3 Common Misconceptions About Market Research
02 May 2018

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

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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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.

The 3 Most Popular Blogs of 2017
03 Jan 2018

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 Science of Naming Your Brand
13 Feb 2017

Written by: Carly Fink

Every year, Provoke Insights conducts Naming Research for several products and product lines. A good brand name sparks an emotion with the consumer.  The larger the name connection the higher likelihood that the name will  remain top of mind among your target audience. It is the cement that unifies the brand across all advertising and promotional materials.

Often a company comes up with a list of potential names that they would like to name the brand. A company may be internally passionate about a certain name but does that name really work? Which name ranks highest? Do the names resonate among your target audience?

A sure way to know is to test names utilizing Provoke Insights’ naming exercise. This survey includes:

  • Open-ended name association
  • Ranking of names
  • Testing the top names over 9 dimensions such as likeability and high quality.

The research can be tested across various segments to determine a name that works well with all prospects. We also have found names that could be potential offensive to the consumer or a specific demographic. So looking at the name across various groups of people can be very beneficial.

Testing names through survey research allows a brand to know which names are winners or losers. It tells you what attributes consumers associate with the name. Is the potential brand name perceived as high quality? Likeable? Memorable? Offensive?

We have save companies from disastrous launches. A name that might sound fun and catchy to a company may not resonate with the consumer. The consumer may have difficulty relating that name back to the product – simply put it could be a great name but just not right for the product.

Testing a name prior to launch is a sure way for your brand to be loved by your consumers. It also diminishes the risk of a launch going wrong.

If you enjoy our blogs and want to know more about Provoke Insights, why not sign up for our newsletter here! We won’t spam you, we send a quarterly newsletter!

7 New Trends in Market Research in 2017
25 Jan 2017

Written by: Rachael Ryan

Now that the first month of 2017 is coming to an end, we thought we would write a blog post about the changing trends in Market Research. The market is constantly changing, therefore, there is a need to stay abreast with trends in the research space. Here are 7 new trends that market researchers will need to take note of this New Year!

  1. New technology

Speaking of technology, market researchers will continue to have to adapt and learn. We will see an acceleration in technological trends over the coming year as has been seen over the past twelve months. For example, biometric response and neuromarketing are becoming more popular offerings at research firms.

  1. Research for content marketing purposes

As we saw in 2016, there was more emphasis on using market research for content purposes. Content was 2016’s buzz word, but as we saw, content was important. It was so important that everyone started churning out content which lead to an abundance. Suddenly, what was more important was high-quality content – content that people actually appreciate and that they want to read/watch. In order to get that interesting, relevant, clickable content, research needs to be conducted. Click here for more on Research for Content Marketing Purpose.

  1. Unpredictability causes a craving for prediction

Global uncertainty is good news for market researchers as it means there’s going to be a growing demand for market research. This trend began near the close of 2016 but with global uncertainty in 2017, political, monetary and economic unpredictability will cause companies to try to predict whatever they can hence looking towards market research tends in order to avoid any unforeseen shifts or changes in the market.

  1. More and more data

The more data there is available the more need there is for more clear and concise data. Most importantly what is the data saying?  What is the story the data is trying to say? More data does not always mean better.  This means that the market researchers need to interpret data and consolidate it into information that can be easily. At Provoke Insights, we believe in telling a story with the data that we gather and the research that we conduct. We like to simplify the data and make it easy for anyone to understand.

  1. Appending data

With big data, there is an opportunity to conduct market research and then append additional data to the findings in order to create a more robust story. Segmentation research is a great example of this. We can create segments and then append secondary data to learn more about these group’s behaviors and media habits. For example, does your segment go to yoga classes or attend the opera, market research firms should look towards adding this secondary data to the appendix so that the client can get a more round picture of the stories being told. This is great information that would not necessarily be in the primary research that you are conducting.

  1. No quick fix

Though you might think that in 2017 market research will become more automated, well you might just be wrong. Market research will need to be more personalized than ever. At Provoke Insights we believe in creating a market research strategy for a company’s needs and then creating a report that is customized to that company only. We don’t have a ‘copy and paste’ attitude towards doing our reports, presentations, or videos. Automated research will cause companies to search for a more accurate and personalized experience, one that suits them rather than suits the masses.

  1. Asking why

In the past there has been a huge emphasis put on big data and gathering lots of information – now companies are seeing the benefit in not only asking what the markets does or tends to do but also asking why that is the case. This is where qualitative research is the perfect backup for the quantitative research that is also being done. Using a mixed methodology not only provides you with insights into the market but it answers the questions that may arise from the numbers by asking for opinions.

Over 50 years later, the classic The Times They Are a-Changin’ has never been more relevant and market researchers have to change with them. As mentioned, it wouldn’t make sense to ignore new trends in the market and carry on as usual but we have to change with the needs of the companies that use market research. It is key to make sure that the market research being done is relevant to these companies in 2017.

Sign up for our newsletter here to learn more about market research and Provoke Insights.

Market Research and New York City
29 Nov 2016
Written by: Rachael Ryan

For generations, New York City has been held in the heart of the world’s population as a land of opportunity, the city that never sleeps and a city where just about anything is possible. Because of that, the industries in New York City not only drive the state’s economy but it is a driving force for the national and global economy. According to Fortune, New York City is the ‘center of the business universe’. There are more industries, more companies and dozens of new start ups every single day. With that in mind, market research is more important than ever in NYC.

New York, the center of the business universe

Historically, New York has been the hub of numerous industries such as construction, media, publishing, tourism, the clothing and financial sectors. Lately, it is the hub of incalculable industries. There are also many new and upcoming industries and brands in the city, NYC is now home to new industries such as biotechnology companies and science industries; other industries such as the health sector, the arts and film industries are thriving here now more than ever. New York has so many new industries and innumerable established industries that it makes it difficult to stand out in such a competitive market. That’s why it’s more important now than ever to get your brand name out there and have it resonate with the right people. New brands need to make an impression with their target audience and more established brands need to reinvigorate their brand amongst existing and prospect customers. This seems like an overwhelming task in such a competitive market until you realize there is only one step that you need to take in order to make this a lot easier for you and your brand: research.

Where to start

Every inch of New York is wrapped in logos and slogans, sponsored and product placed which means that that valuable space is becoming more and more expensive. The New York City subway is laced with advertising and there are more advertisements in Times Square than in a lot of small towns. And that’s only one corner of the city; every single corner of this city has been marketed. There are so many that it all becomes white noise to New Yorkers. Don’t forget New Yorkers consume traditional media as well. At some stage, New Yorkers have to start drowning it out. Hence, if you don’t have a deep knowledge of your target audience – all of your costly marketing efforts will be drowned out and it will all have been in vain. The only way to avoid this is by researching your target audience before you do anything.

People are more different than they are similar

The population of New York City is projected to grow to 9 million people by 2040. People move to New York from all over the United States and from foreign countries daily. There are more people moving to New York City than are moving out. This means that the market is growing everyday and it is one of the most culturally diverse markets in the world, the people in it are more and more complex and less difficult to make assumptions about. New York is more diverse than any other city in the USA; there are more ethnicities, there is a bigger range of income, there are more members of the LGBTQ population here, and marriage trends are unconventional in New York– everything about everyone here is unpredictable. The only thing you can predict about a New Yorker is that they all more different than they are similar!

Therefore, your brand needs to conduct research accordingly if you plan to thrive in NYC.

For more information on how to research your target audience, have a look at Provoke Insights blog here. Market research can at times be time-consuming; therefore brands often reach out to market research companies, like Provoke Insights for a helping hand with this important research. As a New York City based research and consultancy firm, they have a great understanding of New Yorkers and the perfect base for conducting research in this complicated and sometimes dumb-founding city. Sign up for the Provoke Insights newsletter here.

The Importance of Secondary Research when Launching a Brand
21 Nov 2016
Written by: Rachael Ryan

Whether you’re launching a new product or service for the first time, launching an existing brand in a new country, or rebranding an already successful brand… There is one common denominator – you have to do your research! Specifically, this article will discuss how important secondary research is to begin with.

Market research is often overlooked in launching a brand. Unfortunately, many a brand has failed due to lack of market research or conducting market research too late. Understanding the importance of secondary research can make or break a launch. Timing is everything in every aspect of a product launch and research is not exempt from that statement. If market research is too far down on your ‘To-Do list’ then you might be setting yourself up for failure – this isn’t just my opinion, this has been a mistake made by brands as big and bad as Coca Cola, P&G, and Microsoft in the past. And it’s easier to just do the research than it is to rectify any damage caused by an ill-thought-out or ill-researched brand launch. We have decided to put together a series of blog posts to discuss the importance of research in launching a brand, in today’s post we are going to discuss where to start.

So, when should you start your market research?

In this case, there’s no such thing as too soon. Once you have a clear idea of what you want your product to be and where you want it to go – even in theoretical terms – you need to be researching. Market research at this early stage will mean that your product answers all of your customer’s needs and the outcome will have been determined by the customer/market rather than simply creating your brand from your own opinions or from a handful of opinions within your brand. Secondary research is the most important because this is where market research starts.

Where can you start with market research?

Well, we have to go back to basics. You have to gather market intelligence. Both the market and the consumers need to be understood.

Desktop research is vital here. What is secondary research?  It is information that is already out there. You would be surprised as to how much information is available before running to do a survey or focus group.  Why is this type of research vital for a brand launch? It indicates;

  • What is happening or changing in the industry
  • What are trends to take note of
  • Who your competitors are
  • What your competitors are doing
  • What type of marketing is the competition doing (advertising, media spend, PR, etc)?
  • Who uses this type of product/service

It is also important that you use the already existing research that is out there before you start conducting your own primary research because you don’t want to double up on research and if the information is out there, then be resourceful and use that information instead of having to find it out yourself.

So how do you gain access to this information?  This type of marketing intelligence is more than a simple Google search.  Some free sources include CensusPew Research, and Statista.  However, several sources are more costly and analyzing all the data may be tedious and difficult.  Often brands reach out to firms, like Provoke Insights, to help with this important research.

Keep an eye out on Provoke Insights blog for the next part in this series or sign up for our newsletter here.

Know Your Target Audience Through Research
15 Nov 2016

Written by: Rachael Ryan

Have you ever been to a children’s birthday party when an adult gives one child some attention, then before they know it, every child at the party is vying for that adult’s attention? But the adult no longer has any time to give to any child because there are so many kids looking for it – in the end, no one gets attention and the adult goes back to conversing with the other adults.

That’s the world today! You’re the adult and brands are the children. We gave our attention to marketing – once or twice, maybe a couple of hundred times – and now every single brand is vying for our time and attention. The more brands compete for our attention, the less time and attention we have to give.  As a result, we need brands need to more efficiently reach their customers.

There are more barriers than ever between you and your target audience. There are more channels from which to get information out there, there are an increasing number of social media channels, more apps, more news outlets, and more television series on more television streaming websites and TV channels, more adverts and more messages trying to be transmitted. All of this makes it even more important for you to understand your prospects and customers.

So how can you go about understanding your target audience?

Research, research, research! If you know nothing about your target audience in this day and age, you need to start researching. Research is the only means of finding out who your target audience is.

Find out your audience’s demographic – this is limited in its potential to present the motivations for buying but it will allow you to begin to form a picture. It’s limiting because it doesn’t tell you why – it tells you who the customer is (i.e. gender, age) and where they are but you’re missing the why and the how.

Straight off the bat, you need to understand your consumer’s goals. Why is your consumer buying your product? How did your consumer get to your product or service? Understand the problem or desire that your audience may have that will lead them to your product. In order to do that, you need to research the audience – research those who will be in the market for your product or service.

You might be thinking, that’s all well and good – but how can I get all of that information? Well, a survey will provide you with the answer. Research can help you determine not only the whowhere and what but more importantly it can resolve the mystery of why and how! Not only that, it will also ascertain which segment of your audience will invest the most in your brand.

Segment your audience through research. Divide your audience into segments and provide content specific to them. Make sure your content is consistent, shareable and of a high quality. Your marketing won’t get any attention unless it’s worth the audience’s while – don’t offend your target audience by contending for their attention via poor quality content. I can assure you no one will give you attention the next time you contend for it!

Choose how to engage your audience wisely. Where do they get their information? If your audience doesn’t listen to podcasts then don’t choose that as your means of communication with them. If they ordinarily read blog posts that they see on Twitter then don’t focus all of your attention on Snapchat.

Be true to your brand. Finally, we live in a world filled with skeptics; always remain honest and true to your brand. Consumers today are quick to flag when they are being fed nonsense and drivel – it will do more damage to your brand than good if you try to get their attention with content that has a spurious link to your brand. Be sure to remain authentic. That way, you’ll become someone that your audience trusts and wants to invest in.

Want to learn more about your customers? Check out Provoke Insights article  Four Ways to Better Understand Your Consumer. Also, you can sign up for our newsletter here.

Why Market Research is a Must for Businesses
11 Jul 2016
One of the most valuable assets of any business is its brand. Just as a house needs a strong foundation to stay sturdy, an effective brand strategy needs thorough market research. Far too often, businesses skip the market research process because the company claims that it already knows its consumers. However, it takes a lot to understand your target audience’s wants and needs. To prevent this disconnect, companies must first have a stronger understanding of market research and how and when to use it. 

What is Market Research?

Market research is the action or activity of gathering information about consumers’ needs and preferences. Marketers can go about researching however they like. However, there is a large chance that untested marketing strategies will come up short. For marketers, research is not just about filling in the knowledge gaps, but it also serves as the basis for good decision making. Research provides valuable insights about products, services, consumers, competitors, and trends. For example, if a strategist is trying to decide who to target their message to, they need to know who their group is. And how do you know who your target audience is? Incidentally, by using data and research.

Subsequently, let’s think about creating a message campaign. For instance, maybe your company is rolling out a new strategy defining your product and advertising it to the public. So it’s a great product, but you have to write a clear and concise paragraph that highlights its most appealing qualities. However, you don’t know which qualities appeal most to the masses of your audience. Above all, what appeals to your audience is what matters most. Accordingly, you need to use research to best design your messaging, or you risk failure.

Why is this important?

Market research is essential for the planning of any brand strategy. The data helps ensure that you are identifying the correct opportunity by targeting the right consumer in the right market and satisfying the right need. Without market research, there is no substance or facts behind your strategy and can result in a negative return on investment (ROI).

There are three broad types of research: Qualitative, Quantitative and Secondary Research. Qualitative research is more open-ended and is great for testing initial concepts or ideas. Qualitative is usually tested in focus groups and smaller settings in order to get in-depth opinions. Quantitative research statistically represents the audience you are targeting. Typically, quantitative is tested on a large number of respondents online, ranging anywhere from five hundred to thousands of survey takers. Secondary research is information that is already out there. Some research companies have access to several data sources in order to provide a comprehensive view of the marketplace.

For research to be effective, it is important for companies to have a clear understanding of the purpose of research and what information is being sought. Market Research professionals provide the expertise many companies do not have in-house.  Often these experts have the skills and the tools to execute the research accurately, efficiently and cost-effectively. In addition, these professionals also help bring objectivity to the result, thus, providing a clear and unbiased direction for business decision-making. Don’t let your strategy go unresearched – be prepared today.

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 Importance of Ad Tracking
01 Oct 2015
David Ogilvy, often referred to as the father of modern advertising, once said: “Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals”. If your company is spending significant money on advertising, it is pertinent to conduct research to determine whether or not it’s working.  Above all, ad-tracking is one of the favored methods used by brands today. If a company truly wants to optimize its advertising budget efficiently, it’s important to track and measure the response to its ads.  This analysis also lets a brand know if its advertising is becoming stale or over-exposed among its prospects.  

Ad Tracking Steps

The first, and perhaps most important step in ad-tracking is to start your research before you actually launch your campaign. In order to measure the success of a campaign, it’s advantageous to have an idea about your prospects’ awareness of your brand. If a company doesn’t start evaluating the reactions prior to the campaign, how will it be able to measure whether or not the campaign is increasing awareness?

Surveys are a standard method for tracking campaigns (i.e. commercials, print, digital, etc). If a survey respondent can recall an advertisement or brand name unaided or without a prompt, it is a sign that the ad campaign may be increasing brand awareness. Therefore, once the respondent has answered questions aimed at gauging their unaided awareness of a brand, the survey can begin to focus on extracting information through prompts.  For example, of such a question might be, “Which of the following brands are you familiar with?”

From an Ad Tracker to Accomplishing Advertising Goals

The goal of any advertising campaign is to raise awareness and change attitudes about a particular product or service. Therefore, additional questions that elicit opinions, attitudes, and purchase intent are useful in the ad-tracking process, telling us what’s working and what isn’t. And over time, consumer opinions and attitudes tend to change and evolve. As a rule, a rising tide lifts all boats, and tracking the success of advertisements over time does just that. For instance, if your ads don’t develop over time, they might grow stale and consumers will stop paying attention. But if you work on your advertising success so that they progress by using an ad tracker, your business will prevail as well.

A successful ad is like a joke; the good ones may make us laugh or bring a smile to our face, but will eventually become stale and forgotten. And if an advertisement is a joke, ad-tracking can be seen as an honest friend, letting us know when to retire it and start working on some new material.

If you want to learn more about advertisement optimization, please check out this blog post here.

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:

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  4. Tips For Building Brand Strategy for a Successful Brand
  5. What’s the Difference Between Quantitative and Qualitative?

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