Abstract:

The market researchers must be part-time communicators, to fully convey the message contained in each of the studies they have designed, supervised, or bought. Regardless of the quality and depth of the collected data, whatever had been the attention to all details, it will always be a waste of time and money, if, in the end, the substantifique model is not grasped by the marketing decision-makers. Sometimes, this communicating task is particularly tough, because the data is complex. International research projects tend to yield difficult-to-present results: - either because the sheer accumulation of originally simple elements produce an undigestible quantity of repetitive materials (e.g. awareness / trial / usage / buying intent scores recorded for the major brands of 3 sectors of the same market, in 5 countries...), - or because the approach used cannot be simplified without loosing its accuracy (e.g. a cluster analysis done with an International comparison in view...). This paper shows, with two real case-examples of the above types, that there are solutions, to be found in carefully designed graphs. Most of the graphic tools shown below use circles, hence the title. Part one present the 'Brand Penetration Meter', a new and better way of synthesising lots of standard brand scores. Part two illustrates how the headache of explaining how cluster-groups are defined, can be helped with effective graphs.