Has quality food.
That was an attribute I once found in a tracking study for a major fast food brand. It sounds like an important brand attribute, but what does it mean? The answer: It depends. High quality food could mean it looks appetizing. Or that it’s tasty. Or that it’s served hot. Or that the fast food chain uses a top shelf brand name like Kobe beef in its burgers.
Here’s my point: If your company is going to the expense of fielding a brand tracking study you should know how consumers define the attributes you’re using. What I’m advocating is pre-testing your brand tracking surveys. And just to be clear, I’m not talking about pre-testing them to find out if the skip pattern logic is sound. I’m talking about defining the attributes so that everyone who views the data is defining them the same way.
One suggestion: Publish these definitions in the reports with the brand attribute data. Make it easy for readers to make the connection.
In 15+ years of doing this type of work I have always found room for improvement in either the wording of the brand attribute statements and/or improving client understanding of what the statements mean.
Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by: Jim Eschrich, President, Eschrich Research
The Blake Project Can Help: Accelerate Brand Growth Through Powerful Emotional Connections
Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education
One comment
Joy Levin
August 16, 2011 at 9:38 am
Many organizations are beginning to use qualitative/exploratory research first to define the attributes to be measured in brand tracking studies. In this way they determine which attributes to measure in tracking studies, and the language in which to frame them.
Comments are closed.