Chapter 5 Account Planning and Research Strategic Research Begins with secondary research (government, trade, supplier, Internet) Primary research The Account Planning Process Qualitative versus quantitative data Account planner interprets information

The promise and support The Strategy Document Marketing objectives The product The target audience The brand personality The promise and support

Marketing objectives Reviews the competition Establishes a goal for the campaign Corporate (profit, growth, ROI, reputation) Sales Targets (specific, quantitative, realistic goals to be achieved in a specified period of time) Includes Past and present sales figures Market shares of brand and competitors Competitor advertising and promotional resources, tactics, practices Other relevant information

The product Section includes Results of surveys Consumer perceptions of the brand and its competitors Tests of or reactions to advertisements, promotions, retail displays, and packaging of brand and competitors

The target audience Includes: Demographic and psychographic description of the campaign’s target audience Demographic data reveal the age, income, education, gender, and location of targets Psychographic information comes from surveys, in-depth interviews, observational research and focus groups

Brand personality Brands have personalities Ads for brands with winning personalities seek to perpetuate that personality Ads for brands with less desirable personalities work to remedy the problem Personalities can be elicited by: Asking consumers what the brand would be like if it were an animal or person

The promise Ads promise a reward for buying or using the advertised product or service Promise section tells writers and art directors which reward ads should promise Support section lists facts about the brand’s attributes that will make the promise most acceptable to users

Evaluative Research Before Execution Message development research Survey research Observation research Cognitive psychology and the use of metaphor Communication assessment Content analysis of competing ads Readability tests Test marketing Physiological measures

Evaluative Research During Execution Coincidental surveys Attitude tests Tracking studies Wave analysis Consumer diaries Pantry checks Single-source tracking

Evaluative Research After Execution Memory tests (recall/recognition) Persuasion tests Direct-response counts Frame-by-frame tests In-market tests Brand tracking

Evaluative Research After Execution