Advertising & Brand Tracking: Typical Engagements
Advertising Effectiveness: Networking Equipment
ConStat was retained by a leading supplier of networking equipment to conduct research to assess the impact of general advertising and the incremental impact of three alternative media plans (print advertising only vs. television advertising at two spending levels) on awareness, usage and perceptions of our client’s products and services. The research would also help the client understand the impact of brand perceptions and attitudes on the purchase decision-making process.
This research consisted of a traditional pre- and post-advertising awareness and usage survey and included 1800 telephone interviews conducted per wave across three distinct IT-related target audiences (wave intervals were six months). These audiences included those responsible for their company’s voice and data networks at both small- and medium-sized companies and organizations with 500+ employees, as well as business decision makers with planning or budgeting responsibilities in functional areas outside of IT.
Results indicated the advertising had a significant impact on increasing awareness of our client and positioning them as a leader among businesses in the Internet space. Importantly, these gains were accomplished without the need for high levels of spending on television advertising.
Brand Evaluation, Usage and Customer Satisfaction: Business Process Integration Servers
A major server software developer wanted to track customer satisfaction and perceptual positioning of its brand of integration software relative to competitive brands as each company introduced new versions. ConStat conducted detailed online surveys with specific groups of IT professionals and decision makers who oversee selection, testing, deployment and production of business process integration servers. This category of business software is highly complex and competitive. It requires hard-to-find experts to give reliable answers to highly technical questions as well as general perceptual responses. ConStat located the appropriate professionals to complete the project.
The study helped track not only relative share of market but use of advanced features and user perceptions of performance on detailed product attributes. The goal was to determine relative strengths and weaknesses of each brand to help guide the feature development, positioning and messaging of the client’s brand.
Brand Equity: Software Company
A leading financial management software maker selected ConStat to design and execute a study designed to track brand equity over time as well as to gain an understanding of customers’ willingness to allow the brand into other aspects of the business’ operations. Additionally, the client wanted to compare brand equity among various customer segments and track use and ratings of some of their competitors.
The study was conducted online among a random sample of registered customers. The client was identified as the study sponsor and an incentive in the form of a drawing for cash prizes was offered to encourage participation. The client used this study to track brand equity annually over 5 years. Findings from the study were also used to help carry over the brand’s equity into successfully launching other products and services.
Advertising Tracking: Telecommunications Directory
A leading telecommunications directory company selected ConStat to track the results of a recent merger on their advertising and brand recognition with a specific emphasis on how a new company name impacted perceptions. The pre/post quantitative study was conducted by telephone with consumers and advertisers in Salt Lake City, Denver, Minneapolis, Portland, Omaha, Cedar Rapids, and Tucson.
Respondents were tested on their awareness of the existing brand name before the merger and the new name afer the merger and rated each name on various important brand attributes. This allowed for comparisons of perceptions stemming directly from the change. The client was then able to use this information to plan future marketing and advertising, insuring that the most positive brand image was conveyed.