HPI Research Ltd

Ad-tracking Buyers' Guide
sponsored by Ipsos MORI

www.hpiresearch.com

Tracking philosophy
In an increasingly competitive environment we recognise that what our clients want from research is MORE:

understanding of their business
interpretation, less reportage
insights, less the obvious
actionable results, less wishful thinking.

This informs our tracking service and every other service offered by HPI. HPI tracking delivers MORE by widening the scope beyond traditional advertising and recognising that there is no single recipe for communication success. Indeed the very complexity of the modern communications landscape means that major brands need to actively apply a range of communications models in their pursuit of competitive advantage and this renders the application of ‘one size fits all’ theories of how advertising works increasingly futile.

The importance of this to brand and communications tracking is that the research must be handled by a team who combine an understanding of the diverse spectrum of potential drivers of contemporary brand relationships with an appreciation of how these drivers can manifest themselves in the complexities of your market – and who devise measurements, set expectations and interpret results accordingly.

Our strategically sensitive and bespoke approach is fully realised by treating tracking as a dynamic resource and adopting a modular approach that reflects the ebb and flow of live strategic issues throughout the course of the marketing calendar.

Distinctive features
Two key factors help HPI stay ahead of the competition.

A genuine passion for new ideas and a determination to evolve our thinking to keep pace with your market. Our tracking – as well as our advertising pretests – now includes a methodology for assessing the implicit as well as explicit effects of advertising. Our Superglue suite of techniques also places us at the forefront of the development of ways to explore how communication from different sources can be integrated for maximum effectiveness.
Our ‘flat’ structure and distinctive approach to client servicing. As we have grown we have deliberately maintained a flat structure, which necessitates the day-to-day involvement of our most senior people in all aspects of the research process. This means that we can imbue all aspects of the project with a standard of senior-level input that many of our competitors reserve, at best, for new business pitches. Our ‘partners’ are not only research experts but have an in-depth understanding of advertising and marketing. Many have senior client research or agency planning director backgrounds, and this means our tracking presentations have the quality and interpretation that merits and achieves board-level exposure.

Measures:
Our basic framework for evaluating brand relationships can be described as the ‘ABCD’ approach.

Appreciation: Is the communication strong enough to resist being screened out?
Branding: is it clear who the communication is for?
Communication: is it getting across the desired message via the appropriate models of communication response
Desired effect: on the brand – ultimately the most important measure of all.

Our Superglue approach to decoding integrated communications in the context of a wider array of brand touch-points augments this analysis by measuring consumer response according to four key models.

Media	Track	Specialise

TV

Press

Radio

Cinema

Posters

Direct mail

Internet

Sponsorship

PR

Integrated campaigns

Sample design and method
Syndicated/tailor-made for each client?
Client-specific service.

Universe: always market specific, defined by market usership/store catchment area.
Sample size: tailored to provide robust analysis of target market – typically 300–400.
Sampling method: varies according to client and survey methodology.
Survey method: face-to-face, CATI, central location, internet, CAPI.

Modelling and analysis
Modelling: a range of modelling and statistical analysis can be applied as required.

Analysis software: our primary analysis software is from Askia and clients can receive results via Askia Vista in a fully interrogatable format. For continuous trackers this is automatically included at no additional cost. We also have the capacity to output data files in all other commonly used formats.

Frequency
Fieldwork: varies according to study.
Reporting: as required by client marketing calendar.
Data: tailored to suit needs of client.
Personal presentation: as required by client marketing calendar.

Experience
No. execs with tracking experience: 22
The HPI Research Group has been engaged in ad tracking for 14 years.

International service available:
yes, we use competitive tendering from a wide roster of established partner agencies to establish the optimum servicing structure for each project.

Contact details
Terry Prue

HPI Research Ltd
Second Floor,
2 East Poultry Avenue,
Smithfield,
London
EC1A 9PT

Tel + 44 (0)207 930 8111
Fax +44 (0)207 839 3756
Email
terry.prue@hpiresearch.com

www.hpiresearch.com