COI head of media, Jeremy Found, used his keynote speech at this year’s MRG Conference in Budapest to reassure delegates that media research has never been more important to the advertising industry.
He argued passionately that media research deserved its place at the “top table” and insisted that it has never be harder to get media planning right. He explained that the rapid fragmentation of the market, the explosion of new media and worsening advertising clutter was making it increasingly difficult for brands to communicate effectively with audiences.
Found called on media owners to use research “intelligently” and spoke of the importance of investigating new techniques without dismissing the methodologies that are already at hand. He said: “We need strategic insights into how to deliver the best campaign to the appropriate audience. In order to achieve this we need bespoke research that compliments the existing currencies.”
Found explained that as the Government’s specialist agency for the procurement of market and public services, COI has always been forced to make the most of media research to target audiences that are not the commercial norm.
He described a bespoke study carried out by COI in conjunction with Channel 4, which sought to establish the best way in which to communicate with 15-19 year-olds. The research used a variety of techniques to gauge how this age group interacts with media and how responsive they are to different forms of advertising.
Found concluded that this kind of innovative research, which helps brands to communicate meaningfully with consumers, would be vital the future of the industry. He said: “More needs to be done to help us understand where, when and how to reach our audience.”
