The present paper describes new relationships which are in fact mostly very simple: Certain rates of buying are more or less constant across different brands and pack-sizes, and this holds for different product fields and for different lengths of time-period. These relationships have been established by searching for patterns which generalise. The findings may appear insufficiently statistical to gain instant acceptance from people used to more complicated kinds of results, and a selection of summary tables is therefore given. The relevance of the results to various aspects of brand-loyalty is clear, but both the practical and the theoretical implications require further work to bring out in detail. Since complex mathematical models are nowadays regarded as potentially useful, the simple results here should turn out to be even easier to use.
In this paper, we report some empirical findings concerning the relation between a sales-type variable such as brand usage and a communication variable. In trying to measure communication, people use a variety of different variables. We consider here one variable which is often used, for which much data exist, and which is somewhat controversial. It is "spontaneous brand awareness". This gives the proportion of people who say Brand X or Y or Z, etc. when asked to name the brands of which they are aware but are given no specific prompt or recall aid except a brief description of the product field. The purpose of such a service is to provide a more or less continuous basis of information to assist in the planning and assessment of marketing and promotional action.
This paper concerns the relationship between consumers' expressed Intentions-to-buy different brands in a product-field and their claimed brand- Usage. The results also indicate the extent to which expressed Intentions-to-buy appear to reflect non-behavioural attitudes as weir as behavioural factors. The analysis is part of a broader J. Walter Thompson study of the inter-relationships between a range of behavioural and attitudinal consumer variables, based in effect on data from several hundred consumer surveys.
In this paper I want to outline two applications of a mathematical model for consumer purchasing data. Apart from their own direct interest, these applications may serve to illustrate how a mathematical model can he useful for two somewhat different purposes, namely: A. To provide insight into a situation previously not understood - in this case the effect of particular patterns of purchasing on sampling errors; B. To allow the prediction of certain quantities instead of having to observe them directly - here the prediction of the market penetration in a longer period of time than has actually been observed. The model which will be used involves the so-called Negative Binomial distribution. Earlier work on the fit of this distribution to consumer purchasing data has already been described, but it may be helpful to summarize it briefly here before outlining the more recent developments.
In the audience research field a large experimental study is being carried out by TAM in conjunction with the committee controlling the British television industry's research. One of the aims of the study is to compare aided recall results with coincidental calls and this approach to validation, will be of great interest and require careful evaluation. It is known that many factors may effect the memory function. Apart from the vast body of results from the academic work, it has been shown that the type of aid used may alter the claims given (e.g. the different methods used for attention to press advertisements)| recent research has shown that the type of person attempting the recollection may cause differences in response (e.g. Appel and Blum 1961); the competence of the interviewer regarding the relaxation of the informant may affect the amount of recall (Pascal 1949); the.order of recall may affect the proportion of claims given (e.g. the experience of the I.P.A. Readership Surveys with monthly publications). Nevertheless, none of these factors needs to be assumed to be a general or dominant source of error over all recall studies and for all techniques. The evidence must not be ignored, but with careful experimentation, checks within the data for likely biases, validation with other information where possible, and the use of new forms of aids, it is likely that the value of-aided recall techniques may be considerably extended.
In the paper we are presented with a model relating motives of the purchasing public, the activation of these motives, and advertising effectiveness. Whilst in general welcoming any signs of a theoretical, i.e. generalising, approach in market research, my welcome - speaking personally - would tend to be limited to work which is based to a reasonable extent - whatever that may mean - on empirical facts. In the present case, however, I have grave doubts. It looks to me as though the authors' approach lacks contact with reality at three levels.
In this article I shall try to consider the subject of factor analysis in market research. Anyone acquainted with the literature of factor analysis will be aware that in a single article one can neither give a complete description of the techniques nor a full critique of the subject. All I can hope to do is to indicate briefly what factor analysis is about and then discuss some of its salient features. Whilst some prior knowledge of factor analysis will no doubt be helpful in reading this article, I hope that Market Researchers without such knowledge will at least be enabled to judge whether or not to pursue the subject further.
In this article I shall try to consider the subject of factor analysis in market research. Anyone acquainted with the literature of factor analysis will be aware that in a single article one can neither give a complete description of the techniques nor a full critique of the subject. All I can hope to do is to indicate briefly what factor analysis is about and then discuss some of its salient features. Whilst some prior knowledge of factor analysis will no doubt be helpful in reading this article, I hope that Market Researchers without such knowledge will at least be enabled to judge whether or not to pursue the subject further.