A B2B Full Service Research Case Study

OBJECTIVE

A supplier of commodity products is in a price trap and wants to find a differentiated position. It decides to do so through building its brand amongst a global audience.

METHODOLOGY

Limitations that the researchers had to work to:

The research had to be fully completed in two months as the promotional campaign was under pressure to get under way quickly

The first wave of the advertising budget was $500,000 and the research costs had to be in proportion to this (in other words there was a very limited budget for research).

Step 1 – Finding The Message

2 focus groups were carried out in the US and 4 focus groups were carried out in Europe to find out perceptions of buyers of chemicals to the major brands. The company found that it had a strong position in experienced technical and sales people who could solve problems. It decided to make “relationships” the high ground for its brand and asked the advertising agency to develop a number of ads for testing.

Step 2 – Testing The Ads

Five very different treatments were prepared for the test. There were 3 ads in each set of ads that were developed. The market researchers tested these amongst 100 chemical buyers in Europe (70 interviews) and the US (30 interviews). Copies of the ads were mailed by courier to the 100 respondents who were then phoned and asked to comment on each of the ads in terms of:

• Stopability
• Interest
• Relevance
• Clarity
• Likelihood of taking action.

FINDINGS

The research said that ads with a strong visual at the top pull people in

The ads that had very strong visuals at the top of the page tested well. The pictures pulled the reader in.

The research said that the ads need to have human interest

Stories interest people. Stories about people are the most interesting of all. The ads that featured people in either the main or the supporting (small block) pictures were strongest in building the company’s brand position of "relationships through understanding".

The research said that the headline must be strong to draw people in

There are some great headlines in the ads but they need to be easy to read. People will not spend time working out what an ad means. For example, a headline that reads "Our 98.5% on-time delivery is nearly perfect. That really bothers Charles Lavin" drew people’s interest. They wanted to know more.

The research said the graphic, the headline and the body copy must be clearly linked

Not all the ads had a clear link between these different features. There needed to be some logic so that each component of the ad built on the other.

The research said that the layout of the research must be interesting

Ads that had a lot going on kept people’s interest as long as they did not confuse. People’s eyes wandered around the page and picked up information in small bites. We are becoming visual surfers and the block layout is a good solution dishing out interesting bits of information.

The research said that the ads need a strap line that invites a call to action

The research found that ads that were most effective were those that told the reader what to do next. A strap line is very powerful as an invitation to find out more and that same strap line can be a key to all other communications

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