What is Advertising Research?
Advertising Research refers to a methodical process of marketing research which is carried out with the purpose of increasing the efficiency of advertising. In this process information about the market and consumer needs are gathered and then analysed to act as a guide in the development of the right strategies for the purpose of advertising and media campaigns.
This aims to determine the response of the customer concerning a specific ad or its campaign. It is an in-depth analysis of consumer behaviour, i.e. how they feel about the product and the chances they will purchase it.
Concept
Advertising Research is a process of investigation that tends to optimize the effectiveness of the advertising strategy. Advertising Research aims at ascertaining which ads will be more successful, i.e. whose conversion rate will be highest. Further, the success of an ad depends primarily on consumer behaviour, feedback and responses. This process takes place at the time of development.
We all know that with the help of research, we can explore the unexplored. It helps us identify the way advertising works and guides us effectively, in taking the right decisions.
It is a unique field which encompasses the use of statistical techniques for understanding qualitative and quantitative data. The information obtained helps in understanding the preferences of the consumers. The firm can use this information to plan the ad campaign accordingly.
Further, it helps marketers in planning the launch of new products and also draft advertising messages. These messages will rely upon the psychographic analysis of the consumers.
Importance
- Research promotes creativity as it gives an opportunity to interact with the customers and get insights into their habits, attitude and lifestyle.
- It helps advertisers come up with more effective ideas for advertising.
- As measurement tools are used in research, it measures the overall response of the target customers. It also gives an insight into the things that draw the viewer’s attention, the thing that engages them emotionally and the kind of messages that have recall value.
- Getting all the important information before the final release of the ad can have a positive change in increasing the effectiveness of the ad.
Objectives
- Increasing awareness about the product.
- Change the perception of customers
- Understand attitudinal pattern
- Establish buying tendency
- Know the reaction of people
- Analysis
Types of Advertising Research
- Pre-market Advertising Research: It takes place at a very early stage, it comes up with specific advertising ideas. With this research, one can forecast the effect on the buying intent of the consumer and introduce the product with confidence, as they know well that the money spent on the ad will be spent wisely.
- Post-Advertising Research: As the name suggests, post-advertising research takes place after the ad is aired. It analyses the results of an ad campaign concerning increased brand awareness and sales conversions. With this, the firm gets to know how consumers perceive their brand. Also, it determines whether the firm is able to earn enough returns on investment.
- Customised Research: Research which is tailored and in-depth about the needs of a specific industry or business. It involves interviewing the participants, performing market research, etc. This kind of research is quite effective and accurate. Once the research is completed, the advertising agency provides the information gathered to the client who requested the information.
- Syndicated Research: This kind of research is undertaken independently, in the sense that the independent researcher performs the research and then sells the information gathered to any client.
Reasons for Conducting Advertising Research
- Maximizing the impact of advertising
- Getting the maximum outcome from ad spending
- Making a comparison of the results with the objectives
- Making a comparison between two advertisements
- Devising an appropriate advertising plan
Process of Advertising Research
- Identifying the objective of research: It involves the determination of the expected result of advertising research. The objective of advertising can be specific or general. The first step in this process is to find out the objectives for carrying out the research.
- Developing the research plan: After defining the problem, the next step is to develop the advertising research plan. This is what we call advertising research design. It provides a comprehensive outline of the insights collected at the time of research. Further, it lists out the tools which are to be used for the collection of required information.
- Data collection: In this step, the physical collection of data by using pre-testing or post-testing techniques takes place. This process involves the preparation of questionnaires, feedback forms, comparative tables, etc.
- Analysis and interpretation: Once the information of gathered, the ending step is to draw conclusions from the information collected.
Wrap Up
Advertising Research helps the organization in understanding the consumers and their motivations in a better way. Hence, the firms will be able to generate better ads for their company.
