Business-to-Business and Consumer |
Serving the following Markets:
|
Advertising: Testing a New Advertising Medium |
| Information Need | A major IT retailer wanted to determine the reaction to and utilization of advertising on mobile communication devices, using qualitative to guide a larger, global quantitative study. There are multiple challenges with this, but the one that immediately jumps out at any researcher is how is one supposed to explore this topic in a focus group setting, given the time limitations, even the artificiality of any exercise one could contrive? Furthermore, how could one extrapolate from the focus group room to the real world where these (very advanced) mobile devices were not yet being used with advertising. The first thing as a responsible researcher was to figuratively hold both hands in a T formation, calling for a "time out." Let us everyone sit down and think through this. Luckily the client was just as concerned, and we were able to design an approach. |
| Target Population | Advanced, data intensive mobile phone business users. |
| Research Methodology | Focus groups held in three geographic locations across North America. |
| Methodological Challenges | As mentioned above, this was a challenge primarily because it was an advanced technology with a new function, an advertising vehicle, and no one being recruited had experienced advertising on the "small screen" until they walked into the facility. First we recognized that it would be advantageous to have them experience the advertising in a "real world" setting by giving them the devices for a week or two prior to the groups, but this was ruled out due to logistics issues. Lacking this option, we had to build in time for the respondents to "play" with the devices prior to beginning the groups, and so 30 minutes was added to each group so that respondents could work through a series of exercises, exposing them to both the devices and the advertising. Because there were multiple levels of devices (some more advanced than others), we also needed to have the flexibility to wait as some respondents caught up to others, given the differences in device load speed and ease of use. Once all the respondents went through the various advertising scenarios, we could begin the group. This proved to be a long and exhausting challenge for the respondents, but they stuck it out. |
| Outcome | Moderately successful project. I hesitate to call this a success only because of the numerous technical difficulties we encountered, with the devices, the software, the ads, the reception. In the end, however, we were able to give the client sound, and in some cases fascinating results that enabled them to go the next step. Had there been time and resources, this would have been a better field project, as originally proposed, than a focus group exercise. My recommendation is to be very careful in selecting a methodology for very advanced product studies. |
| |
| Contact: John M. Jessen |
| Copyright © 2006 Soundings Research |
| Last update: 04 / 2010 |