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ADVERTISING
- February 2000 by Dennis Altman Advertising research isn't really about numbers, it's about people IT happens every day. Panels of pandering potentates ponder the same research data, but they come away with different readings. That’s because advertising research isn’t really about numbers, it’s about people. And people are the most illogical animals on the planet. Advertising, which is much more an art than science, is one place where some people know when to walk away from logic and listen to their nervous systems. The most valuable commodity in this specialized world is a rare talent that’s best known as Consumer Insight.
Nobody wants a diet beer Take Miller Lite. When the food techs came up with a beer that was lower in calories and carbonation, they went to their management with a great idea: The first diet beer! At last, they had a way to sell more beer to women and weight conscious men. Luckily, management knew better. And when Lite was finally marketed, it went exactly the opposite way. It targeted heavy beer drinkers. The reasoning? Dieters don’t drink beer at all, and heavy drinkers always want to drink even more. So a reduction in calories and carbonation was a godsend to them.
Baskerball, anyone? The Nike case is not as tricky. If any one word encapsulates the strategy of this company, it’s winning. Nike signs the killer winners of all time as their endorsers. So what’s their insight? Is it that they make the shoes, hats, shirts and equipment for the world’s greatest athletes? Of course not. They make all that stuff for impersonators! Nike’s insight is that they go right by the athletes and straight for the baskers. The people who may never get on the courts, fields and courses, but still want to tell the world they’re on the same team as Jordan, McGwire and Woods.
Chrysler does a phoenix Some years before they began their winning ways, Chrysler conducted a vast research project to find out what kind of cars Americans wanted. The respondents told the researchers that they yearned for sensible vehicles – modestly priced cars that weren’t shaped like rockets, but had plenty of headroom and legroom. Chrysler bet the farm on the findings and for years they were turning out bulbous cars that slowly sank southward in sales. No one in charge could understand where they went wrong. Finally, an insightful researcher looked at the questionnaires and changed one thought. Instead of asking what kind of car "You" want, they now asked, what kind of car "Your neighbor" wants. The result was a 180 from the original.
Quick! Who made your sweater? The Benetton problem was that nobody buys sweaters by brand. If you ask any consumer panel what qualities or features they want in knitwear, you’ll find that they know almost nothing about the category. So Benetton had to create a brand identity that had nothing at all to do with their merchandise. They began with the most reliable consumer attitude of all: By definition, young people are insecure. If Benetton could become the brand that stood for being young and irreverent, they could unify their market. How did they accomplish it? By becoming the most outspoken, counter-culture, in-your-face, anti-old-ideas brand on the charts. In America, they ran high fashion shots of African, European and Asian models under the headline, "The United Colors of Benetton". And what did this do for them? It made them the most successful counter-culture marketer since the original Volkswagen! What was the secret? All together now: "Consumer Insight!"
Dennis Altmanis an advertising consultant and a UK Professor of Advertising and Public Relations
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