MRG Conference: Insight Is Key To Building Brands

The need to stay in touch with consumers is “essential” as the magazine sector becomes increasingly overcrowded, according to IPC Southbank’s consumer and knowledge manager, Amanda Wigginton and director of NOP Media, Graham Williams.

Speaking on the final day of this year’s MRG Conference in Budapest, the pair introduced delegates to IPC’s latest consumer and brand tracking tool: the Brand Equity Monitor, which has been created to help IPC develop a better understanding of its consumers.

The Brand Equity Monitor, which was commission through NOP Media in September 2001, builds on the brand tracking and research methods used by leading FMCG, financial and telecommunications companies in an attempt to allow IPC to measure consumer perceptions of its flagship brands, as well as those of its competitors.

According to Wigginton, the tool attempts to identify what a specific brand stands for in the eyes of the consumer and the strength of that brand in a particular market. She said: “The Brand Equity Monitor has become our internal currency to assess brand performance and gauge marketing effectiveness.”

Williams went on to present some initial finding of the study, which reveals Radio Times, Woman’s Own and Ideal Home to be among the top magazine brands. In terms of familiarity Cosmopolitan, Company and B scored the highest.

The pair went on to argue that research is key to delivering customer satisfaction because it allows brands to build continuous and long-term relationships with consumers. This, they argued, guarantees media research a place at the “top table”.

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