ZenithOptimedia Chief Outlines Qualitative Research Vision
Media research needs to concentrate more on qualitative methods to deliver better return on investment, according to Antony Young, chief executive of ZenithOptimedia.
Delivering the opening day’s keynote speech at this year’s MRG conference in Madrid, Young stated that media research needs to let go of the “comfort blanket” of quantitative research and instead concentrate on delivering more insightful qualitative data.
He said: “As an industry we have ignored ROI, we’re not nearly concerned enough with growing sales.” Young explained ZenithOptimedia’s decision to rebrand itself as “the ROI agency” earlier this year, stating: “It’s not an attempt at a clever slogan, it’s a statement of intent, of where the industry needs to go. Our core purpose is to drive an increased accountability in marketing.”
The agency boss expressed a clear distaste for current audience research throughout his address, accusing bodies such as BARB and RAJAR of failing to move with the times. “We need a new set of advertising metrics” he said. “Media research remains too firmly entrenched in current methods and is struggling to keep pace. Too many current methodologies hold back innovation and are not contributing to ROI.”
Young also laid blame at the feet of advertising agencies, claiming that too much emphasis is placed on numbers ahead of quality, and that the result is a “commoditisation of media”.
According to Young, an increased focus on research is needed to redress the balance. He said: “Media currencies need to better reflect outcomes rather than outputs. We need to give clients a reason to think differently than in cost per thousands, it is reducing our business to the lowest common denominator – price. I’d rather our agency invest our precious research in understanding.”
However, the advertising heavyweight struggled to defend his vision when questioned by conference delegates. Young conceded that under a price-by-value advertising system, the value of a TV advertising spot could be dictated by the worth of its audience to an advertiser, potentially causing havoc for TV sales houses seeking a simple pricing structure.
MRG: www.mrg.org.uk
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