Media research rarely appears to be the stuff of which dreams are made. Unless, of course, you find reach and frequency metrics particularly exciting.
But a new wave of initatives from the region’s media agencies is injecting a little more life into the discipline, borrowing heavily from their creative counterparts to better explore the insights and trends that are often left uncovered by traditional research.
MindShare’s Asia Scout Network is one such example - a project launched earlier this year that brings together the likes of designers, artists and DJs to try and identify insights from various Asian cities. It certainly sounds seductive, but should clients really be taking notice?
1 The proximity of media agencies to the consumer is a key benefit, says Nike Southeast Asia marketing director Tim Parkinson, even if, despite being a MindShare client, he is less than familiar with the Scout Network itself. “The opportunity for media agencies is that they understand the consumer far, far better,” explains Parkinson. “But how do they build a better picture beyond just media habits to find out what makes the consumer tick?”
2 The comments reflect a broader dissatisfaction with traditional research methodologies that are based around reach and frequency. “Those currencies are so outdated and they have got to come up with new ones,” he says. “But I’m not seeing that happening yet.” Starcom regional CEO D Sriram, though, believes that it is - noting that his own agency regularly puts together small groups to conduct what he calls “touchy-feely research”. “Everyone is trying to be more than a ‘fill in the spreadsheet’ agency, so we are trying to identify passions, key issues and things which make smaller groups of consumers different from other groups.”
3 Beyond the increasing fragmentation of media choices, perhaps the most important driver of this shift in focus is simple necessity. “There are some suppliers of trend research,” admits MindShare regional head of strategy James Chadwick, “but no one has come up with a product for the media agencies and channel companies which you can buy off the shelf.” Chadwick’s response - upping investment in qualitative research - also points to some market realities. “We’re already paying a lot of money for syndicated research and not necessarily getting a competitive advantage from it,” adds Chadwick.
4 Others are less convinced that these projects really do what they say on the label. “Anyone who genuinely identifies a trend before it happens is going to be rich,” says an agency source. Starcom’s Sriram, meanwhile, points out that “it’s very hard to identify a trend before it happens in a very quantifiable, believable way”. The net result? “It’s very hard to get a client to put money on the line,” he says.
5 Client buy-in, it appears, is still a work in progress. “What they might have are case studies, but they are not consolidated into a planning framework, that we could use,” says Coca-Cola Asia-Pacific integrated marketing communications director Leonardo O’Grady. “When it comes to consumer insights, my experience with the media agencies, is the depth into the psychology of the consumer - both human/cultural and the consumers decision-making criteria - is not there. ”
6 Complicating matters further is a mindset that sometimes appears to treasure historic data above all else. “We’re trying to get ahead of the consumer, to tell them something they don’t know necessarily,” points out Parkinson. Agencies, notes Sriram, must take some of the blame. “Our reliance on needing data to support everything and not trusting people’s instincts, makes it harder to ride a trend before it happens.”
7 If they aren’t already, creative agencies should be worried. No matter how you look it, some people will always find the idea of artists and DJs rubbing shoulders with number crunchers interesting. Media appears to be bundling closer to creative, but the traffic appears to be inching towards the media agency. “Now, every client is saying ‘surprise me’,” says Chadwick. “The fact that media agencies are doing this is not bullshit. We have the money and are investing in all this stuff.”
What it means for…
Advertisers
- Clients need to back agencies that are willing to invest in less traditional research methods, in the hope of achieving something breakthrough. “In fairness to the organisations, it’s about clients willing to pay for it,” says Coca-Cola Asia-Pacific integrated marketing communications director Leonardo O’Grady.
- Rather than relying on historic data, advertisers are advised to start trusting their instincts. “That’s what we’re paid for”, says Nike Southeast Asia advertising director Tim Parkinson.
- Ultimately, any initiatives that free clients from the syndrome of planning based on reach and frequency should be applauded. But a close eye still needs to be kept on the relevant ROI data.
Agencies
- For media agencies, the opportunity is to use their proximity to the consumer to really find out something new and, most importantly, actionable.
- Rather than searching for the similarities that tie audiences together, agencies need to instead be focusing on the differences that drive smaller groups apart.
- The shift in mindset has to be something that cascades across the entire agency, rather than something that is rolled out for new business development.
