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The Smart book of getting

consumer insight from the real world
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TRIANGULAR SANDWICHES TASTE BETTER THAN SQUARE ONES.

NOBODY EVER DARES MAKE CUP-A-SOUP IN A BOWL.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE TO LOOK WHEN EATING A BANANA.
PRODDING A FIRE WITH A STICK MAKES YOU FEEL MANLY.
EVERYONE ALWAYS REMEMBERS THE DAY A DOG RAN INTO
THEIR SCHOOL.
THE MOST EMBARRASSING THING YOU CAN DO AS A
SCHOOLCHILD IS TO CALL YOUR TEACHER MUM OR DAD.
SOME DAYS YOU SEE LOTS OF PEOPLE ON CRUTCHES.
OLD WOMEN WITH MOBILE PHONES LOOK WRONG.
DRIVING THROUGH A TUNNEL MAKES YOU FEEL EXCITED.
THERE’S NO PANIC LIKE THE PANIC YOU MOMENTARILY FEEL
WHEN YOU’VE GOT YOUR HAND, OR HEAD, STUCK IN
SOMETHING.
DESPITE CONSTANT WARNINGS, YOU HAVE NEVER MET
ANYBODY WHO HAS HAD THEIR ARM BROKEN BY A SWAN.
PEOPLE WHO DON’T DRIVE SLAM CAR DOORS TOO HARD.
YOU’VE TURNED INTO YOUR DAD THE DAY YOU PUT ASIDE A
THIN PIECE OF WOOD SPECIFICALLY TO STIR PAINT WITH.
EVERYONE HAD AN UNCLE WHO TRIED TO STEAL THEIR NOSE.
BRICKS ARE HORRIBLE TO CARRY.
IN EVERY PLATE OF CHIPS THERE IS A BAD CHIP.
KNOWLEDGE IS KNOWING A TOMATO IS A FRUIT; WISDOM IS
NOT PUTTING IT IN A FRUIT SALAD.
EVERYONE WHO GREW UP IN THE 80S HAS ENTERED THE DIGITS
55378008 INTO A CALCULATOR.
YOU ALWAYS FEEL A BIT SCARED WHEN STROKING HORSES.
RUMMAGING IN AN OVERGROWN GARDEN WILL ALWAYS TURN
UP A BOUNCY BALL.
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THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD 3
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INTRODUCTION

The world is full of observations, insights and, according to this

list from Peter Kay, universal truths!

At MediaCom, consumer insights are at the centre of what we do, as they inform communi-
cation planning. These actionable insights come from many different sources, including
quantitative and qualitative methodologies, data assessment and media diaries,
econometrics and ethnography. The key thing is that they are found!

This booklet offers some ideas about smarter ways to discover consumer insights from the
real world…You may not know too much about your target consumer, or you may know
plenty...sometimes too much! The real challenge is uncovering the key insight that will really
make a difference and ensure that your message gets noticed and listened to.

For us, at MediaCom, this 'key insight' will often allow you to identify the Communication
Pit-Stop for the brand; the right time, tone and communication channel with which to
engage with your consumers.

If you take time to examine the best consumer insight you will find that these examples have
at least one thing in common. A clear, simple human truth. They may, on occasion, come
from an obscure source but these insights represent a window into the world of a particular
group of people that can be grasped without a PHD in anthropology! Campaigns that truly
stand the test of time are built on these ‘Diamond Bullets’ of insight and we will be outlining
a number of them in this booklet.

4 THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD
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The examples collected here (some of our own and some from others we admire) are in no
way exhaustive. This is not an attempt to write a comprehensive consumer insight textbook.
Our aim is to instil a passion for discovering consumer insights, regardless of budget. Some
of the examples we have detailed cost £100k, others, equally influential, 100 pence.
Whatever budget you have available to you, we hope this booklet inspires you to employ
innovative consumer insight from the real world.

Over the next few pages, we attempt to demonstrate our point by asking you to follow
seven key approaches. First and foremost, be realistic.

Realistic, because consumer insight does not survive on its own and communication pit-
stops do not sit in splendid isolation – they are only bought to life with good thinking and
planning. It’s the quality of thinking that makes the insight and makes the associated pit-stop
the hero.

As well as asking you to be realistic, we suggest 6 more things we think you should "Be".
We give you some examples to illustrate what we mean in order to help you discover smart
real world insight for your own projects.

To conclude, and in the style of all good magazines, we end with 3 "top tips" that might help
you on your way.

THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD 5
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BE RIGOROUS
Some insights may take some finding; the obvious or easiest
isn’t always right. A considered approach is always the most
trustworthy and is where real added value lies.
Volkswagen
How do you gain vital insight when the ideal planning
information doesn’t appear to exist and you don’t have
the budget or the time to commission an entire research
project?
In the case of Volkswagen, the planners had access to TGI
with the relevant media and lifestyle data, whilst the client
had access to the New Car Buyer’s Survey (NCBS) with all
of the in-depth car data. However, neither team were able
to create an effective segmentation that worked across
both sets of data.
The answer was to fuse both sets of data. We took the two
surveys, NCBS and TGI, and fused them together by
hooking similar respondents from each survey to each
other. This created a brand new database, exclusive to
VW and MediaCom. We were then able to segment each
car category in detail by media diet and lifestyle.
These segments - "Glovebox Groups" - are used across
all the agency’s work on VW. They exist as handy
(glovebox-sized) guides to each of the segments on
everybody’s desktop, detailing each segment’s relevant
demographic, attitudinal and car-buying information,
along with their media habits.
6 THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD
It has generated clear strategies…
For Golf, rather than just targeting the medium-size car
category as a whole, the segment work identifies specific
target groups for the brand and how we should talk to
them. One group, the ‘Progressives’, have, amongst other
interests, a high affinity with film, so cinema was seen as
an appropriate way of speaking to them. The type of film
though was also very relevant – "More Tarantino than
Spielberg". This led to a movie sponsorship of the great
icons of the last 30 years (Pacino and Nicholson in
particular) and has since evolved into Volkswagen being
the sole sponsor of independent cinemas in the UK.
Rennie
A couple of years ago, Rennie’s position as brand leader
was under threat from aggressive new entrants in the
market. Faced with this, and as a consequence of an
increasingly confused consumer, Rennie had to take action
and allow its message to cut through in a meaningful way.
One thing was clear – the best time to cut through to a
consumer was at a potential time of suffering.
In order to make the Rennie communication more
effective, we needed to know more about indigestion and
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indigestion suffering. We sifted through all the available
research commissioned by the client over the last 10 years
and also searched the Web for a number of medical
journals and organisations, (specifically the European
Journal of Gasteroenterology and Hepatology and the
British Digestive Foundation!) We were able, from these
various sources, to draw up a list of the factors, in order of
importance, which contributed to indigestion suffering.
In summary, the research established one overriding fact -
80% of indigestion suffering occurs within 2 hours of the
following eating crimes:-
• Eating too much
• Eating the wrong food
• Eating too quickly
• Eating in an uncomfortable environment
Clearly, the more we knew about British food habits and
when these crimes occurred, the more likely we could
unearth a unique cut through strategy for Rennie
television plans.
This led us to Taylor Nelson Sofres, who conduct the
family food panel on behalf of most of the significant
food manufacturers in the UK. It is designed to tell the
food industry everything about how the British eat at
home: which food groups are most popular; which are
growing and diminishing in popularity; which foods are
served with others and (most importantly for us) when
and where they are eaten.
From all this information we designed the MediaCom
"Digestive System". This is a picture of the UK by region,
THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD
by food type and by time and style of consumption. It
allows us to accurately communicate in different television
regions at different times because people eat their meals
at different times across the UK. It allows us to cut through
to the crucial 2 hour "suffering window".
The resulting media plans, informed by the planning tool,
resulted in continued market dominance for Rennie and
an unprecedented increase in sales. In the first year, the
airtime delivery in digestive system dayparts (those two
hours after eating) increased 25%, and the effect of the
activity was a dramatic sales uplift, three times greater
than any Rennie brand had experienced.
The Monday Getaway
Direct marketing is a fantastic source of original
consumer insight, and can also help to support a
hypothesis that you may have developed elsewhere.
MediaCom Direct as the UK’s biggest buyer of response
media space and time, and has an unrivalled level of
understanding of actual purchase behaviour in many of
the categories in which we work.
For example, many ‘pit-stops’ that we intuitively believe
to exist can be proved via response data. The ‘Monday
Escapism Mindset’ that many of us have planned
around is real. MediaCom Direct’s data demonstrates
that it is far easier to get consumers to respond to travel
or airline advertising on Monday than any other day of
the week.
What other response gems are waiting to be used for
brand planning purposes?
7
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Different methodologies add different perspectives and
depths to projects.
SEAT
We’re sometimes able to demonstrate added value by
combining consumer insights from more than one
discipline.
One of our clients, SEAT, felt that their communications
were not cutting through to consumers, and were having
little impact on brand image or sales.
SEAT allowed MediaCom to employ a total research
solution across their range of insight tools:
• Our qualitative learnings from a series of depth
interviews with SEAT owners, informed the new ad
campaign to explicitly highlight the three key themes:
price, value and performance.
• Our quarterly brand-tracking audit demonstrated the
success of this campaign, with ad awareness nearly
twice that of the previous creative, and an increasingly
positive perception of the brand.
• Our on-going econometric analysis isolated and
confirmed the positive effect of the advertising
on sales.
8 THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD
Closer to Christmas
For many of our clients, Christmas is the key time in terms
of marketing and sales. We felt there was a lack of
knowledge, or certainly up-to-date and relevant
information, about consumer’s attitudes and behaviour at
Christmas. We wanted insight into the gift buying process.
‘Closer to Christmas’ was a study conducted live around
Christmas 2003:
• A TGI re-contact study of 2,000 adults identified 5 key
consumer target segments, based on shopping
behaviour and attitudes towards Christmas.
• The follow up qualitative interviews and E-Mail question-
naires, running until the end of the January sales, gave
depth to our knowledge of the 5 consumer groups.
We wanted the project to give our planners valuable
insight into their 2004 Christmas plans for our client
sponsors. The project not only achieved this but helped to
get us on to two new business pitch lists during the year.
Due to the structure of the project it is straightforward to
update from year to year.
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BE CONSISTENT...
It’s the best way to see the world change over time and a
second wave of research will always give your initial findings a
greater depth of meaning.
SCAM
Kids, tweenies and teens are key target markets for many
of MediaCom’s clients. We know kids have strong views
and love voicing their opinions, however they are often a
difficult audience to access.
In the Summer of 1996, MediaCom devised a study called
the School Children’s Attitude Monitor (SCAM). Carried
out three times a year, 1,000 questionnaires are
completed in schools by a nationally representative
sample of kids aged 8-16.
A key benefit of the project, now entering its 26th wave,
is the ongoing relationship and trust with the schools
involved. This at a time when the rights and wrongs of
marketing to kids is hotly contested and quality insight is
scarce.
For the Met Police (one of the project’s sponsors) SCAM
informed the creative and media strategy for one of
their campaigns - ‘Singled Out’. This TV campaign
spoke out against the sensitive issue of bullying.
However, we needed to know who the kids currently
looked up to, so this message could be delivered
effectively. SCAM told us: youth role models often
THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD
change but SCAM was able to identify the key
celebrities across the UK and report back while the
information was still relevant.
While we know kids behaviour and attitudes are never
consistent, at least our research has been!
A Soft Drinks Manufacturer
Econometrics presents us with a fantastic data source that
allows us to develop a deep understanding of consumer
behaviour over time. Take the example of the team
working with a soft drinks manufacturer
Our team has been looking at the market for some time
in order to develop an understanding of the relationship
between temperature and sales. They have identified a
point at which additional sales per degree in temperature
rise plateau - 25º. At this point, we believe consumers that
are not regular bottled water buyers switch away from
other soft drinks as they cease to be sufficiently thirst-
quenching.
This type of insight could modify the way that we plan
media support in a way which is counter-intuitive, ie avoid
the hottest days to maximise return on investment.
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BE CONTEXTUAL...
The Real World is the respondent’s world and that is where
the insights are found. Working out of context will often make
you miss something
British Airways
Bridging the gap between what respondents think they
do and what they actually do is vital. That’s why the best
work often includes less traditional research method-
ologies.
When M&C Saatchi were developing a new advertising
campaign for British Airways’ Club World, they
interviewed passengers arriving in the morning from New
York for a days work in London.
By questioning business class passengers and then
economy passengers they noticed something key – the
difference between the way that the two groups looked
and sounded. The passengers described many aspects
(good and bad) of the flight but sleep, or the lack of it, was
the obvious difference between the two sets of travellers.
They gained their key insight because they researched in
context and produced award-winning work as a result.
So, to get true insight, you often need to work in the
context of your subject.
10 THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD
Masterfoods
One of our own clients wanted to know when their
different target audiences were most inclined to think
about the welfare, diet and health of their dog…when
were the best media pet pit-stops?!
Come rain or shine, we spent two weeks walking dogs
with their owners… it just wouldn’t have worked in a
viewing lab – it’s all about context!
Of course there are times when a traditional focus group
setting is needed. But in these cases we still use the
contextual rule. This might take the shape of diaries
leading up the group, written accounts of relevant events,
video diaries, photo diaries or asking people to visit a
certain aisle in the supermarket.
When we were looking to understand the emotions,
times and places that women associated with indulgent
chocolate, we asked them to keep a two week diary
recording their chocolate habits. If we had just sat them
down in a viewing lab and asked them – would they have
remembered every detail? The result of the research fed
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into the creative work for Galaxy’s most recent campaign
and shifted a proportion of the media budget into
outdoor – tubes, stations and liveried taxis – all points of
contact prior to a night at home with a bar of chocolate.
There are key benefits from speaking to people in their
own context too…for example - when are you at your
most open?
When you are with people that you trust? When you are
relaxed? When you are in a place that you feel
comfortable? When you are doing something at a time
that suits you?
You need to be sensitive to the needs of your
respondents; put yourselves in their shoes to
understand how to make them feel comfortable. For
example, we would never run a consumer group at a
time of day when mum will be worried about getting
away quickly to pick up the kids. When we work with
children, we ensure that they have a friend with them to
aid confidence…it’s never nice to feel outnumbered –
whatever age you are.
Sometimes the worries are centred on trust. For one
sensitive project recently we destroyed the tape recordings
24 hours after we interviewed respondents, in order to
assure them that what they told us would be confidential.
THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD
Volkswagen
At other times, the problems are down to busy lifestyles.
Volkswagen was in need of insight into their fleet
manager audience. The problem was getting them to
take part in the research – geographically they were too
far apart to attend focus groups and as important time-
poor people they were reluctant to take part in long
phone interviews.
We put our heads together and decided to use e-mail
methodology. Managers could answer the questionnaire
at a time that suited them, rather than having to schedule
a telephone interview into their day. We also added an
incentive – which helped!
Now in its third wave, the fleet manager panel has given
us solid evidence as to the two most respected fleet
publications to be seen in. This has meant that
Volkswagen now concentrate their budget in the most
engaging places rather than spreading it thinly across 10
titles. In addition, we asked fleet managers for their
thoughts on a recent advertising campaign. Feedback
showed it to be very effective at engaging and involving
this audience – the creative agency is developing the
theme accordingly.
Context leads to better results.
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The development of high quality consumer insight gives a
team an opportunity to shine and often differentiates great
work from good.
Movie Pitch
New business pitches are often areas where, along with
demonstrating a good understanding of the target market,
you need to show the team’s ability to think creatively. We
pitched for a film distributor the same day they released a
major film to their typical audience, i.e. young, urban and
difficult to reach.
To combat this we used "an out-of-home research
medium" that we knew the target market would have in
their possession – The Mobile Phone. We recruited 5,000
16-34 year olds and asked them, very simply, via text on
their phones:-
a) Are you going to the movies this weekend?
If "yes"
b) What film are you going to see?
c) What advertising have you seen for it?
This research was conducted during the two-hour pitch
and the results came in live, via text, on our own web-site
and gave an accurate picture of the weekend ahead.
This not only showed our creative thinking but gave the
client an early indication of how well their film was going
to do and how well their advertising was working ahead of
the opening night. This meant the account team had time
to uplift or downweight their campaign for the very
important first week.
12 THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD
Affinity Breaks
Affinity Breaks are a MediaCom concept, whereby clients
who share a common theme monopolise the entire length
of a TV ad break.
In an ever-increasingly cluttered TV market, achieving cut-
through and standout is becoming more and more difficult.
We commissioned research to investigate our theory that
thematically linked TV advertising is easier to recall during
an ‘Affinity Break’ compared to a standard ad break.
Four of our clients were involved in the initial trial: Audi A6
Quattro; Kwik-Fit; Shell Optimax and Direct Line Motor
Insurance. This motoring theme monopolised a number of
ad breaks, which were scheduled around ABC1 male
programming. To test our theory, we commissioned
awareness research in the evenings after the adverts were
screened (both in affinity breaks and where the ads were
in isolation). We compared levels of advertising recall
(unprompted and prompted) for the four brands.
The results of the research proved that respondents
exposed to an Affinity Break were more likely to correctly
recall the advertising, and in addition, the target audience
had a positive reaction to the themed breaks.
This insight shows clients their TV spend can benefit from
working with clients in the same sector and it also forms a
persuasive argument that brand conflict within an agency
is not always a bad thing.
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BE BRAVE...
Often, the more you put into a project, the more you get out
and you will always need the courage of your convictions.
Met Police – TRIDENT
Some consumers are more difficult to reach than others. It
can be even more difficult when you are dealing with very
sensitive issues. However, by stepping out of your comfort
zone, tackling the most challenging of projects can be
very rewarding…
“Fear on our streets as cops fail to curb killing sprees; gun
crime shoots up 35%”
The Daily Star, January 10, 2004
Gun crime within London’s black communities is a very
serious issue.
Operation Trident is a Met Police initiative to tackle gun
crime amongst London’s black communities. Its particular
focus is drug-related shootings. Through its communi-
cations, it seeks to encourage members of the community
to come forward with information against perpetrators of
this crime.
We were challenged with identifying when and what are the
most trusted forms of communication to reach the key
THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD
target audience: the friends and family of people at risk from
gun crime. We needed to talk to them and people with
influence in their community, from DJs to religious leaders.
The core findings of the research were key for the Trident
campaign and gave actionable insight into issues such as
mainstream media versus specialist media and also the
timings of messages.
Perhaps most notably, it was the issue of confidentiality
that stood out and the Met are currently working on
communications that explain exactly how the confiden-
tiality process works for the target audience.
“MediaCom’s in-depth and well-planned research into the
media habits and attitudes of the Trident target audience
has presented a clear structure on which to build the
forthcoming Trident advertising campaign. The format of
the research enables the immediacy of the opinions of
those who took part in the research to shine through, and
provided an enlightening response to many of our media
concerns. The research played a crucial part in enabling a
clear brief to be constructed for our advertising agency.”
Chris Cairns, Director of Publicity, Metropolitan Police
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OK, SO IN
SUMMARY THESE
ARE THINGS WE
WANT YOU TO BE...
REALISTIC
RIGOROUS
INTEGRATED
CONSISTENT
CONTEXTUAL
CREATIVE
BRAVE
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17
17
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1019 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 17
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
19 19

19 19 19
19
17

10
18 17
17 8

6
16
7
15
15 18
23 6
13
18
18
12
10 11 5
23 12
5 1 8 10
11 4
7 9 3
7 25 6 11
10 14 12
10 21 23
8 21 22 21
6 3 2
10 25
9 24

So start to think how innovative consumer research can

inform your understanding of the target market and their
communication pit stop.

However, just before you do, as promised, 3 top tips:- directly to the target market, it can be very insightful to
talk to the people who are close to them on a daily basis
1. Take a step back – teachers (if you want to know kids), supermarket
assistants (if you want to know grocery shoppers),
Often, looking at the big picture, or taking a step back is landlords (if you want to know beer drinkers).
the best way forward.
3. Formulate clear theories and ideas
What exactly do you want to know? What information
already exists? Please, please, please don’t try to over-complicate the
problem – quality insights and great communication pit-
Take a look at the whole problem and try to understand stops often seem like "bleedin’ obvious common sense"
exactly what you want to discover. Be very clear about after the event (however, as we all know, no one was
your objective(s). Bring the problem to life and, if nothing saying anything beforehand!).
else, it will make the brief easier to write and understand.
Be clear when you formulate your theories and ideas and
Building blocks of facts and stats exist everywhere. this will help the final communication idea cut-through to
Knowing exactly what your objective or goal is will help the target market. After many different methodologies
you build up the information in the right way. It may also and numerous stats, the litmus test we often employ at
stop you reinventing the wheel. MediaCom is:
a) Can I explain this to my mum?
2. Talk it through And more importantly…
b) Will she understand it?!
Many people hold great insights…they just don’t know it!
Above all, bring your target market to life. Hopefully this
The answers aren’t always contained within the walls of a booklet has given you some inspiration about how to
central London media agency! Also, often before talking do this.

THE SMART BOOK OF GETTING CONSUMER INSIGHT FROM THE REAL WORLD 15
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If you would like to find out more about how MediaCom’s Consumer Insight can help you
with smarter ways of working and bring significant benefits to your business, please contact:-

Mick Mernagh 020 7874 5686 mick.mernagh@mediacomuk.com

Sean Healy 020 7874 5564 sean.healy@mediacomuk.com

MediaCom, 124 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8RX

Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7158 5500, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7158 5999