Advertising

Research

Objectives

To review the IMC planning process

To understand the role of research in the

context of marketing and advertising
planning

Communications Planning:
A Systematic Process

Each step builds the foundation for future

decisions

and may provide feedback for decisions

made in earlier steps

Research supports risk-avoidance and

decision confidence

A Review of the IMC

Planning Process: Step 1
Situation

Analysis

Summarizes the brands current

circumstances

Identifies factors that might affect

future marketing/advertising success

Generally, information gathered through

secondary research
See Fig. 1.1, Ch1

Recall: Situation Analysis

Sections
Company Analysis
Product/Brand Analysis
Competitive Analysis

Product-focus
sections

(Macro-)Environmental Analysis

Social
Legal
Economic
Political
Technological

External
variables

A Review of the IMC

Planning Process
Situation

Analysis

Summarizes the brands current

circumstances

Identifies factors that might affect

future marketing/advertising success

Generally, information gathered through

secondary research
See Fig. 1.1, Ch1

Research as Part of IMC

Planning Process
Situation

Analysis Questions:

Industry Trends
Market

size and growth trends

Sales by category type

Competitive Environment
Who

are the leading companies?

What is their share? Sales? Distribution?

Recall: Situation Analysis

Sections (cont.)
Target Market/
Consumer facts

Consumer Analysis
Market Analysis

Note: Text

Target Audience Analysis

-

General consumer trends

The targets relationship w/ product/brand

Research as Part of IMC

Planning Process
The

Consumer

(Target

Audience Analysis)
What are their usage behaviors in the
product category?
What are their purchase behaviors?
What are their
attitudes/beliefs/perceptions about the
brand?
Changes in last 5 years?

Research as Part of IMC

Planning Process
Problems

and Opportunities

Brand Positioning
A statement of the niche the brand can most
successfully fulfill
How should we distinguish our brand from our
competitors?

Research as Part of IMC

Planning Process

Essential Message

Otherwise known as the IMC strategy

What is our message?

Creative Evaluation

Communication testing designed to identify strengths

and weaknesses of advertisements prior to production
What is the best means for communicating the
message?

Research as Part of IMC

Planning Process

Media Analysis & Placement

Research conducted to ensure that the target

audience sees or hears the message

Where should advertising be concentrated? In

which media?
National or regional placement?
How should it be scheduled?

Research as Part of IMC

Planning Process

Campaign Tracking

The evaluation component of the plan

Assesses our success or failure in achieving
planned objectives
Did we accomplish IMC objectives?
Did the media plan deliver on levels of
exposure?

Other Uses for Research In

Marketing

Product naming

Packaging design

Distribution strategy determination

Analyze sales trends, marketplace

performance

The Research Players: Who

Conducts Research?

Information Users

Brand managers

Research specialists

Internal research departments of companies

Advertising agency research departments

Research suppliers

Customized research: retained on a project-byproject basis

Syndicated research firms (A.C. Nielsen, SMRB,
etc.)

The Research Players: Who

Conducts Research?

Field services

Data collection specialists

Sub-contract labor who may specialize in any
one or all of the following:
Research design
Project management
Qualitative site selection
Recruiting
Training
Data collection
Etc.

The Research Players: Who

Conducts Research?

Support Services

Data management (editing, coding, data entry,

etc.)
Data interpretation
Reporting
General consulting