Bureau West

A sad reality for marketers is that customers forget most ads immediately.  But what makes some marketing messages memorable?  Is there a formula to creating advertising that will stick in the minds of its target?  In their soon-to-be-released book, Made to Stick, authors Chip and Dan Heath come close to providing such a formula.

People remember the message that Jared lost 245 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches every day.  They’re less likely to remember Subway’s previous campaign “7 sandwiches with under 6 grams of fat.”  The authors assert that, for advertising to stick, it must tell a simple story that connects to the customer emotionally.  Of course, it’s not necessarily easy to do that.  Advertisers suffer from what the authors call “the curse of knowledge” – they’re too close to the subject matter, so it’s difficult for them to come up with a simple idea that will resonate with customers.

In their research, the authors found that sticky ideas share certain attributes that are frequently absent in ideas that are less memorable.  They also provide examples of how these attributes work not just for inherently interesting ideas, they can also be applied to ideas that are less exciting (e.g., movie popcorn has 37 grams of saturated fat).  The six traits that are shared by sticky ideas are: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories.  To learn more or to pre-order the book, see their website, www.madetostick.com.

To learn which ideas will resonate with your customers, talk to them!  Call Bureau West at (818) 752-7210. 

Sources:  Inc. Magazine, January, 2007; madetostick.com

The following report is based on input from Ms. Piyul Mukherjee of Proact Research in India. Ms. Mukherjee has over 18 years of experience and has overseen research all over India.

 

Here are some tips to ensure effective focus groups in India:

Limit repeat attendance

One of the advantages of working in such a populous country, we have the luxury of being able to sharply limit the number of repeat attendees in consumer focus groups.  We usually require that at least half the respondents never have attended a focus group; the remainder must not have participated in a focus group in the preceding two years.

Don’t mention the incentive

Unlike focus groups in the U.S., we don’t tell focus group respondents that they’ll receive an incentive for participating.  Rather, we give them a surprise gift at the end.  This is because, when incentives are mentioned in advance, Indian respondents have a tendency to want to “please the giver” and tell us what they think we want to hear.  Cash is still a rare incentive – gifts are more common.

Ensure respondents’ attendance – in person

We send out our team members to pick up each person and bring them in personally, thus ensuring a high show rate.  Otherwise, the tendency to agree to come, and then not show up can be very high in India.

Focus group logistics

Focus group facilities, with a one-way mirror and viewing room, are still rare in India, and only found in the larger metropolitan areas.  We usually conduct homemaker focus groups in a home that is considered typical for the respondents, with a video camera and the clients viewing the discussion in another room.

Many respondents are very interested in participating – they’re intrigued by the whole experience.  Some respondents (in small towns) even arrive with other family members who actually patiently wait in the vicinity for during the whole focus group discussion.  In fact, in rural India, we sometimes conduct two focus groups – the real one, and a mock focus group for the family members, to keep them occupied and appeased!

Be aware of regional differences in attitudes

Consumer attitudes and behavior vary widely in different parts of India.  We have learned to take that into account when conducting research.  Take, for example, the widely used third person technique to elicit respondents’ opinions – ” I showed this ad to some folks yesterday, and they didn’t like it, why do you think they felt that way?”  This technique simply does not work in rural India, where people have a very practical and “down-to-earth” approach to things.  Their usual reply, with a great deal of surprise : “Why didn’t you just ask them?”

 

Considering conducting research in India?  Give us a call at Bureau West Marketing & Research in Los Angeles (1-818-752-7210) or send us an email (india [at] bureauwest.com).  We’ll work with Ms. Mukherjee and her staff in India to ensure you gain an insider’s understanding of the Indian market.

There’s a huge potential opportunity in India.  With a population of approximately one billion, and a middle class that’s larger than the total population of the United States (300 million and growing), there’s definitely money to be made.  However, foreign companies have learned that marketing in India is not easy.  Despite Indians’ familiarity with the English language and exposure to Western culture, foreign companies, like Pepsi, were disappointed when they tried to use existing advertising in India.

Multi-national companies have been far more successful with advertising created specifically for the Indian market:

• Pepsi’s sales increased when they ran advertising featuring Indian movie star Shahrukh Khan, and popular cricket batsman Sachin Tendulkar.
• An ad for Fair & Lovely face cream (owned by Unilever) had a woman saying “I wish I had a son!” This raised hackles among Indian intellectuals. But the ad talked about the marginalized father-daughter relationship and connected to Indian emotions. People saw the ad as a celebration of the daughter’s subsequent empowerment. Sales shot up.
• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance uses the “Sindoor” (the red mark in the parting of the Indian married woman’s forehead) as a guarantee, capturing the essence of this powerful age-old metaphor for insuring the future.

Political themes can be successful… but should probably be left to local companies.  When Onida televisions (an Indian company) ran an ironic “border” story after a skirmish over the disputed state of Kashmir, it was highly successful.  But when Cadbury’s ran an ad related to Kashmir (with the line “It cannot be shared”), they faced such strong criticism that they withdrew the ad hastily.  As they say in India, it is OK for the daughter to criticize the head of the family, but not for the daughter-in-law!

How can American companies come up with advertising that will resonate with consumers in India?  By talking to them!  Bureau West Research Group has partnered with Piyul Mukherjee of Proact Research in India to conduct research with Indian consumers.  With over 18 years experience, Ms. Mukherjee has overseen research all over India and truly understands the diversity of Indian attitudes.  Contact us for a free report, “How to Conduct Focus Groups in India.”  If you’d like a copy, just give us a call or send an email to india [at] bureauwest.com.