Market Research for Targeted TV Ad
Focus Group Testing Sharpens Creative Television Advertising Concept
Jun 11, 2008
Creative concepts are a dime a dozen. So, when a unique idea excites an entire creative team, the natural tendency is to rush it into production and get it on the air immediately, if not sooner. That’s the basic creative formula behind the many TV ads – both local and national – that fail to excite viewers and generate sales.
It’s All about Perception
In marketing, perception is reality. Those who are closest to a product or service are often unable to be completely objective about its potential to command attention among the target segment. The consumers who are the most likely prospects for the product or service are the only reliable source of accurate information about how effective a specific creative approach is likely to be.
Is it Costly?
Big advertisers routinely spend freely on multiple focus groups and other target market research. And, it’s well worth the money. Considering the hundreds of thousands of dollars – in many cases, millions of dollars – that will be spent on producing the spot and buying the TV ad schedules, a few thousand dollars spent on focus groups is a cheap way to assure that the ad is likely to be effective.
Focus groups need not be out of the smaller advertiser’s price range. Many government-funded economic development agencies offer focus group services at bargain rates, as low as a few hundred dollars. These are not as likely to be as extensive or as insightful as those done by professional market researchers for large corporations, but they can still help a small advertiser avoid producing and airing a TV ad that just doesn’t work.
Some creative types minimize the utility of focus group testing. After all, how could an ad agency’s brilliant, clever, funny concept go wrong? Sure, the concept may embody the epitome of creativity. A focus group may even agree that it’s clever and humorous. The key question is whether it will actually produce more traffic and more sales.
Behavioral Intentions
Expect a focus group to clarify not only whether consumers like a concept. A productive focus group facilitator will also probe whether the ad evokes action tendencies, also known as behavioral intentions. This may sound dry and academic, but it’s actually the gold standard of evaluating a creative concept.
The contemporary television landscape is littered with spots that dazzle with special effects, color, action, and music – production extravaganzas that sometimes rival the entertainment program in which they’re aired. But unless the spot elicits behavior, it’s little more than a pleasant moment of video.
The critical issue in a focus group is whether, as a result of seeing the TV ad, the prospect will act. Some advertisers want leads, so the desired action may be a call to the company’s phone center which can then qualify the prospect and gather pertinent information for a followup sales call. Other advertisers want sales, so the desired response is a strong intent to buy.
Hire an Experienced and Skilled Facilitator
A skilled facilitator will guide the discussion through a focus group version of an adoption process – awareness, interest, desire and action – making certain that the advertiser gets as much information as possible about whether the spot creates awareness, piques interest, evokes desire and, most importantly, stimulates action.
In the event that the creative concept proves likeable enough but doesn’t lead to the desired outcome, the most accomplished facilitator will continue probing to find out why not and how the concept can be adjusted so that it will work. Often, focus group participants volunteer valuable information that helps advertisers salvage a flawed concept.
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