Brand management originally developed by Proctor and Gamble is the notion that the perceived value or equity of a brand can be increased.
Increasing the brand equity through advertising, thematic control and legal protection means that the promises of quality implied to buyer’s gain in credibility. Often this is by advertising saturation which informs a buyer’s world view and social context. Which is why so many people when seeking a household electrical appliance buy a Hoover® and not a vacuum cleaner. The Hoover® brand is synonymous with the service that their products supply. This is an obvious form of brand recognition as it has entered our cultural consciousness at an iconic level. However the building of a brand in this way requires considerable time and expense. Brand recognition testing reduces these costs and the related time costs by developing targeted marketing strategies based upon user group testing.
We also operate Brand Recognition testing on media offerings for originators (and often competitors) where the dailies (rushes) from TV advertising and program product placement are tested (using eye tracking) to see if the embedded brand messages are being passed to viewers.
Testing is carried out using a mixture of interview, eye tracking and ethnographic studies designed around media and target groups. AIU is also involved in testing with children and teenagers who offer many insights into the appropriation and cultural relevance of branding. Interview techniques vary from formal to ad hoc situations and are defined through discussions with clients. Our current eye tracking capabilities allow participants to walk around while wearing remote capture equipment, to wander down high streets, walk into shops or view computer screens, TV's or cinema presentations. Ethnographic studies involved the application of new brands or delivery systems to existing environments where changes can be observed through dynamic play, discovery, response and group dynamism changes.
Brand Recognition research / testing covers seven traditional areas of marketing research and has one additional type of research added through Activity, Interaction and Usability Limited.
Advertising and promotion research - how effective is advertising - do potential consumers recall the advertising, understand the message and does the advertising influence consumer purchasing behaviour?
Brand equity research - how favourably do consumers view the brand, does it gain market share through advertising and is it associated with its activity?
Brand name testing - what does the name project into the marketplace and how do consumers feel about the names of the products?
Concept testing - to test the acceptance and relevance of a concept by target groups of consumers.
Consumer decision process research - to determine what motivates people to buy and what decision making process they use.
Positioning research - how does the target market see the brand relative to competitors? What does the brand stand for?
Segmentation research - to determine the demographic, psychographic, behavioural characteristics of potential buyers and their households.
AIU - Brand recognition research and analysis techniques based on the research of Karl Smith since the 1990's
Are people getting the message? Without testing brands in TV, interactive TV, Film and Printed Media their placement and presentation cannot be fully analysed or built upon. Many brands are under attack from similar products attempting to cash in on their brand equity. Does competitor use of colours, marketing channel or product name infringe enough to sue? In a bank they train people to handle the real money so that when a fake comes along they immediately recognize it. This is the best scenario for brands but clever marketing and advertising are not enough to keep brands relevant. If a brand is worth keeping it needs to be tested in the marketplace against competitors, forgeries and fakers. As a result of testing is also possible to learn some new tricks that enhance security, beat competitors at their own game or provide the groundwork to raise the brand to a premium level.
Companies that adopt a defensive strategy wait until competitors, forgeries and fakers bite into their profitability. But by adopting an offensive strategy companies gain knowledge of their enemy, they examine working practices and explore competitive advantage to see what elements are relevant to themselves.
We have developed a testing process that involves the use of eye tracking where participants walk around in the real world, go into restaurants, shops, bars and shopping malls. We can test to see what is being observed, for how long and if the embedded brand messages are being passed to viewers. Each testing group is designed around the clients demographic requirements.
Advertising, money well spent?
Whether its testing the days rushes, in adverts, films or television programmers, print drafts or walking around a city centre, are brands recognizable and are their messages being passed.
Spending money is easy, getting a specified value for it is not. Counting visitors or sales is a wasted opportunity to find out what the market wants. A slight modification in an existing product or service can reap extra benefits from the hard labour involved in creating a new offering. However many companies accept what they can get and never realise how close they come to great success. At Activity, Interaction and Usability we strive to give our clients the best business intelligence possible to inform their decision processes. For more details on our services contact us.
Are people getting the message? Without testing brands in TV, interactive TV, Film and Printed Media their placement and presentation cannot be fully analysed or built upon. Many brands are under attack from similar products attempting to cash in on their brand equity. Does competitor use of colours, marketing channel or product name infringe enough to sue? In a bank they train people to handle the real money so that when a fake comes along they immediately recognize it. This is the best scenario for brands but clever marketing and advertising are not enough to keep brands relevant. If a brand is worth keeping it needs to be tested in the marketplace against competitors, forgeries and fakers. As a result of testing is also possible to learn some new tricks that enhance security, beat competitors at their own game or provide the groundwork to raise the brand to a premium level.