does your brand have momentum? june 2013

7/28/2019 Does Your Brand Have Momentum? June 2013

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/does-your-brand-have-momentum-june-2013 1/9

DOES YOURBRAND HAVEMOMENTUM?A new approach tounderstanding and measuringtoday’s purchase journey



Momentum closes gaps in understanding betweenwhat buyers do during the purchase journey, howtheir perceptions of your brand influence theirbehavior, and how they use media and brandcommunication to make their choice.

DOES YOUR BRANDHAVE MOMENTUM? In an increasingly competitive landscape, brand-ownersare looking at every possible way to gain advantage anddrive brand growth. Understanding of how and whypeople buy products and services is a priority now morethan ever.

In recent years, much effort has been put into finding

new ways of describing the process buyers go throughand the role technology plays in their decision making.There has also been growing recognition that the journeydoes not start and stop, but is a continuous cycle that wenever leave as we move towards our next purchase.

Today’s communications landscape is increasinglylayered and complex. Consumers are playing a biggerrole in other people’s purchase journeys – advocating,enabling and diverting product choice. So purchase

journey understanding needs an upgrade.

What is it that really keeps your customers movingtowards purchase, and how can you use brand behaviorand communication to keep them on track? Above all,are you ignoring a vital part of the journey by focusingonly on when people are actively thinking about buyingsomething?

Momentum is MEC’s new proprietary approach forunderstanding and quantifying how people makepurchase decisions, based on studies with over 100,000respondents across multiple categories and countriesaround the world.

Using the latest insight into the psychology of choice,

uniquely, Momentum closes gaps in understandingbetween what buyers do during the purchase journey,how their perceptions of your brand influencetheir behavior, and how they use media and brandcommunication to make their choice.

Momentum provides summary scores for each stageof the purchase journey and gives an overview of yourbrand’s performance versus competitiors. All of thisunderstanding is based on a category-specific researchstudy that is cost-effective and highly actionable.

Momentum is for everyone who is interested inhow people really make decisions about brandsand products, how their brand performs againstcompetitors and what marketing communications cando about it.

Momentum is MEC’snew p op ieta

app oac foun e stan inan quantif inow people make

pu c ase ecisions



39% of Toothpaste buyers in China alreadyhave a strong idea which brand they’ll buybefore they start the buying process.This compares with 63% of Mobile Networksubscribers in Poland.Source: Momentum 2013

When trying to understand the purchase journey, researchcommonly focuses on the things people do once they haveconsciously started the buying process. At MEC, we callthis the Active Stage of the journey.

But Momentum demonstrates what psychologists havelong known: before people actively think about making apurchase, powerful cognitive biases are already helpingthem to make a choice – without their realizing it.

Even though most of the Passive Stage of daily life isnot spent thinking about what we’re going to buy, wecan’t stop ourselves forming biases – both positive andnegative – about the brands that surround us. In effec t, weare always moving through the journey towards our next

purchase, in an on-going cycle of actions and decisions.

For some marketers, the quantified result of these biaseswill be alarming. Across different categories of productsand services, 53% of people have a strong idea which brandthey will buy before starting the process.

We call the result Passive Sta e Bias and its influenceover people’s buying behavior is profound. All of us needshortcuts when making a purchase – life is too shortto consider every option rationally every time we buysomething – and Passive Stage Bias is a powerful shortcutbased on a range of cognitive biases. As marketers, weneed to understand what causes it and its effects onbuyers’ behavior.

WE ARE ‘ALWAYS ON’Before we start thinking about what to buy, many of us have already decided…The purchase journey is a continuous cyclewith four simple stages:

53% of peopleave a st oni ea w icb an t e

will bu befo esta tin t e

p ocess

PASSIVE STAGEWhat brand biases do peopledevelop during daily life?

TRIGGERWhat are the needs or wants thatpropel people into the Active Stage?

PURCHASEWho buys your brand and what do

they do after purchase?

THE MOMENTUM CYCLE

ACTIVE STAGE What do people do when actively

considering a purchase?



For many brands, the Passive Stage is a dangerous blind spot. If your focus ison moving people from consideration to purchase, you miss a very importantpart of the journey. Passive Stage Bias affects people’s behavior and attitudesthroughout the Active Stage when they’re actively considering a purchase,and even affects satisfaction after they’ve made their purchase.

A e ou custome s ‘Confi me s’ o ‘Compa e s’?What does it mean to ‘consider’ a brand for purchase? The effects of PassiveStage Bias means that consideration means different things to differentbuyers. If a buyer already has a strong bias, what looks like considerationof other brands can actually be just looking at other brands to confirm theirchoice.

But if there is no bias towards any particular brand, you’ll compare a greaterrange of options, to make a more difficult, rational choice. And depending onwhether you’re confirming or comparing in the Active Stage, you’ll use mediatouchpoints differently, which alters the roles for brand communication.

T e e a e ve iffe ent t pes of pu c ase jou neCar buyers on ‘Confirmer’ journeys typically have high Passive Stage Bias andare often looking for rational information to confirm an emotional brand bias.

Car buyers on ‘Comparer’ journeys will typically have lower Passive StageBias and be looking for help in the Active Stage to narrow their choice.

ARE YOU IGNORING HALF OFTHE PURCHASE JOURNEY?

What we call the Passive Stage is an under-researched and, in many cases,misunderstood part of the purchase journey. Powerful biases are formed inthis stage, with ripple effects throughout the rest of the journey.

IMPLICATION

1People with strong

Passive Sta e Bias considerfewer brands, spend less time in

the Active Stage, are less concernedwith price when making their

choice and are happier with theirdecision after purchase.

T e pe centa e of in-sto e ecisions mi t be lowe t an ou t inkReceived wisdom says that 70% of decisions are taken in-store. But withstrong Passive Stage Bias at 49% even in FMCG categories, many peoplehave already made up their mind before going near a store.

‘In-sto e’ communications effect on ‘out of sto e’ bias towa b an sWe expect in-store communication to be good at grabbing attention anddriving purchase. However, Momentum shows that in-store touchpoints are just as important for building Passive Stage Bias during daily life as they arefor driving sales in the Active Stage. Touchpoints such as brand displays,signage, packaging and even special offers are up to twice as effective atdriving Passive Stage Bias than some paid media.

Usin communications to ive ou b an momentum in t e Passive Sta e1. Identify the Paid, Owned and Earned touchpoints which drive Passive

Stage Bias in your category. Ensure messaging in these channelsfocuses on what makes your brand distinctive and what consumers findmost important in the category.

2. Integrate retail and promotional activity into your strategy: you may besurprised how much it influences Passive Stage Bias toward your brand.

3. Review the cycle and phasing of your communications: brands arealways selling, whether consumers buy today or not.

4. Identify ‘multi-tasking media’ and new ways to execute in these media:some touchpoints play dual roles in the purchase journey.

5. Establish which of your competitors have strong and which have weakPassive Sta e Bias . Develop strategies to encourage brand switching.

Flat Screen TVs

Moisturisers

Mobile Service Providers

Source: Momentum 2013

AVERAGE PASSIVE STAGE BIAS BY CATEG

32%43%

65%



CONTEXT IS EVERYTHINGMomentum demonstrates that Paid, Owned and Earnedcommunications play different roles not only in different brandcategories, but at different stages within brand categories.

IMPLICATION

2Buyers of Flat Screen TVs in

Germany develop Passive StageBias from TV, print and online ads;but seeing the product in store and

third-party opinions drive ActiveStage Bias.

ACTIVE STAGE TOUCHPOINTS(guiding purchase)1. Bank or credit card issuer website2. Email from credit card issuer3. Ad on a website4. Online search results5. Comparison website

PASSIVE STAGE TOUCHPOINTS(building Passive Stage Bias)1. TV ad2. Ad on a website3. Magazine ad4. Letter from credit card issuer5. Email from credit card issuer

Source: Momentum, credit cards, USA, 2013

Many existing studies of purchase journeys suggest communicationstouchpoints can be grouped into typologies – reflecting a general role fortouchpoints which can be applied to all purchase journeys, irrespective of thecategory or purchase cycle. Results from Momentum studies across multiplecategories demonstrate this is not the case.

There is no single ‘black box’ answer to the role of touchpoints at differentstages of the purchase journey.

Each category is different. And Momentum shows that touchpoints can havesurprising effects beyond the role they are traditionally perceived to play. Wequantify them using Touchpoint Power Scores (TPS).

Momentum also quantifies the different role of touchpoints at both thePassive and Active Stage of the journey. In the US example on the right, welook at the five most influential touchpoints for people looking to get a newcredit card.

There are clear differences in the media that people use to help them makea purchase (in the Active Stage) and the media that helps build Passive StageBias, before people are actively thinking about purchasing a new card.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to planning the use of touchpoints. Itdepends entirely on the context in which they are used by the consumer.

Plannin fo b an owt ac oss touc points1. Harness the most powerful Paid, Owned and Earned touchpoints andsynchronize their roles.

2. Identify opportunities in the purchase journey where touchpoints canwork harder:a. To generate more positive Passive Sta e Biasb. To leverage purchase journey triggers where your brand underperformsc. To target more powerful places, spaces or conversations in the

Active Staged. To address the biggest barriers to purchase for your brand

3. Ensure the integration of message, media and context: integrated planningis more important than ever!

4. Leverage respondent level data from Momentum to target the audiencethat matters most for your business. Seamlessly optimize campaignweight and phasing through MEC’s ‘Crossmedia’ tool.



Momentum measu es t e w ole pu c ase jou ne ac oss t e cate o1. Quantify consumer biases in your category and by brand.2. Quantify the beliefs people have about brands and how these influence them.3. Quantify the actions people take during the journey.4. Quantify the influence of Paid, Owned and Earned touchpoints

encountered at different stages along the way.5. Fuel strategies to unlock growth and help you measure results

over time.

UNDERSTAND YOUR COMPETITORS’PURCHASE JOURNEYS TOUNLOCK BRAND GROWTH

At each stage of the journey, Momentum quantifies your brand’s performancewithin the category and against your competitors. It also provides the onenumber you need to know: your brand’s Momentum Score.

IMPLICATION

3

All companies want growth. However, finding genuine opportunities to grow

your brand in a competitive marketplace is tough when rivals aggressivelytarget the same consumers.

Momentum helps identify the best possible prospects for increasingmarket share and the value of your brand. It allows you to compare yourbrand’s performance throughout the purchase journey against your maincompetitors, revealing their weak points and where they present thegreatest threat.

Momentum shows who should have bought your brand (based on PassiveStage Bias which failed to convert to an Active Stage purchase), whichbrand they bought, why they didn’t buy your brand and which touchpointsyou should use to influence them (as shown opposite). Momentum alsoprovides summary scores for each stage of the purchase journey and givesan overview of your brand performance within the category.

Flat Sc een TV c cle

MOMENTUM SCORE 136ACTIVE SCORE 148 PASSIVE SCORE 102

Source: Momentum, Body Moisturisers, Germany, 2013

16% 15%

27%Misse

Oppo tunit42%

A C T I V E S T A G E

N o t

B o u g

h t

B o u g

h t

Weak St onPASSIVE STAGE BIAS

Had some/no idea they would buy your brand...but didExpected to buy your brand ...and did

Didn’t plan to buy your brand ...and didn’t

Thought they would buy your brand ...butdidn’t

ShOWINg US ThE SIzE OF ThE MISSEd OPPOrTUNITy



UNDER THE HOODOF MOMENTUMMomentum methodology incorporates the latest thinking indecision-making psychology.

Momentum’s two-stage research process uses qualitative research to identify people’s buyingbehavior, followed by a custom-designed online quantitative questionnaire to understand asingle category and country in detail.

The research is designed using the latest studies on the psychology of choice:

Automatic an eflective t inkin : Momentum identifies the effects of consumers’ instinctive,automatic thinking as well as the more obvious rational, deliberate thinking because both areinvolved in decision-making.

Confi mation bias: People look for information that confirms their beliefs. For example, peopleuse Active Stage touchpoints to confirm their biases about brands.

Mental availabilit: “The propensity for a brand to be noticed and/or thought of in buyingsituations”.* What associations do people have with your brand and do they help peoplemake a purchase?

B an istinctiveness: Which of your brand’s properties make it distinctive? Which assetsshould your communication support to make your brand stand out from competitors?

heu istics: Momentum identifies rules-of-thumb people use when buying – what it is they’relooking for from the brands they choose.

*”How Brands Grow”, Byron Sharp



TO FIND OUT MORE...GLOBAL1 Paris GardenLondonSE1 8NUUnited KingdomTel +44 20 7803 2000

825 Seventh AvenueNew YorkNY 10019USATel +1 212 474 0000

Melanie VarleyChief Strategy Officer, [email protected]

Pele Cortizo-BurgessHead of Integrated Planning, [email protected]

Damian ThompsonHead of Consumer Insight, [email protected]

ASIA PACIFIC18 Cross StreetChina Square CentralSingapore048423Tel +65 6225 1262

Raj GuptaChief Strategy Officer, Asia [email protected]

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA1 Paris GardenLondonSE1 8NUUnited KingdomTel +44 20 7803 2000

Stuart Sullivan-MartinRegional Director, Integrated Planning, [email protected]

LATIN AMERICA601 Brickell Key Drive, Suite 804MiamiFL 33131USATel +1 786 264 7600

Cynthia EvansHead of Strategy, Latin [email protected]

NORTH AMERICA825 Seventh AvenueNew YorkNY 10019USATel +1 212 474 0000

Mason FranklinHead of Integrated Planning, North [email protected]

© MEC All content, logos and trademarks used within this publication are protected by copyright and cannot be used without permission from MEC or the permission of the relevant trademark owners.

How consumers really makedecisions about brands and

products, how your brandperforms against your

competitors, and what youcan do about it!



Are my customers’ journeys shorter and faster or longer and slower than other people’s?

Which customers have a bias towards my brand or its competitors before starting the buying process?

How are people’s perceptions of my brand affecting their purchasing behavior?

Which Triggers are more likely to get people to buy my brand?

What can I learn from my competitors’ purchase journeys?

How can I quantify the roles of Paid, Owned and Earned touchpoints at different stages of the purchase journey?

How do I quantify the role of recommendation and social influence for my brand’s buyers?

How does my brand’s behavior in-store influence people beyond the immediate sale?

How can I plan more effectively for brand growth?

THE QUESTIONS MOMENTUM

CAN HELP YOU ANSWER

does your brand have momentum? june 2013

Documents