ADVERTISING CREATIVE...RESEARCH

FACT-THE BASIS OF AN EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

ULTIMATELY, THE CHANCES OF AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN ACHIEVING ITS OBJECTIVES ( CREATING AWARENESS, ESTABLISHING BRAND PREFERENCE, OR PERSUADING PEOPLE TO BUY ) WILL DEPEND TO A LARGE EXTENT ON HOW WELL THE ADVERTISER HAS UNDERSTOOD HIS CONSUMERS, MARKET CONDITIONS, HIS PRODUCT, AND MEDIA  VEHICLES ( TELEVISION, RADIO, PRINT PUBLICATIONS, INTERNET ETC. )HE IS USING TO TALK TO HIS CONSUMERS. KNOWLEDGE OF THESE ELEMENTS- THE CONSUMER, THE MARKET, THE PRODUCT AND THE MEDIA MIX- CAN BE OBTAINED BY THE MANUFACTURER THROUGH RESEARCH.

WHEN COMPETITION INCREASED IN MANY INDUSTRIES AND SELLERS FOUND THEMSELVES IN A POSITION WHERE BUYERS HAD THE UPPER HAND, SELLERS BECAME CONVINCED THAT IN ORDER TO SURVIVE IN BUSINESS THEY HAD TO STUDY THE CONSUMER, DISCOVER (  TROUGH RESEARCH ) WHAT SHE WANTED, AND THEN PRODUCE AND SUPPLY A PRODUCT THAT WOULD SATISFY THESE WANTS. THIS ATTITUDE CAME TO BE KNOWN AS MARKETING CONCEPT. THE MARKETING CONCEPT PLACES IMPORTANCE ON THE CONSUMERS' NEED.

THE USE OF CONSUMER RESEARCH AS THE BASIS OF AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN ORIGINATES FROM THE MARKETING CONCEPT. TODAY, AN ENLIGHTENED MANUFACTURER SEEKS TO KNOW:

EXACTLY WHICH CONSUMERS ARE MOST LIKELY TO BUY HIS PRODUCT? WHAT IS THEIR AGE, EDUCATION AND INCOME LEVELS? WHERE ARE THEY GEOGRAPHICALLY LOCATED? 

ARE THEY ALREADY BUYING ANOTHER BRAND IN THIS PRODUCT CATEGORY? WHAT DO THEY LIKE ABOUT THE BRAND? WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR THEIR NOT BUYING THESE BRANDS ( OTHER THAN THEIR FAVOURITE ) THAT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET ?

HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN PATRONISING THEIR PRESENT BRAND ? SIX MONTHS? A YEAR ? FIVE YEARS ?  TEN YEARS ?

HOW OFTEN DO THEY PURCHASE THE PRODUCT ?  HOW SOON THEY CONSUME IT ? IS THE PERSON WHO BUYS THE PRODUCT THE SAME AS THE PERSON WHO USES THE PRODUCT ( THE BUYER AND USER OF A PRODUCT MAY NOT BE THE SAME PERSON, E.G. A WIFE A WIFE BUYING AN AFTER SHAVE LOTION FOR HER HUSBAND, OR A MOTHER BUYING A SAOP FOR HER SIS-YEAR OLD )? WHAT PUBLICATIONS DO THEY READ, CINEMAS DO THEY VISIT? WHEN DO THEY WATCH TELEVISION ? WHAT PROGRAMME ?

NATURALLY, THE TYPE OF INFORMATION COLLECTED IN A CONSUMER RESEARCH  SURVEY WILL DEPEND ON WHAT THE MANUFACTURER WANT TO KNOW IN THE FIRST PLACE, ABOUT HIS CONSUMERS. 

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF INFORMATION WHICH ARE OBTAINED IN A CONSUMER REASAERCH. THE FIRST CATEGORY OS QUESTIONS IS PURELY DESCRIPTIVE IN NATURE; IT SEEKS ANSWERS TO QUERIES SUCH AS WHO BUYS WHAT, HOW MUCH OF IT, WHEN AND HOW OFTEN WHERE ARE BUYERS LOCATED; WHAT ARE THEIR AGE, EDUCATION INCOME PROFILES, AND SO ON. ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS CAN BE OBTAINED LARGELY BY THE DIRECT QUESTIONS-ANSWER TECHNIQUE WHERE THE INTERVIEWER 

ASKS QUESTIONS OF THE RESPONDENT AND NOTES THE ANSWERS  DOWN..

ANSWERS TO THIS TYPE OF QUESTIONS CAN RARELY BE ACCURATELY OBTAINED BY DIRECT QUESTION-ANSWER APPROACH. ACCORDING TO PROFESSOR PAUL E GREEN AND DONALD S TULL, " PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE LONG RECOGNISED THAT DIRECT QUESTIONING OF PATIENTS IS FREQUENTLY OF LITTLE VALUE FOR DIAGNOSTIC PURPOSES.THE PATIENT IS USUALLY UNABLE AND OFTEN UNWILLING TO GIVE ACCURATE ANSWERS TO DIRECT QUESTIONS. TO SOLVE THIS PROBM, A NUMBER OF TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN DEVISED TO OBTAIN INFORMATION BY INDIRECT MEANS. MOST OF THESE TECHNIQUES EMPLOY PRINCIPLE OF PROJECTION.THAT IS ,  THE SUBJECT GIVEN  THE DESCRIPTION A NON-PERSONAL, AMBIGUOUS SITUATION AND ASKED TO DESCRIBE IT. THE PERSON GIVING THE DESCRIPTION WILL NEED TO INTERPRET THE SITUATION IN TERMS OF HIS OWN NEED, MOTIVES, AND VALUES. "

THE TECHNIQUE USED TO ELICIT THE REASON FOR A CONSUMER'S BEHAVIOUR ARE SOMETIMES TERMED " PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS ".