The purpose of this paper is to focus on the sharing of information between retailers and manufacturers. Over the past five years there has been a revolution in the information that retailers have had at their disposal on which to make business decisions. Over the past couple of years they have also become more prepared to share these information sets with manufacturers their suppliers. There is the potential for both the retailer and manufacturer to gain by using shared information as a method of driving enhanced business performance. However this will only be achieved where there is wide and equitable access to data.
The purpose of this chapter is to explain how market information based upon retail sales is derived and used by manufacturers and retailers to make better business decisions. Since the emergence of mass marketing, manufacturers of fast turnover packaged goods have wanted information about the performance of their brands, both against key competitors, and the market as a whole. For the fifty years prior to 1980, such information came from two main sources: consumer panels and retail audits.
The world's major brewers, facing static or declining home markets, are seeking markets for their brands outside their home territories. In most cases these overseas markets can only be exploited at the expense of existing local brands, since few significant markets are growing. The most conspicuous success has been achieved by the Australian brewing companies in their assault on the UK market. Their strategy, involving a mixture of brand licensing arrangements, acquisition of local breweries, and committed advertising support, may well be extended to other European and world markets. Growing consumer interest in imported beers, in the USA and other major markets has created favourable conditions for this to occur. The major US and European brewers, while controlling brands with considerable export potential, have so far failed to match the aggressive stance of the Australians. Each national market poses unique problems of marketing and distribution and beer drinking traditions vary greatly from country to country. Marketing and advertising strategies for international brands therefore need to take account of these local variations. Market research has a major role to play assisting brewers strike the correct balance between global branding and adaptation to local market conditions.
The paper describes how the two research companies involved set about the project, the kind of results that were obtained, the working system that has been established, and suggests probable implications for the future of outdoor advertising. Integration of OSCAR (Outdoor Site Classification and Audience Research) with the Copland formula for coverage and frequency is also discussed.
Social research can be seen as one way of establishing a closer link between public views and the decisions of policy makers. Its main advantage over other kinds of public participation in policy formulation is its ability to reflect a more representative range of opinions. For this to be achieved some means must be found to assist members of the public to express their views on policy options of which they have little knowledge or to which given little thought. This often involves informing them about the issues being investigated. Experiences in a variety of social research projects illustrate the pitfalls which lie in the path of the researcher attempting to select an appropriate approach to educate survey respondents. Fundamental research is required on the communication effectiveness of the different approaches available, and their likely influence upon response to policy options. In the meantime, success in drawing meaningful conclusions from this type of social research will depend heavily upon the interpretive skills of individual researchers.