Threedimensional research lets marketers target valuable customers

Mind Share's 3D threedimensional research tool was used in a recent survey to find that more than 60 per cent of respondents said advertising helped them find the products they wanted.

Local consumers have also become inactive in their daily life and are less prone to access news and information from any type of media.

The research divided Thais into eight distinctive groups, depending on their attitudes: Urban Traditionals; Young Pragmatics; Rural Traditionals; Trapped; Disadvantaged and Indifferent; Educated Progressives; Image Conscious and Status Seekers; and Young Aspirers.

"We found the number of consumers in the Disadvantaged and Indifferent group increased significantly this year, from about 16 per cent of the population in 2006 to 18 per cent," said insights and research director Pathamawan Sathaporn.

She said Disadvantaged and Indifferent included consumers who were inactive in terms of daily living and consumption and did not care to access news and information.

"There is no good news this year, but bad news has occurred everywhere, particularly in politics. This has increased the level of stress among consumers and made them less enthusiastic about following the news," said Pathamawan.

"3D means threedimensional research. It studies and brings together the dynamics of brand loyalty, social behaviour and media consumption. All information comes from a single source, without the use of clever data techniques to combine different surveys."

The study of 2,200 individuals aged 1465 chosen via random sampling to represent Thailand's entire population found more Thai consumers chose to pay more for environmentally friendly products (57 per cent) than for ones endorsed by wellknown celebrities (36 per cent).

The First Dimension of 3D measures bonding between brands and consumers. Product categories range from fastmoving consumer goods to financial services. Brand loyalty differs for highinvolvement versus lowinvolvement products, but in general, the findings showed 67 per cent of consumers tended to buy the same brands most of the time, particularly rural consumers. Bangkok residents tend to be more diverse regarding brand choice.

The Second Dimension provides an indepth understanding of people's attitudes. Using more than 200 psychographicattitude statements, 3D divided Thais into the eight distinctive groups listed above. At 18 per cent of the population, Disadvantaged and Indifferent was the biggest one, with the seven other categories roughly just under 12 per cent each.

The Third Dimension determines consumers' media habits. Apart from popular media, 3D analyses communicationconnection points that are experienced by consumers, from conventional media to word of mouth, sampling, brochures, press release, promoters and new tech channels like SMS.

She said the research showed outdoor media had significantly increased its role in communicating and delivering marketing and product messages to consumers.

Most consumers regard outdoor ads as sources of information. Topranked outdoor media that are considered innovative and creative are "trivision" billboards, laser messages beamed onto buildings and outdoor video screens/walls.

"Individual studies into brand values, social behaviour and media are useful and take us into a new era of planning. 3D provides marketers with strategic targeting, so that they can identify the best ways to approach the most valuable customers," Pathamawan said.