LEVEL 3 DESIGN COMMUNICATION B-DC301 DESIGN RESEARCH METHODS DONE BY: VALENISHA (13660) 1.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH? With many brands existing in Singapore trying to capture their consumers heart, it is only expected that a sea of ads clutter would be formed. According to a study done by Marcus Evans, a shopper would encounter 3,000 to 5,000 advertisements or marketing stimulation daily, and out of the figure, only 5% remain loyal to one brand. (2010) Loyalty towards a brand is consumers personal experience, and therefore a personal relationship between a brand and a customer has to be built throughout the advertising process. This particular bond can only be created if consumers can get the messages that brand attempt to deliver to them in a correct manner. The fact that there were too much exposure to various messages delivered to consumers proves that it becomes less effective to rely on traditional media for marketing strategy. Mr. Tan of Down Jones & Company Inc (Feb 6, 2003) shared his opinion regarding the matter on Contact Singapore: "We no longer can rely on traditional marketing," he says, Singapore needs to try new approaches to ensure we stand out amidst the advertising clutter." (Contact Singapore - Feb 6, 2003) A study by the Henley Centre marketing consultancy stated that in the past decade, the number of British TV advertising spots increased from 3,000 to 8,000. The number of channels had also multiplied abruptly, from 4 to 123. On a daily basis, ten million spam emails were sent everyday. (2001) This actually shows the alarming rate of ads clutter increasing throughout the years. This brings us to another point: if we could no longer rely on traditional ads, is there another advertising strategy that is competent enough to be used to reach out to our targeted audience? How would we, as advertisers, be able to create a better strategy in order to enhance a brand positioning amongst the other brands? There are many different ways we can explore in order to tackle the solution. However, as remarked by Bergman, Lynn Clark on Cooperative direct mail advertising (American Agent & Broker), Cooperative direct mail advertising can produce quality leads and, subsequently, new business (1995). President of Signum Marketing Services and a principal of Ethos, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky, wrote her opinion on the matter of the advantages of direct mailer. She remarked that direct mailer is the darling of marketing (1995). The user can precisely target specific consumer groups by preselecting exactly who will receive mailed information () The user can tell a story. It is important to remember that long-term care comprises three businesses: health care, housing, and hospitality. Each one of these areas has features and benefits that need to be explained () Direct mail recipients are more likely to read and respond to messages received through the mail than they are to other forms of paid advertising because there is generally less advertising clutter in direct mail. As a result, a facility's advertising message stands out in the mailbox, as opposed to, say, a newspaper page full of ads for cars and clothing. And almost everyone looks forward to getting their mail () Direct mail is a nonthreatening form of sales () (Thornton, Phyllis M, Oct 2005) For instance, Nestle in Malaysia had implemented the Direct Marketing Strategy in early 2001. They sent direct mailers in the form of customized packets of Nestle products, that

identified the number of felines in their household and included samples of Friskies brand cat food, an invitation to join a loyalty program -- the Friskies Cat Club -- and coupons for discounts on Friskies (2001). Through this strategy, the company had gotten back 20% response rate from their consumers, and they even willingly provided their particulars of another five of their cat-loving friends to join the club. "You can spend 100,000 ringgit (28,792 Euros) on TV ads for a product like this and have no idea how many viewers have cats and so how much of it goes to waste. This way, you can target those exact consumers directly" (Leong Ming Chee, Director of Marketing and Communications - Nestle, the Swiss food giant's Malaysian unit, 2001) Nestle also applied this personal interaction method with their targeted audience in order to promote Milo. This time, they did not use direct mailer to do the trick, but a digital media platform. Milos teen-oriented website, with the hip graphics and live web chats that allowed viewers to chat with local athletes, had 2,500 registrants in a month since its launch on September. (2001) A Direct Marketing Strategy can be rather intimidating, if not applied correctly. People tend to not pay attention unless they can relate to the ad itself, and therefore it is important to add the interactive factor into the strategy, in order to get consumers involved in the ad. However, personal interaction in a direct marketing can also mean a double-edged sword, whereby it either reaches target audience or it pisses them off. The question is, how do we attempt the direct approach the target audience without annoying them? "The last thing you want to do is to go and make a lot of people mad at you", as quoted from Thomas I.M. Ho (IBJ Corporation Nov 18, 1996). "Consumers are saying we want more from mail - either engage us or don't come through the letter box (Anthony Miller, 2001) DESIGN ISSUE STATEMENT Due to the high number of ads existing in Singapore, consumers loyalty towards a certain brand has to be renewed all the time in order for them not to consider the brands competitor. Traditional media is no longer effective since every brand is doing the same approach. Thus, there is a need to ensure that messages of brands ads can be delivered towards consumers despite the existing ads clutter by applying a direct marketing approach. DESIGN HYPOTHESIS STATEMENT Direct Marketing Approach has been overlooked as it takes a while before the effect can be seen, due to the fact that it requires consumers responses. Various brands decided to play safe by not using this method. However, by adding an interactive demonstration to the strategy (physically or digitally), an effective solution towards the problem of ads clutter and a strong bond of branding relationship with consumers can be achieved.

2.

WHAT IS THE PLAN OF THIS RESEARCH? SECONDARY RESEARCH 1) PLAN: Literature Review OBJECTIVES: To understand the basics of Direct Marketing and to know how to implement interactivity into the whole strategy. KEY AREAS:

i. ii. iii.
2)

Types of Direct Marketing Strategy and how it is implemented to an ad Consumer behavior towards Interactive ads Consumer behavior towards Direct Marketing Campaigns/ads

PLAN: Case Studies OBJECTIVES: To study the existing campaigns or ads, be it successful or not, in order to have a better understanding in consumers demands and the to-do or tonot-do. KEY AREAS:

i. ii. iii.

Successful ads/campaigns that use Direct Marketing Strategy Successful ads/campaigns that implement interactivity in their platforms (specifically physical/digital direct mailer) Unsuccessful attempts on Direct Marketing Strategy by brands that cause nothing good to its brand positioning

PRIMARY RESEARCH I. PLAN: User Survey OBJECTIVE: To get information directly from targeted audience about their wants, needs and demands from brands and their campaigns/ads. KEY AREAS: i. ii. Comparison between the traditional medias efficiency and Direct Marketing campaigns Consumers view on Direct Mailer (Physical)

iii. Consumers view on Direct Mailer (Digital) II. PLAN: Interview OBJECTIVE: To find out more about consumers thoughts and impression towards the ads through user-testing KEY AREAS: i. ii. Study of whether the interactivity level in the ad is appropriate Understanding which Direct Marketing Strategy would appeal more to target audience

3.

WHAT ARE MY INTENTIONS FOR THIS RESEARCH? AIMS This research will provide an insight to advertisers out there about the Direct Marketing Strategy that can help them create a branding relationship with target audience, without worrying about the ads clutter. SPECIFIC AIMS i. ii. To have better understanding of the application of Direct Marketing Strategy in campaigns/ads To have better understanding of the importance in implementation of interactivity in an ad

iii. To obtain insights of how interactive direct marketing can be powerful enough for target audience to remain loyal to a brand for a long period of time PRIMARY TARGET AUDIENCE Advertising students, graphic designers, professional advertisers, people who are directly involved in creative advertising industries. o o o o o o GENDER: Female and Male RACE: Any race AGE: 18-35 years old MARITAL STATUS: Single and Married EDUCATION: Tertiary and above FINANCIAL STATUS: Some-what stable

SECONDARY TARGET AUDIENCE Professionals who are not directly related to creative industries: brand strategists, marketing managers, account managers, media planners, people who need to know the information as it is related to their profession to a certain extent. o o o o o GENDER: Female and Male RACE: Any race AGE: 25-45 years old MARITAL STATUS: Single and Married EDUCATION: Tertiary and above

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WHAT ARE MY TOP 3 KEY ISSUES? 1) Ads clutter causes message in an ad to be lost

i. ii. iii. iv.

2)

The main cause of the existence of advertising clutter The ineffectiveness of traditional media due to ads clutter Consumer behavior towards ads due to ads clutter Trends in existing ads that cause every ad to seem similar (causing ads clutter)

Direct marketing strategy is the solution for creating relationship between a brand and consumer

i. ii.
3)

Direct Marketing Strategy and its types, application and the dos and donts Consumers behavior towards direct marketing

Interactive demonstration is an important factor in an ad/campaign

i. ii.

The implementation of interactive demonstration in a direct marketing strategy The importance of interactivity

The importance of engaging consumers to interact with an ad

5.

WHAT ARE THE TOP KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS? 1) How does ads clutter affect relationship between brands and consumers?

i.
2)

Objective: To find out how severe ads clutter is affecting branding relationship

What are some of the direct marketing strategies and how do we implement them into ads/campaigns?

i.
3)

Objective: To gain better understanding of what could be done with direct marketing strategy

How can direct marketing strategy and interactive demonstration form effective solution towards ads clutter?

i.

Objective: To find out the best way of tackling ads clutter by using a new marketing strategy.

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