Download How and Why Brands Should Measure the Defensive Impact of

How and Why Brands Should
Measure the Defensive Impact
of Advertising
What is ‘DEFENSIVE IMPACT’ and
why should you care?
Defensive Impact dəˈfens ˈimˌpakt
Advertising’s role in defending your brand against losses
Typical advertising or marketing objectives
Build top of mind awareness by “X”
Improve perceptions on ‘contains no artificial ingredients’ by “X”
Build brand affinity (‘cool brand’, ‘for people like me’) by “X”
Increase market share by “X”
….if these are not met,
the takeaway is that advertising has
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The Underlying Assumption
It’s all upside – advertising produces gains in an otherwise static environment
Which is of course fallacious
…there is no such thing as an ‘otherwise static environment’
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Advertising isn’t all that affects your brand KPI’s!
Competitive activities
Distribution – pricing – POS dynamics
Out of sight – out of mind
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A Typical Scenario:
Brand Health:
#’s are flat
Conclusion:
Advertising isn’t working
Indicated Action:
Change Something
• Ad budget
• Media plan
• Creative
• Ad Agency
• Ad Director
• Brand Manager
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The Risk of Making a ‘Type II’ Error
Type I Error
False Positive
Type II Error
False Negative
“You’re
pregnant”
“You’re not
pregnant”
Failing to quantify the defensive nature of advertising often results
in Type II error – concluding that the advertising is ineffective
when in fact it has been impactful for a brand
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But what if you knew that this was the true picture…
SAW ADS
OVERALL MARKETPLACE TRENDS
DIDN’T SEE ADS
Pre
Post
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The Big Question:
What would happen to your brand if you didn’t run any
advertising? How can you answer this question…
‘Test and Control’ Research??
“I can’t
possibly go
dark in some
markets”
“Besides
Test/Control
market studies
always get so
messy”
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Reinventing ‘Test and Control’ using Longitudinal Design Methodology
Interview 1
Interview 2
The basic approach:
•
Interview the same consumers at two points in time
Identify how brand
KPI’s change among
those who’ve seen ads
Versus
How brand KPI’s
change among those
who haven’t
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Case History 1
CPG Brand
Tough and Declining Category
Ad Budget:
Target consumer:
$25 Million
- Female primary grocery shoppers 25-54
- Past year category purchasers
Objectives:
Overall Trends:
- Build perceptions on ‘high quality’ and
specific brand Point of Difference
- Expand base of brand current users
High Quality
Brand POD
Past Month
Pre/Post: +1 (not significant)
Pre: -3 (not significant)
Pre/Post: 0 (no change)
• However, several
competitive brands declined
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Case History 2
Year 2 for a New Product – Line Extension
Made its numbers in Year 1
Ad Budget:
Target Consumer:
Objective:
Overall Trends:
$8.6 Million
18-75 category purchasers
Continue to build onto Year 1
momentum by increasing % of target
consumers who are interested in
buying the brand
Awareness: 0% change
(Flat at 83% among category users)
Future Purchase Intent: -1%
(Down from 45%)
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Case History 3
Spirits brand under siege
from a host of new competitors
All fighting for the same Growth Targets
Ad Budget:
Target Consumer:
Objective:
Overall trends (Key Target):
$20 Million
Adult drinking age males, Spirits drinkers,
Emphasis on 22-29 and bicultural Hispanics
Strengthen ‘premium’ perceptions and
introduce a new flavor variety
Is made with true craftsmanship: 0 [no change]
Has a smooth taste: -4%
Is worth spending more for: -2%
Comes in flavors I like: -1%
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© 2017 Communicus. Confidential and Proprietary
Case History 1
CPG Brand
Tough and Declining Category
54% saw ads
– that’s a win!
… but why didn’t the brand
KPI’s show gains??
“The advertising
must not be
persuasive”
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Case History 1
CPG Brand
Tough and Declining Category
Is High Quality
Brand POD
100
75
50
+5
25
-5
+10
100
75
50
+1
+8
25
-7
0
0
Post
Pre
Post
Pre
Past Month Usage
100
75
50
+4
15
-6
+10
0
Pre
© 2017 Communicus. Confidential and Proprietary
Post
Case History 1
CPG Brand
Tough and Declining Category
Conclusions:
Advertising is working
…but against strong headwinds
For this brand to survive and thrive, even
more advertising pressure is required
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•
Increasing advertising ‘intensity’
•
Enhancing strategic program
integrations and social media
strategies that amplify the power of
the campaign
Case History 2
Year 2 for a New Product – Line Extension
Made its numbers in Year 1
OVERALL MARKETPLACE TRENDS
Future Purchase Intent
100
75
50
-1
25
0
Pre
© 2017 Communicus. Confidential and Proprietary
Post
Case History 2
Year 2 for a New Product – Line Extension
Made its numbers in Year 1
Future Purchase Intent
100
75
+11
50
+19
-8
25
0
Pre
© 2017 Communicus. Confidential and Proprietary
Post
Case History 2
Year 2 for a New Product – Line Extension
Made its numbers in Year 1
Conclusions:
Advertising is working
… and is critical to maintaining momentum
for the line
Multiple ads are needed to persuade
… impact on the brand doesn’t occur except
among those who’ve seen two or more
different ads for the brand
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Case History 3
Spirits brand under siege
from a host of new competitors
All fighting for the same Growth Targets
77% of the
Growth Target
saw ads
…but only 38%
knew the brand
being advertised
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Case History 3
Spirits brand under siege
from a host of new competitors
All fighting for the same Growth Targets
Is Made with True Craftsmanship
Has a Smooth Taste
+15
PRE
POST
Is a Brand Worth Spending More For
+14
PRE
POST
Comes in Flavors I like
+14
PRE
POST
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+12
PRE
POST
Case History 3
Spirits brand under siege
from a host of new competitors
All fighting for the same Growth Targets
Conclusions:
Advertising is working
…Growth target is engaging more with
secondary media (OLV, Digital, and Radio)
which is helping to drive campaign intensity
and strong persuasive impact
…and sustained investment is required as this
target is subject to competitive influences
The campaign would be building the brand
without any greater media investment
…if brand linkage could be improved
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Coming Full Circle
•
Without quantifying ‘what would have happened without
advertising?’ you run the risk of understating the effectiveness of
your campaign
•
With these added insights, the actions that you
recommend will be more focused, more on-target – and
more likely to lead to great future success
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QUESTIONS?
© 2017 Communicus. Confidential and Proprietary
Jeri Smith
Kathleen Coll
President/CEO
[email protected]
520.620.9187
Sr. Director, Account Services
[email protected]
412.592.5351
© 2017 Communicus. Confidential and Proprietary