Post-War Developments in Market Research
Each box below contains a short summary of a chapter in the AMSR publication: “How We’ve Changed: Social Trends from Post-War to Present Day and Beyond”, along with a link to the full chapter in the Archive itself. Click a box to open and close each one.
Qualitative Research
This article traces the development of qualitative research as a legitimate discipline in the UK, from the original suspicion and controversy in the 1970s to the current roles of quantitative and qualitative research as complementary components in understanding consumer behaviour and attitudes. The conceptual framework of psychology, particularly Freudian psychology, was used by qualitative researchers in the ’50s and ‘60s. Over the years other schools and theories of psychology have been applied to marketing theory e.g. cognitive dissonance, personality theory, Jungian archetypes, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, to help in describing the relationship of the individual with the process of consumption. The boom in expenditure and the growth of specialist agencies and independent qualitative researchers, the use of the term ‘focus groups’ (particularly in the arenas of public opinion and political research) rather than group discussions, as well as applications from other disciplines such as ethnography and neuroscience are explored.
Analysis and interpretation in qualitative research
This article focuses on the role of analysis and interpretation in qualitative research and its status in industrialised research practice. The problem of ‘reportage’ of interviews or groups is discussed.
Work on elevating the status of analysis is explored, looking at interpretative qualitative research methods such as semiotics, narrative analysis, discourse analysis, ‘interpretive repertoires’ and albeit to a lesser extent, ethnography. It is the skilled application of conceptual analytical frameworks that is the ‘product’ of interpretation in qualitative research.
The recruitment into the industry of professionals in disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and social psychology offers innovative insight and more attention paid to the social and shared meanings of attitude, behaviour and identity.
The Archive shows evidence of experienced and skilled qualitative analyses.
Advertising Planning
This article traces the development of Advertising Planning within advertising agencies. In the late ‘80s Judie Lannon set up a Creative Research Unit at J Walter Thompson, working in parallel with the first planning department created by Stephen King in 1968. She organised a rebalance of the power of research and advertising agencies and spearheaded a new methodology which enabled research to become an integral part of account planning. The Unit cut short the process of analysis, using discussion groups to make research findings more usable by creatives and planners. Researchers were embedded within account groups and took an active role in how research was commissioned and used. Creatives and advertising and media planners got direct access to research, and it was used to justify recommendations to clients. There followed the emergence of the Account Planning Departments, now a staple of large advertising agencies. Although research cannot provide yes/no answers, a creative research approach can offer a wealth of information and insights about consumers to assist advertising decisions.
Advertising Research
This article focuses on research which aims to measure or predict the effect of advertising on sales. The split run – measuring different ads in alternate copies of periodicals, or for internet advertising – does not capture delayed response or repetition.
The influence of mental associative networks and a more nuanced understanding of advertising psychology are explored. Attention is drawn to several approaches: single-source diary panels which record media exposure and buying behaviour for the same individual; econometric modelling; experimental studio studies with participants making choices in a proxy buying situation; ‘impact and communication’ tests which attempt to predict research outcomes by measuring ‘standout’. message recall and comprehension; as well as the extensive use of qualitative research to pre-test advertising. The key dilemmas in advertising research are selecting measures which are both practical and reflect the actual business of advertising in the medium and long term. The author concludes that no single measure is adequate to this need and an intelligent synthesis of behavioural and psychological measures informed by appropriate assumptions about how advertising works, remains the only reliable solution.
Media Research
In media research large representative samples of respondents are surveyed on a frequent or continuous basis throughout the world. The reasons for measuring media exposure are varied: in advertising, the need to know how many and what types of people are using each medium, for media owners to measure their success. Media data provide currencies that are used in the trading of media time and space.
Industry research is conducted largely under the auspices of Joint Industry Committees (JICS), comprising research practitioners, media owners and agencies. predominately using quantitative research. Additionally proprietary research is conducted by media owners, agencies and occasionally advertisers to add depth to how people respond to different media. usually using qualitative approaches. Public service broadcasters, especially the BBC, also commission studies.
The history of media research is described, and a summary chart depicts its development from pre-1920s to 2010. The paper explores the various approaches used to measure different media e.g. print. TV, outdoor, and shows how research has had to adapt to changes in the media environment e.g. the explosion in the number of broadcast channels, the improvement of the cinema experience, the Internet. Changing methodologies include the collection of readership online and the use of GPS to measure out-of-home exposure.
Consumer Purchase Panels
This article explores the role of continuous longitudinal measurements of consumer purchasing by the same group of people over long periods of time.
It traces the development of consumer panels from the Ministry of Food Panel measuring World War 2 rationing. In 1962 the formation of Audits of Great Britain (AGB) created a currency for effective negotiation. The first panel concept involved 1,000 homes in the Midlands within ‘ATV’. The Television Consumer Audit was launched by 1964 using interviewers to visit households and undertake a ‘dustbin audit’. A sample of 5,800 representing the nine TV regions reported on a 4-weekly basis covering a pre-defined set of markets. The proliferation of panels in the 1960s‘/70s included RBL’s Motorists Panel, RSGB’s Baby Panel, AGB’s Toiletries and Cosmetics Index, Home Audit and financial Index (later NOP’s FRS).
Developments and changing trends in the retail landscape are described, e.g. barcode scanning and the placement of barcode readers in panellists’ homes expansion of private labels, diversification of instore formats, discounters, budget brands, ‘Category Management’.
Experimentation combining consumer and media measurement – single source data – is explored. More recent innovations include optical scanning of Till Receipts and mobile phone-based measurement.
Archive Collections depict the far-reaching influence of consumer purchase information.
Telephone Research
This article, tracing the development of telephone research, suggests that the use of the telephone for administering market research questionnaires probably began in the ‘60s, mainly for business samples.
The rise of household telephone penetration became a key stimulus for its growth for consumer research, firstly in the US, then much later in the UK. Iin 1970 only 35% of the UK population had access to a phone at home. By 1982 the National Readership Survey was recording 77%.
The problems of acceptance of this technique are discussed. Its advantages are set out including that fmcg needed faster moving insights and it was considerably cheaper,
As technology progressed, telephone interviews moved from paper to computer-based administration – CATI. The advantages of the technology are outlined. Multi-country research was on the increase and CATI meant that fieldwork could be conducted in one place with identical questionnaire logic for each country. Soon nearly all research companies had some sort of telephone research capability.
The reasons for the slowdown of telephone research in around 2010 are explored, including the rise in mobile phone ownership. The development of SMS and the effects of the Internet and the smartphone are discussed.
Public Opinion Polling
The origins of opinion polls to measure public opinion are described and their relationship with the press discussed. Gallup published its first polls in the UK. Publication of polls is inherent to their purpose – to measure what the public thinks on a wide range of topics – moral issues and social attitudes as well as politics.
They are conducted by government and academia as well as market researcher companies for which polling is part of a wider MR business. The main players are noted, several of which publish their findings in regular subscription newsletters, many collected in the Archive. Whilst the origins of polling were face-to-face, telephone interviewing became more prevalent and today most opinion polling is done online via the Internet, usually using a panel. The Internet is also a channel for disseminating findings.
The role of polls in elections and the controversies about their accuracy are explored. The British Polling Council was established in 2004 to promote transparency in polling.
Governmental Research
This article traces the origins and changes in the government statistical service.
The work of the Central Statistical Service established in 1940 led to the establishment of the Government Social Survey with its focus on social statistics.
Topics covered in wartime and post-war surveys are described. The Family Expenditure Survey was launched to provide weighting factors for the Retail Prices Index. One-off Social Survey projects covered a wide range of topics and issues. Projects in the 1960s included the International Passenger Survey and the National House Condition Survey.
In 1970 the General Register Office and the Social Survey merged to form he Office for Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS). Social Survey Division launched the ground-breaking General Household Survey and later, the important Labour Force Survey.
The cuts and political issues of the ‘70s are discussed. By the end of the decade Social Survey Division was tendering for almost all its work. Several continuous surveys moved to the private sector.
OPCS and CSO merged in 1996 to form the Office for National Statistics, which, since 2008, has reported professionally to the UK Statistics Authority.
The effects of changes in working methods and social attitudes are discussed.
Government surveys now routinely carry questions on matters such as ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability.
Agency branded products for researching the UK FMCG market
This article traces the history of agency branded products in the UK fmcg market. The trend began in the’70s with the BASES model developed by SAMI/Burke in the USA, which used a database of historic concept/product tests to calibrate research responses to predict sales volumes, a brand which became highly successful in the UK.
Other brands discussed include: Assessor. developed in the USA at MIT and launched in the UK in the ‘70s, using a share rather than volume model; RI Sensor: RI Microtext, a volume based system, similar to BASES; RI Designor, a re-branding of Assessor; Millward Brown Link for advertising pre-testing in 1988; Needscope for brand and consumer understanding. linked to Jungian archetypes. early ‘90s; Acupol hall concept tests.
The advent of the Internet meant FMCG concept testing could be conducted more cheaply. A number of such brands were launched in the early 2000s. and existing brands refined their offer.
Geodemographics
Geodemographics is the analysis of people by where they live – a fusion of geographical location with demographics.
The origin of modern demographics is traced from the early ‘70s, when computer-readable data from the population census became available. Multivariate analysis techniques could be applied to small area statistics in order to create area classifications. Developments in the UK are examined, beginning with regional studies and progressing to national projects by the end the end of the decade. The many uses of neighbourhood classification in survey research, marketing and advertising are explored.
Richard Webber’s national project, Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods (CRN) was acquired by CACI and rebranded ACORN. During the ‘80s competing neighbourhood classifications were launched by both the commercial and academic sectors.
Since the late ‘80s, developers have added further data sources to census enumeration districts (EDs) to define districts, going beyond the census to employ more direct measures of affluence or other relevant research, including house prices and Council Tax bands.
Developments include advances in segmentation systems and the building of bespoke datasets for large projects. The potential use of the approach for the Census is discussed.
Data Fusion
The first commercial attempt to merge two surveys in Great Britain was conducted in 1988 and involved the FRS and NRS, to create a financial/media database for the purpose of integrated targeting using common variables to match respondents on both surveys.
The Market Research Development Foundation (MRDF) study using TGI to test this Fusion is described in detail. It led to the development of critical laws for fusion to work perfectly. The common variables must be capable of perfectly recreating the XY correlations which would be observable from single sources data and the fusion must be capable of perfect matches on all common variables.
MRDF recommendations are discussed. Assuming there is no data fatigue on the part of respondents, single source data will always be better than fused data. However, Data Fusion when used with due care and attention can help sensible decision making where single source is impractical.
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