Archive for the ‘Advertising Research’ Category
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
It appears the jury is still out on the usefulness of social media and social networking websites from a business perspective. Two recent studies show mixed feelings from companies, ranging from SMEs through to large multinational corporations.
In the second annual Business Networking Trends Survey, conducted by WeCanDo.biz, 80% of entrepreneurs claimed to have achieved business wins through social networking sites, with 92% of respondents saying they would recommend networking professionally online to their business contacts.
Professional and business-focused networking sites – among them LinkedIn and Xing – unsurprisingly proved the most popular, with just under half of small businesses surveyed saying they utilise them for professional networking. Just under a quarter use sites such as Twitter for business networking. However, more than a third of SMEs are wary of using Facebook for business networking purposes, refusing to add business contacts as ‘friends’.
Interestingly, despite a huge rise in overall users of social networking sites in the past few years, this year’s study found there to be a fall in the number of respondents who feel online networks help them get closer to their customers.
Yet it would seem that more ‘traditional’ face-to-face networking continues to grow, with 36% of respondents questioned regularly attending networking meetings. The amount of money and time spent on networking has also increased over the past year. However, in spite of this, while half of the respondents plan to maintain the same levels of face-to-face networking in 2010, 55% intend to increase the time they spend networking online.
A second survey, this one conducted by the Internet Advertising Bureau, hints at a certain amount of skepticism towards social media. This study, which included such household names as Coca-Cola and RBS, showed that only one fifth of marketers view social media as a core element of their company’s marketing strategy – with many more confused about the role it should play in their plans.
Further confusion lies in who should be responsible for any social marketing, with one third of respondents feeling some responsibility lies with the PR department, 12% believing the research department needs to be involved, and 7% adamant that the IT department should be responsible.
Further caution is demonstrated by the three-quarters of brand marketers who feel social media’s biggest challenge is proving it can deliver ROI. 64% see measurement as the most significant hurdle to investment in the channel.
Yet there can be no doubt that many companies, among them Vodafone and O2, are huge fans of the benefits and the potential of social media. I.T. giant Dell reported in June last year that it could attribute more than $3 million in sales directly to Twitter, a figure now believed to have topped $5.5m. Maybe social media shouldn’t be so easily dismissed…
Posted in
Advertising Research, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Social Networking |
Comments:
None Yet »
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
A new academic study claims the average American consumes 34 gigabytes and 100,000 words of information every day. That’s not just a phenomenal amount of information to take in. It’s also estimated to be well over three times the daily amount that we consumed back in 1980.
The ‘How Much Information?‘ study, published by the University of California, San Diego, looks at media consumption today in the United States. Television is still the dominant information source, taking up 41% of the total time spent consuming media, followed by the internet, which takes 16% of total time. Other mediums covered by the study include cinema visits and computer games, talking on cell phones and listening to the radio, among others…
It’s perhaps difficult for us to really grasp the sheer scale of the amount of information we’re talking about here, but few of us would argue that we are not exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of advertising, marketing, promotional and sales messages on a daily basis. But what does this mean for all those marketers who are competing to get their own messages across?
Well, there are many implications, but one of the most important would be that it underlines the absolute need to have a strong, clear and consistent brand. Mixed messages will not help you stand out; at best they will cause confusion and at worst they will be overlooked altogether. A strong brand will help to ensure that your customers know exactly what you offer, realize exactly what you stand for, and understand exactly what they can expect from you. The key then, of course, is to make sure the offering itself does not disappoint them, which is a whole new challenge!
Another important point to make can be nicely summarized by the famous John Wanamaker quotation: Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half. Advertising is a tricky business, and is undoubtedly made harder today by the fact that so many other messages are competing for our prospective customers’ attention. The key with any form of advertising or direct mail campaign is to test, test and test again. Make sure you are researching the audience’s reaction to your campaign before the concept is fully developed and again before it is launched. Then you must monitor the campaign once it has gone live, and continue to track its effectiveness over time. We may not be able to reduce the amount of other information we are competing with, but there are certainly things we can do to help us stand out from the crowd.
Posted in
Advertising Research, Branding, Marketing, Promotion, Sales |
Comments:
None Yet »
Friday, July 31st, 2009
In her first Thursday Night Insight contribution, Research Executive Afshan Bhatti sheds some light on becoming a Jedi Master of Social Influence and how an understanding of six basic psychological principles can greatly benefit us in becoming better persuaders both in our working and personal lives.
As I sit here reluctantly watching Stars Wars for the second time today with my nephew, my mind starts to wander – Luke Skywalker gained the ultimate form of compliance: he persuaded Darth Vader to turn against the evil emperor, saving his own life in the process as well as restoring hope and peace to the galaxy. Okay so we’re not trying to save the world, but surely the principles of persuasion are the same even if in this case it was in a galaxy far, far away. So, I found myself asking just what are these weapons of influence and how can they be used to help our attempts to be a major force in our industry?
Stop and think for a moment – how many times during the past day has someone tried to change your mind? The answer may well be a surprise as it’s quite clear that each day we are bombarded with numerous efforts of this type. Radio and television adverts, newspapers and magazine ads, people on the phone or knocking at your door… The list is endless. Persuasion, it would seem, is at the very core of any marketing strategy and an understanding of the psychology behind it not only gives us a fascinating insight into people but also helps us to develop marketing strategies to effectively reach the consumer.
One of the most potent weapons of influence is Reciprocation. Put simply, if someone does something for us, we feel obligated to return the favour. I mean ladies, how many times have you been approached by the always-smiling, friendly makeup girl and, before you know it, you’re sitting in the chair being shown the latest makeup trends and treated to “free” samples. “Why not?” I hear you say. True, but before long, you find yourself tangled in the natural indebting force inherent in a “free makeup lesson” and somehow, yet again, you’re walking away with another high-gloss smudge-proof 24-hour power lipstick you just didn’t need. As a marketing technique this is very effective as even someone like me, who is very aware of the “non-existence” façade claiming the intention to inform, falls for it hook, line and sinker!
Another effective strategy is Scarcity, which implicitly tells us “what is scarce is good.” It’s a basic human desire to want what we can’t have, and the feeling of missing out on something apparently “this good” influences us to take action. I mean we only have to turn on the television and there we have it, advertisers informing us that their products are available for a “limited time only” or “sale ends tomorrow”. This technique is very effective for getting procrastinators to take action immediately or risk missing out. A prime example was on a recent shopping trip. I saw a dress I liked but, since I’d purchased two already, I was in two minds about purchasing a third. So I thought to myself “I can always come back another time”, but then I found out it was the only one left in the store, and yes, you guessed right – I just had to have it. The possibility of losing something was too much to bear (yes even a dress can elicit this feeling!) and is more of a powerful motivator than it is gaining something.
The tendency to see an action as more appropriate when others are doing it is referred to as Social Proof. This feeling of security is something that marketers want to elicit in the consumer as it will increase their chances of purchasing products or using services. If others are doing it, then it must be the right thing to do. This principle of influence kicks in even more strongly when the situation is uncertain or people aren’t sure what to do. When you can show them what others like themselves believe or are doing, people are more likely to take the same action. Savvy marketers make use of positive experiences of satisfied customers (aka testimonials) to induce prospects to buy their products or use their services. Sometimes it pays to brag about your accomplishments and popularity!
Liking as the next principle should be no surprise. I mean we are more likely to say yes and be persuaded by those we like and trust. Build relationships with your clients, be transparent, use various outlets to show people who you are and connect with your audience. The more you put yourself out there, the more people will like you. The more people like you, the more influence you’ll have. It’s as simple as that.
We, as humans, are programmed to listen and respond to an Authority figure and place great trust in them. We are more likely to be influenced by someone of this status than anyone else. Take, for example, this month’s In Style magazine. The adverts always have the latest revolution in haircare products endorsed by famous celebrities (who, of course, have the glossiest, shiniest hair known to man) accompanied by a testimonial from a leading hairdresser to the stars. Now I, for one, perceive these as experts in haircare, hanging on to their every word – which ends up burning another hole in my pocket as I find myself purchasing not 1 but all 5 miracle hair products that work in sync with each other and “must” be utilised together to get salon type results.
Finally the last principle is Commitment And Consistency. That is, people are more likely to go along with something if they perceive it as aligned with commitments they have already made. This drive to be consistent constitutes a highly potent weapon of social influence. Socially and culturally, it’s important that we are viewed as people who stick to their word, who make consistent choices and who can be understood on the basis of past actions. Inconsistent people can be seen as difficult, flaky, unreliable and undesirable. Clearly, in any society, consistency is a valuable trait, and the need to appear consistent, especially in business, is paramount.
The six principles act as the foundation for the majority of successful social influence strategies. Our ability to persuade others to our way of thinking is one of the most important and indispensable skills that we must learn and master. With it, we can climb the corporate ladder, win new clients, advance our business forward, and convince our partner to our way of thinking  . Conversely, without it, we are merely lost souls at the mercy of external forces that control our every decision and action.
Finally, if I haven’t succeeded in persuading you, consider the words of Donald Trump "Study the art of persuasion, practice it and develop an understanding of its profound value across all aspects of life." If it’s good enough for Donald then it’s good enough for me!!!
Posted in
Advertising Research, Afshan Bhatti, Marketing, Promotion, Sales, Thursday Night Insight |
Comments:
None Yet »
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) has found that two-thirds of marketers have, in response to the current economic environment, shifted their emphasis to more short-term strategies. These were some of the findings of a Brand-Building study of 129 marketers, which took the form of an online survey.
Yet in spite of the short-term tactics, marketers are already planning increased activities for when the recession ends. 68% will be increasing their media budgets, 41% increasing social networking/word-of-mouth, and 40% allocating more money to innovation and testing/learning. Almost three-quarters of respondents admitted that they would ideally like to implement these additional marketing activities three to six months before the recession ends.
The survey found that few marketing initiatives had been postponed or cancelled outright, but many had suffered from reduced budgets. Those activities that are being maintained during the recession include:
- Research and development (47%)
- Public relations (42%)
- Innovation/test/learn budgets (33%)
- Promotion activities (33%).
A number of activities have been increased over recent months, including:
- Pricing deals (47%)
- Social networking/word-of-mouth (26%)
- Public relations efforts (23%)
When compared to the results of previous surveys, many traditional media channels have suffered:
- Television (down from 80% in February 2007 to 64% in April 2009)
- Magazines (down from 67% to 51%)
- Radio (down from 36% to 30%)
- Outdoor (down from 35% to 26%)
- Newspapers (down from 36% to 19%)
These results are fairly representative of current sentiment in the wider marketing community. Many organizations are shying away from traditional media and focusing on online opportunities. Indeed, a recent survey by B2B International showed around half of marketers planning to increase their e-marketing spend in 2009, with many stating that online marketing had already proven itself to be a successful strategy in the face of recessionary pressures. More than a quarter were planning increases in their PR activity. On the flip side, around half planned to cut expenditure in the more traditional areas of tradeshows/events and magazine advertising.
Click here to read our white paper on Marketing Strategies in a Recession.
Posted in
Advertising Research, Budgets, Business Decisions, Commercials, Marketing, Recession |
Comments:
None Yet »
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Good news at last! According to a new survey, business confidence is finally on the rise. For the second consecutive month in April, businesses’ optimism about both trading prospects and expectations for the wider economy has risen, with confidence now at its highest level for six months.
More than one third (35%) of firms questioned in the Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Business Barometer are anticipating brighter trading prospects over the coming 12 months, while only a fifth (21%) expect conditions to worsen.
In a similar vein, a recent survey hosted by B2B International discovered that around a third (31%) of B2B organisations that have so far been largely or extremely affected by the recession are nevertheless optimistic about their organisation’s economic outlook.
More positive signs have come recently with news from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising’s latest Bellwether survey that the decline in marketing spend slowed in the first quarter of 2009.
So, while the recession isn’t over yet by any means, it’s reassuring that we are starting to see and hear signs of optimism.
Posted in
Advertising Research, B2B Marketing, B2B News, Business, Business Confidence Index, Marketing |
Comments:
None Yet »
|
