond focus groups. Let’s look at the upcoming generation, it’s time to start understanding Gen Z.

Who is Gen Z?

Gen Z consists of those born from 1995 to 2009, the generation after millennials. As a result, Gen Z often gets overlooked in studies because of the prominence of millennials in the world. However, Gen Z is already very accomplished and growing into adulthood. Celebrities from the generation include Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Billie Eilish, Jordyn Woods, Malala Yousafzai, Saoirse Ronan, Zendaya, and the list goes on. To sum up, what a talented and famous group of people changing the world! For the most part, their media consumption differ from previous generations, as they watch the least television of any generation. In addition, they prefer cool products over cool experiences, as they are focused on material items. Subsequently, they are very tech-savvy and even entrepreneurial,

The industry is rapidly changing

There is an increasing demand for anti-aging products, there are more and more people that are chemical conscious and who only want organic or natural products and finally, competition is higher than ever with the sheer volume of beauty products that are available on the market today; it’s a multibillion-dollar industry.

Not only have these changes occurred but the landscape in which these beauty products are available in is ever-changing. For instance, ten years ago if you launched a product solely through digital advertising or by paying influencers (who did not exist at the time), your product wouldn’t get very far. Now, beauty and fashion magazines, which were once the be-all and end-all, are becoming irrelevant. Today, bloggers are getting paid anything from $100 to 7 digit figures for ads and sponsored posts. ‘Something Navy’ (a digital influencer) spoke about a product on Snapchat recently and within 24 hours that product sold over 500 units or $17,000 worth of product.

Know Your Audience

Considering that and the fact that ad-spend on digital will outspend television in 2017, it’s important that the beauty and cosmetic industry is reaching the right audience and knows who to target and how. Millennials and Gen Z are different and need to be understood differently. By 2020, 40% of consumers are going to be Generation Z. So now we must understand the complexities and differences between Gen Z and their older relative Millennials.

The focus groups and product concept sessions have been helpful, but it’s time to find out more. What is it that each person wants from their beauty products or skincare routine in 2017. In other words, we know that 24% of women often use products and don’t get the results that they want from them. Isn’t it time to find out why and conduct widespread research to fully understand the industry and know how to best deal with the evolving marketplace.

This post is part of the industry-specific blog series on Provoke Insights. Read more about other industries like jewelry and technology.

Check out some of our most recent posts from our strategy and advertising research blog here:

  1. Blockchain & the Markest Research Industry
  2. I’m Just Not That Into You: Exclusivity or Bad Marketing?
  3. Is Your Research Stuck in the 1980s: Update Your Brand Tracker!
  4. Market Research Doesn’t Need to Be Boring: Improve Data Visualization
  5. Tips For Building Brand Strategy for a Successful Brand
  6. What’s the Difference Between Quantitative and Qualitative?

Sign up for our newsletters here!

Follow our social media accounts:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/provokeinsights

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/provokeinsights/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/provoke-insights

Keep on the lookout for more blog posts from us!

Concept Exploration: The Highlighter Research Tool
11 Apr 2017

Concept Exploration: The Highlighter Research Tool

Written by: Rachael Ryan

Concept development is difficult. What is the ideal message to describe the concept? It is the combination of art and science to craft the perfect imagery and set of words. But how do you know if you have the best possible description?

Concept development for messages and ads usually try to convince the reader that they need the product. Generally, the description describes a convenient product that will make a consumer’s life easier. However, a concept has to be concise. In other words, every feature of a product won’t be mentioned in a concept. As a result, you have to draw the reader with what you believe to be the most enticing and attractive attribute. But how do you know what is most enticing? You can never assume what is going to appeal to your target audience. Research helps you understand who your target audience is and what they think, but when it comes to concepts, it’s a lot less clear. That is where research comes in!

The Highlighter Tool

The Highlighter is the perfect way to explore the various concepts that you may be mulling over. And you can chop and change your concepts with the data collected to make the perfect one.  The research tool that allows you to understand your target audience’s initial thoughts about an idea and the way its writing style. How does it work? It’s simple. It is a dynamic blend of qualitative and quantitative research.

Firstly, the participant can use their cursor to highlight a specific part of the text and a pop-up will appear. Secondly, the pop-up will prompt the user to indicate whether they like or dislike the text or wording. Secondly, there’s an opportunity for the participant to provide an open-ended response to the text. This questioning will determine initial feedback to the concepts and if the concepts are relatable to the consumers.

Pinpoint Consumer Opinions

The highlighter allows you to get a very granular point of view, and pinpoint consumers likes and dislikes about specific wording in the concept. The tool prompts respondents to explain their word preference. Concept exploration allows you to refine concepts for further stages of research without needing to invest a significant amount of time or money. The consumer can even layer their highlighting to emphasize what they like or don’t like. The process is simple to execute and it’s effective. From there, you’ll be better informed to continue with the campaign and with the feedback you receive, your concept will be the most effective it can be. You can then continue to research with a carefully curated concept. It will be vital to research who your target audience is and where the concept will best resonate.

Concept Exploration

Why is this blend of methodologies suitable for concept exploration? Not only is it easy for the consumer to use, but it’s also interactive so it’s enjoyable to use. The data collected is invaluable for the concept that is being created. You’re provided with qualitative comments on each part of the concept as well as quantitative data to back up the information so you can create a concept with confidence that it will resonate with your target audience.

Check out some of our most recent posts from our strategy and advertising research blog here:

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