6 Key Benefits Of Advertising Research
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  • Writer's pictureAnpar Research
    • Jan 7, 2021
    • 6 min read

6 Key Benefits Of Advertising Research

Updated: Mar 25


The key benefits of advertising research

Discover the 6 key benefits of advertising research below and learn why advertising research is used to evaluate and monitor a brand’s advertising, whether that be how well an advertising campaign is doing, what are the most effective mediums or which advertising concepts to use.


Advertising research is basically used for strategic and evaluative purposes at pre, during and post execution phases in order to support the appeal of advertising executions to a target audience, whilst keeping within the values of a brand so it’s instantly recognised by the audience. The research is normally carried out via secondary research (ad spend, platforms used and digital analytics), surveys and qualitative methods and are quite often combined techniques for an advertising research project.


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The 6 main benefits of advertising research below helps to emphasise the importance in why this type of research needs to be carried out.


1. Improves creativity


Creativity benefits from advertising research particularly in the early stages when comparing advertising concepts to see which one appeals and resonates more with your audience. Also, further refinements can be made on the back of the research to the winning ad concept before it is launched, otherwise you will miss your opportunity in engaging with your target audience with the right ad concept and resources will be wasted.


For example, a toy company that is preparing to introduce a new science kit for children. Through market research, they discover that their target audience has a keen interest in space and astronomy. Armed with this knowledge, the team can creatively design a science kit with a space theme. Moreover, research enables them to uncover unique selling points and find inspiration for fresh ideas, branding, and marketing campaigns.



2. A better approach and time to address the target audience


In finding the most suitable times and mediums to reach your audience, which helps when there are budget constraints for a better return of investment. So, for example, the research will enable you to see whether it is better to advertise on certain social media platforms rather than using PPC ads on Google or radio ads and when is the best time to reach your audience via these mediums.


For example, a beauty brand wants to promote a new line of skincare products. Conducting market research can prove immensely beneficial. The research may reveal that their target audience, women aged 25-35, are most active on social media platforms between 8 pm and 10 pm. Consequently, the brand can schedule their advertisements to go live during this time for maximum impact.


3. Keeps an eye on any progress made


You can keep track of main KPI measures such as awareness, purchase intent or brand image as mentioned before research is done at different intervals to see how they compare and if it has increased over time. This will enable you to make interventions if necessary and help to improve future ad campaigns.


For example, in the case of a coffee shop running a promotional campaign, monitoring sales before, during, and after the campaign can provide valuable insights. If there is a significant increase in sales during the campaign, it indicates its success. Regularly keeping an eye on sales and customer responses should be an integral part of any advertising strategy to gauge its effectiveness.


4. Evaluates a brand’s image


Enables a brand to see how their brand image stacks up against their competitors in the market amongst their target audience. You can see how your audience associates your brand versus your main competitors across various brand attributes such as being innovative, good value for money and providing a high-quality service.


For example, consider a fast-food brand that conducts surveys to gauge its standing in the market. This research might uncover that they are perceived as less healthy compared to their competitors. Armed with these findings, they can invest in advertising that highlights their healthier options, thereby enhancing their brand image.


This is great if you have on-going brand research and you can see if your ad campaigns are having an effect in improving brand perceptions or changing certain perceptions amongst your target audience. Also, you see the level of agreement if you are using a 5-point scale question for each of the brand perceptions especially those relevant to your marketing objectives for running the ad campaigns.


5. Limits the chances of not doing well


The research carried out may highlight unforeseen problems that you can address or take an alternative approach. This is much better than not doing any research at all where it boosts your brand’s chances of success. It basically gives you the insights to help you tackle these unexpected issues, which could a problem with the ad messaging (unclear or negative connotations) or the audience reach is lower for the channels that you were going to use.


For example, prior to launching a new product, an electronics company might conduct market research. This research might reveal that there is limited demand or intense competition for such a product. Armed with this information, the company can make necessary modifications to the product or alter their marketing approach, thereby reducing the likelihood of failure.


6. Envisages any problems that can be tackled early on


This is connected to the above point and allows you some flexibility. So rather than hindsight of where you went wrong or could have done better and feeling you wasted time and resources, you can gain insights in picking up any unexpected problems that can be resolved quickly and efficiently.


For example, imagine a clothing brand looking to enter a new market. By conducting research, they may uncover cultural nuances or unique fashion tastes in that area. By acknowledging these factors in advance, the brand can adjust their products and marketing approach to cater to the local market, preventing any potential problems after the launch.



Advertising research objectives


Carrying out this type of research serves many purposes for individuals and businesses.


The main objectives of advertising research will tend to be the following:


To increase awareness

To boost awareness of a service or product that is being promoted among potential customers. Before consumers can make a purchase, they need to be aware of the product or service.


For example, a new fitness brand may conduct research to determine the most effective advertising channels and messaging to increase awareness among health-conscious consumers. This could involve surveying audiences, testing different marketing messages, or analysing the advertising strategies of successful competitors.


In establishing whether attitudes about the brand have improved

Help to identify if attitudes about the brand have improved following the ad campaign. Basically, research is undertaken in separate phases, where the pre campaign research results serves as a benchmark that the findings taken during and post campaign are compared against.


For example, a coffee shop might utilise surveys or focus groups to discover that customers perceive their brand as high-quality but less accessible compared to competitors. Armed with this information, the brand can adjust their advertising strategy and message accordingly.


To increase sales revenue

Increase in sales of a product or service where the brand's target audience have been exposed to the advertising campaigns with awareness and call to actions messaging.


For example, a clothing retailer might uncover through research that their target demographic responds more positively to social media advertising than traditional print advertising. As a result, they can allocate more resources to these platforms in an effort to boost sales.


In creating a buzz to generate greater media coverage

In generating greater media coverage from the advertising campaign. Perfect examples are on social media to see if the ads have created a buzz such as Christmas ads from supermarket brands.


For example, a tech company could utilise advertising research to find out that launching a product at a prestigious event or using a celebrity endorsement would generate more media coverage compared to a basic press release. Such media coverage can greatly enhance brand recognition and drive sales.



Key take away


Given a large amount of money being spent on advertising then it’s invaluable not to overlook doing advertising research and drawing on its benefits to ensure a better return of investment.


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