Developing Advertising with Qualitative Market Research

152 Pages·2002·2.77 MB·English

by  Judith Wardle

Developing Advertising
with Qualitative
Market Research
Judith Wardle
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Developing Advertising
6
with Qualitative Market
Research
QMR
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The seven volumes of Qualitative Market Research: Principle and Practice provide
complete coverage of qualitative market research practice. It offers commercial
practitioners authoritative source texts for training and professional development,
and provides academic students and researchers an account of qualitative research
theory and practice in use today. Each book cross-references others in the series, but
can also be used as a stand-alone resource on a key topic.
1 An Introduction to Qualitative Market Research
Mike Imms and Gill Ereaut
2 Interviewing Groups and Individuals in Qualitative Market Research
Joanna Chrzanowska
3 Methods Beyond Interviewing in Qualitative Market Research
Philly Desai
4 Analysis and Interpretation in Qualitative Market Research
Gill Ereaut
5 Developing Brands with Qualitative Market Research
John Chandler and Mike Owen
6 Developing Advertising with Qualitative Market Research
Judith Wardle
7 Delivering Results in Qualitative Market Research
Geraldine Lillis
Gill Ereauthas worked in qualitative market research in the UK for more than 20 years.
She now combines teaching and writing on qualitative research with commercial
research practice.
With 25 years’ industry experience, Mike Imms has worked extensively for the
Association for Qualitative Research and is a Fellow of Market Research Society. He
runs a training organisation for commercial qualitative researchers.
Martin Callinghamwas Group Market Research Director, Whitbread PLC and is now
a consultant. He is a Visiting Professor at Birkbeck College, London University and a
Fellow of the Market Research Society.
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Developing Advertising
6
with Qualitative Market
Research
QMR
Judith Wardle
SAGE Publications
London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi
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© Judith Wardle 2002
First published 2002
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or
private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this
publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any
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writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic
reproduction, in accordance with the terms of licences issued
by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Inquiries concerning
reproduction outside those terms should be sent
to the publishers.
SAGE Publications Ltd
6 Bonhill Street
London EC2A4PU
SAGE Publications Inc.
2455 Teller Road
Thousand Oaks, California 91320
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
32, M-Block Market
Greater Kailash - I
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
Acatalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
ISBN 0 7619 7272 2
Library of Congress Control Number 2002101993
Typeset by SIVAMath Setters, Chennai, India
Printed in Great Britain by Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Editorial Introduction ix
About this Book xv
1 Introduction: Why Qualitative Research? 1
The unique contribution of qualitative research 2
The limitations of qualitative research 3
The scope of this book 4
Key Points 6
2 What Is Advertising? 7
The many objectives of advertising 7
The structure of an advertisement 11
Different advertising forms and devices 16
Key Points 19
3 How Advertising Works 20
Advertising as a response to business needs 21
How advertising works on consumers: some models
and analogies 23
How consumers use advertising 28
How advertising shapes brands 29
Advertising to different target audiences 30
How do consumers think advertising works? 33
What’s your model? 34
Key Points 34
4 The Planning Process and the Role of Research 36
The planning cycle 36
Developing the advertising strategy 38
From advertising strategy to creative brief 42
Creative development 44
Key Points 47
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vi DEVELOPING ADVERTISING WITH QUALITATIVE MARKET RESEARCH
5 The Research Process: From Briefing to Fieldwork 49
Before the fieldwork 50
The briefing 50
A semiotic approach 52
Methodology and sample 54
Planning the discussion 61
Topic guides 63
Interviewing 68
Key Points 73
6 The Research Process: From Analysis and
Interpretation to Presentation 74
The chronological process 74
Researcher mode 81
The structure and narrative of the advertising 83
Brand/advertising/consumer relationships 86
Researching leading edge advertising 89
Likeability 91
Humour and music 93
Key Points 95
7 Representations of the Advertising 97
The limitations of stimulus material 97
The view of the respondent 98
Different types of stimulus material 99
The politics of stimulus material 102
Key Points 104
8 The Politics of Advertising Research 105
Three sides of a triangle 106
The particular case of advertising 112
The way forward 114
Key Points 117
9 International Advertising Research 119
Opportunities and problems 119
Different perspectives in international advertising 120
The politics of advertising research 124
Qualitative techniques that travel well 127
Key Points 128
Bibliography 130
Index 133
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Acknowledgements
I have had a life-long love of advertising. As a small child I remember
discussing advertising with my mother – the two of us were suburban
commentators – but it was one ad that sealed that passion. It was a simple
press ad, showing a pair of perfect red lipsticked lips poised seductively
above a glass of Guinness with the word ‘ladylike’. I have been a
Guinness drinker ever since.
Special thanks go to the small band of gifted researchers, planners and
semioticians of whom I am but an observer and a student: Graham Booth,
Roddy Glen, Peter Dann, Lucy Banister, Diane Espley, Adrian Langford,
Geoff Bayley, Niki Karet and Jon Cohen, Greg Rowland, Jeremy Nicholas.
You all gave me a good chunk of your valuable time, were generous with
your opinions and relating your experiences, and I am very grateful.
Thank you, too, to David Cowan, Chris Forrest, Clive Nancarrow, Liz
Montgomery and Joanna Chrzanowska for reading the text and taking the
time and care to suggest improvements.
Thanks also to planning teams at BMP (organised by Alex Whelan),
O&M (organised by Miranda Ross), Partners BDDH (organised by Sarah
Heard) and RKCR/Y&R (organised by Katie Lancaster and Neil
Goodlad).
Aspecial mention for everyone at my work, Wardle McLean, who all
have probably heard enough about the subject of advertising research by
now, but especially to Andy Truslove, without whose enthusiasm and
interest in the project I would not have had the energy to finish the
manuscript. Thank you, too, to my business partner, Kevin McLean, who
helped me cope with client-work and book-work for the last six months
and for reminding me that we set up our company to serve our life interests
and not the other way round. I am also grateful to Dominic Scott-Malden
and Clare Mansfield for their bon motsand to Tamsin Feinbergfor reading
the whole damn thing.
My thanks also extend to Martin Callingham for his encouragement
and support, and without whom I wouldn’t have had the confidence to
start the book, but final and special thanks go to Gill Ereaut, who had the
idea in the first place and energy to put it into practice.
This text will never quite capture the roller-coaster excitement of work-
ing with creative ideas. Advertising is the most challenging and exciting of
all qualitative research and I hope that this text conveys my enthusiasm.
Finally, there is no one big truth in advertising and I hope that this book
reflects that fact. Other than the references, what follows are my words
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viii DEVELOPING ADVERTISING WITH QUALITATIVE MARKET RESEARCH
and my opinions – and in the spirit of constructive conflict, call me, e-mail
me or snail-mail me to tell me what you think. Please.
The author and publishers wish to thank the following for permission to
reproduce illustrations in this book:
The Advertising Archives for the Olivio, Levis, Smash, BT, PG Tips
and Britons advertisements, and Global Marketing for the Land Rover
advertisement.
Every effort has been made to trace all the copyright holders, but if any
have been overlooked, or if any additional information can be given, the
publishers will be pleased to make the necessary amendments at the first
opportunity.
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Editorial Introduction
About Qualitative Market Research:
A Background to the Series
Gill Ereaut, Mike Imms and Martin Callingham
This series of books explains the theory and practice of qualitative market
research, or commercial qualitative research. There is no single agreed
definition of qualitative market research but we can paraphrase some key
definitions and describe it thus:
A form of market research that seeks to explore and understand
people’s attitudes, motivations and behaviours – the ‘why’ and ‘how’
behind the ‘what’ – using methods that seek to reach understanding
through dialogue and evocation (rather than measurement). Qualitative
research generally attempts to make sense of and interpret phenomena
in terms of the meanings people bring to them.
In UK practice, which forms the focus of this series, the most common
form of qualitative market research employs the group discussion (or
‘focus group’) and depth interview as its major field methods, although
many other methods can be and are increasingly used, such as observa-
tional approaches.
Common to all methods is the aim of getting beyond public, conscious
factors – those things that people can and will say in response to simple
questions. Qualitative market research provides effective ways of explor-
ing such issues as private thoughts and feelings, pre-conscious factors
(such as intuitive associations, the taken-for-granted, habitual and cultur-
ally derived attitudes and behaviours), and the important issue of
emotions. Also used within qualitative market research are techniques
that enable researchers to overcome the limitations of the verbal.
The main objectives of qualitative market research usually involve one
or more of the following:
• Diagnosis– providing depth of understanding of a current situation,
of why things are the way they are.
• Prognosis– providing guidance on likely responses to options, plans
or proposals.