Special Study Areas

G&R is particularly experienced in several specialty areas in which we have conducted numerous studies. The proprietary knowledge we have developed in these areas qualifies us as a unique and important resource for clients interested in….

• Claims Substantiation

• Spokesperson and Icon Testing

• Events and Sponsorship

• Medium Influences

• Integrated Communications

• International Communications Research

Claims Substantiation

G&R has frequently conducted surveys for advertisers, agencies or their attorneys to support or to challenge possible actions by media review bodies, regulatory agencies or courts. Data is collected independently and according to strict industry practice to allow for the quantification of how audiences perceive and evaluate messages and claims. Study designs are generally simple, but compelling. They are overseen in design, execution and analysis by skilled practitioners who will work with you closely, whether your needs are internal, regulatory or adjudicatory. If desired, our survey directors are prepared to serve as expert witnesses.  

Spokesperson and Icon Testing

Selecting the right spokesman or symbol to represent your brand is an important decision that can affect its performance for years to come. A subspecialty for G&R, we have conducted numerous studies to identify and/or evaluate the effectiveness of potential spokespersons, celebrities or icons. Traditional measures generally cover awareness, expertise and likeability. Our surveys go beyond these to examine the linkages and goodness of fit between source/presenter evaluations, brand attitudes and purchase interest. Applying our FasTrac design, respondents can be exposed to alternatives as names, statements, combinations of audio/ video material or as rough ads. The recommended questioning sequence includes free associations, image and attitudes about the brand and the presenter. Studies can be turned around quickly and economically.

Events and Sponsorship

After all the hoopla, how do premium media opportunities pay out? When you decide to advertise on premium events such as the Super Bowl or the Olympics, do people notice, and how do they react? Given the premium prices such events command, the answers to these questions are critical. We have monitored the performance of Super Bowl commercials for several years and the results are often surprising. Some of the most heavily advertised brands may be hardly noticed. Independently and objectively, G&R research can help you assess such media opportunities using a variety of testing and tracking tools. We can measure the effectiveness of commercial in premium events vs. standard programming to enable quantification of the boost your brand receives in the former. Or we can measure it relative to other advertising in the premium event and track its impact on consumer awareness and attitudes for a period after it airs. Either way, we can help you identify potentially effective spots or quantify their effectiveness after the fact to you can justify and allocate those premium dollars.

Medium Influences

G&R has conducted large scale studies using masses of data aimed at quantifying audience characteristics, the nature of their use of and involvement with a given medium, and the consequences this has for advertising messages. These studies are aimed at increasing our understanding of how the medium, itself, influences the effectiveness of the advertising it carries. For magazines, we have measured such factors as the premium or penalty associated with position in the book, right vs. left hand pages, cover positions or proximity to competitive ads, etc. In television, we have quantified how premium primetime programs enhance or detract from message communication. We know how your commercial's position in the program or pod influences its performance or if certain media categories are more effective than others in communicating your message. We are equally experienced in conducting ad hoc studies of client-specific media issues. In these, data are typically gathered using telephone interviews or self-administered mail questionnaires using designs that control external influences. Recent examples include studies of viewer or subscriber characteristics, content evaluation, reader/viewer attitudes toward specific media vehicles and the influence of individual media features on ad effectiveness.

Integrated Communications

Most companies make substantial investments in communicating with their markets via an assortment of channels. Many accumulate data at considerable expense about how effective these communications are individually. Often though, they lack understanding about how the various parts contribute to the whole. Are your magazine ads reinforcing your television commercials or competing with them? Are your radio commercials directing listeners to your web site? G&R can help answer such questions. Integrated Communications Research uses advanced modeling and analytic techniques to help companies mine and better use data to improve and integrate their communications programs by enabling them to understand their synergies and combined impact.

International Communications Research

The increasingly global nature of many communications programs brings with it the need for international communications research. As more research of this kind is done, there is a fuller understanding of how different local consumption of advertising messages can be and how important local input is. Through a growing network of field agents and a developing alliance of focused, independent research partners, we provide the touch points you need to balance your global and local needs to make your messaging more effective worldwide. Technological improvements via the computer, the Internet and telecommunications have reduced logistical considerations, improved control, compressed timelines, and lowered costs. Our unique affiliation with Gallup Consulting gives us a "feet-on-the-ground" presence in every region and in most key markets. All of this leads to better, more uniform quality with greater insight and value for this increasingly critical information need.