Abstract:

The following paper describes a special analysis made using the German Verbraucher Analyse, a consumer analysis similar to other consumer usage/purchase research in many other European countries. For this reason our analysis can easily be duplicated elsewhere, giving the advertising industry the data they need for optimum media selection on a brand level. It is an inexpensive approach. Comparable data is usually available, it simply needs to be structured in a certain way. First, all informants have to be grouped by their different levels of probability of being exposed to print or TV. Second, the same informants will be weighted according to their individual product purchase/usage frequency and claimed brand preferences. Market shares calculated in that manner correspond surprisingly well with the retail audit data. That applies to the rank order of the market shares, not for actual volume. Generally speaking, heavy and medium print users are better potential consumers, however, it is not TRUE for all brands. There are numerous exceptions to this rule and a media planner needs to be aware of them. Inexpensive or traditional brands tend to be such exceptions. A reassuring result is that intensive users of both media, TV plus print, consume almost as much as more or less exclusive print media users. Therefore, a mix of media is a safe bet. The real benefit of this special analysis lies in the fact that it shows the best consumer potential for all important product fields in combination with the exposure probabilities within media groups.