“Hot Off The Press” Research – MRG Conference Special Report
Delegates at the MRG Conference were presented with a “Hot Off the Press” insight into some innovative media research.
Fran Cassidy, marketing director at Carlton TV and her colleague Catherine Davie, head of marketing research, told how Carlton have adapted the “Needs States” theory to television viewing to cleverly schedule programmes to suit viewer’s moods during the daytime and into the evening.
The methodology used a computer diary which was closely monitored and followed up with interviews. Under-researched daytime TV is clearly more important than it is often perceived to be with a higher percentage of interviewees actually watching TV than any other activity. With viewers moods varying a great deal throughout the day, advertisers can capitalise on these moods to deliver the right messages. If the advertising fits the person’s mood it is perceived as relevant, otherwise viewers tend to be indifferent. A good example was the high recall two years later of the sponsorship of Vanessa by Death By Chocolate in a lunchtime slot when viewers in Carlton’s survey were having a well deserved break and thinking of chocolate and purchasing a little ‘reward’ for themselves.
The second stage in Carlton’s “Needs States” research will analyse the transition between daytime and peaktime viewing and will quantify the benefit of targeting advertising to Needs States.
James Walker, joint md of the Advanced Techniques Group Worldwide at JWT, informed the delegates about its new Project Cosine study to reveal whether size, position, colour and content matter in press advertising.
JWT has recognised the growing importance of print advertising with growth sectors being outside the traditional classic FMCG TV advertisers and also due to restrictions on TV advertising (eg alcohol). So far the study has only involved weekday national newspapers but with replicable methodologies across countries, Project Cosine is being extended to cover four European countries and weekend supplements, with consumer magazines will being added as part of a three year on-going programme of press research.
Modelling techniques are used to judge how the various factors governing advertising awareness affect each other. Advertisement noting increases four fold on pages where editorial is read. The benefit of colour declines with increasing ad size but is always greater than colour premiums cost. The front third of a newspaper outperforms other positions but there is always more colour in this third which is an influential factor. The right-hand v left-hand page argument is important in broadsheets only, with there being a tangible 40% greater awareness of right-hand page ads.
The aim of the study is to help press planners/buyers optimise client’s press ad campaigns in terms of frequency, duration and premiums paid and to open constructive discussions with creative agencies and departments and media owners. JWT are looking for joint sponsors and have so far had some interesting conversations with various media owners.
Neil Webster, head of national sales at London News Radio, looked at radio research and whether united by a common language we could learn anything from our American cousins.
It would seem that there are many limitations to the Arbitron system which measures radio audiences in the USA. There are many inconsistencies in diary placement and it does not examine advertising minutage and programming environments.
An electronic measurement system needs to be implemented to provide robust, representative and recent research information into radio audiences. Webster said we should look further than the last RAJAR.