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Laddering is a qualitative marketing research technique, which seeks to understand why people

buy and use products and services.

You find out which product features are important to product users and end with users

emotional benefits.

You use the technique to create ads, positioning messages, and develop new products.

A conversation with your target audience is the best way to gather critical information to create

superior products, services and communications. For many working in market research,

marketing and product development, it is important to really connect with people through

communications about products or services. In order to do this, we have to uncover their needs,

beliefs, motivations and aspirations.

In

l a d d e r i n g

, the line of questioning proceeds from productcharacteristics to usercharacteristics. This technique allows theresearcher to tap into the consumer'snetwork of meanings.

Advertising theme: You will feel good about yourself when flyingour airline. You're The Boss.

Visualization is not a new concept. It has been used for centuries to distill and communicateinformation. Think about all the maps, graphs and charts in existence, and the popularity of this form of

data analysis will quickly become clear. However, with advancements in technology, data visualizations

are taking on more complex forms than ever before. They are being used to unravel the meaning behind

big data sets that would otherwise be too difficult to understand. Highlighted in this piece are eight

Ontario-based startups whose innovative applications are setting the future for data visualization.

Visualization is the study of data being communicated visually through graphical means. Bar charts,

graphs and maps are illustrations of basic data visualizations that have been utilized for quite a few

years. Over time, visualizations have become more intricate to the extent of having animations that

illustrate changing data over a period of time. There is virtually no limit to the translation of information

into an image.

Visualization is not a new concept. It has been used for centuries to distill and communicate

information. Think about all the maps, graphs and charts in existence, and the popularity of this form of

data analysis will quickly become clear. However, with advancements in technology, data visualizations

are taking on more complex forms than ever before. They are being used to unravel the meaning behind

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big data sets that would otherwise be too difficult to understand. Highlighted in this piece are eight

Ontario-based startups whose innovative applications are setting the future for data visualization.

Inw o r d a s s o c i a t i o n ,respondents are presented with alist of words, one at a time, and

asked to respond to eachwith the first word that comes to mind. The

words of interest, called test words, are interspersed throughoutthe list

which also contains some neutral, or filler wordsto disguise the

purpose of the study

An unstructured, indirect form of questioning thatencourages respondents to project theirunderlyingmotivations, beliefs, attitudes or feelings regardingthe issues of concern.

In projective techniques, respondents are asked tointerpret

the behavior of others.

In interpreting the behavior of others, respondentsindirectlyproject their own motivations, beliefs,attitudes, or feelings

into the situation

For many people a brand is such an ethereal concept it can be hard to pin down the definingmake-up of the brand. The most common technique for eliciting the composition of the brand is

personification. "If the brand were a person, what type of person would it be...?"

This is known as a projection. It is often far easier to talk about something we have words and

images for, such as people or cars, so by describing the brand as a person, it is easier to articulatewhat the brand is about. Projection techniques are used frequently in qualitative brand research

to get at the essence of brand make-up.

Once a brand is clearly personified and a foundation of research established, the process of connecting

it with its intended audience is much akin to matchmaking. Modern marketing dictates that successful

brands deliver on the needs of society as opposed to convincing people they need a product or service

they dont. Brands should also make the audience feel something beyond what it communicates in

literal form. Using brand to consumer matchmaking techniques, brands first define their human

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characteristics then create a strategy, which ultimately allows them to target and emotionally connect

with their audience through a creative vehicle.

As television viewership increased, there was a need for research of which channels are being viewed

the mostin other words known as Audience measurement. Thus Nielsen a leading market

research company came out with the Audimeter. The Audimeter is the first meter to be established

which could measure network viewership.

electronic People Meters, which are used by Nielsen Media Research for nationwide audience

measurement in the United States, provide demographic ratings data for the seven broadcast networks,

50 cable networks and hundreds of national syndicators. The nationwide People Meter sample consists

of 5,000 households. The size of local People Meter samples would vary by market. Boston's People

Meter sample will be approximately 600 households.

cameras in stores are now being used to monitor customer eye movements and facial expressions for

the purpose of marketing research. Reportedly, a number of large retailers are using software from

Almaden's BlueEyes research project. The BlueEyes project is also developing interface technology for

personal computers.

Device used by researchers to measure and observe eye movements of respondents reading advertising

copy. There are several types of eye cameras: one photographs a small spot of light reflected from the

eye; another actually takes motion pictures of the eye, noting changes in the diameter of the pupil.

Galvanometer

A device used to measure the emotion induced by exposure to a particular stimulus by recordingchanges in the electrical resistance of the skin associated with the minute degree of sweating that

accompanies emotional arousal; in marketing research the stimulus is often specific advertising

copy.The skin's electrical conductivity changes with emotion. The galvanometer measures electrical

conductivity. A polygraph (lie detector) uses this principle to determine the anxiety level involved in a

response to a question. The subjects of the research could be monitored for their galvanometric

response to different stimuli (products). The researcher could use the data to conclude that one

stimulus elicits a stronger emotion than some other stimulus and is, therefore, better.

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